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The Persecuted Church · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

• 0:00
  Struggling with knowing what to share this morning, I actually had an entire message already prepared as of a day ago.
• 0:10
  !
• 0:30
  So, I have, in view of it being the day of prayer for the persecuted church, I just want you to be aware that I feel very unworthy to even be standing up here to even speak about them a lot of the time.
• 0:46
  I don't want to put myself on their level.
• 0:49
  This is just a personal conviction.
• 0:50
  You don't have to follow it, but I refuse to say that I've been persecuted just because I've faced some humiliation or ridicule by people that are around me.
• 1:03
  Here in the U.S., where there really is no threat of anything other than your wounded pride, I just don't want to wear that badge.
• 1:11
  If it happens, you know, fine.
• 1:13
  But I do, over the years, our brothers and sisters around the world really have convicted me of how I've lived and what I'm doing in my life.
• 1:28
  I encourage you to read Richard Wambron's book, Torture for Christ.
• 1:33
  I've read it at least five or six times, and every time there's always like a new desire to reach people for Christ at all costs.
• 1:42
  Just after I've read it.
• 1:45
  And so just with that in mind, just knowing that, like, I take this very seriously, and I'm praying that God uses this time.
• 1:56
  We may run a little bit over 12 o'clock, so it's okay.
• 2:00
  You can wait to eat lunch when so many people are without in the world.
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  You're going to get there.
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  So those of you who are hangry, just get over it and just learn that it's not justified.
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  So we're going to be in John 15, but we're going to look at some other places today.
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  So I hope you have your Bible, flipping fingers, ready.
• 2:23
  We're going to start in John 15.
• 2:25
  Just look at verse 18.
• 2:27
  We're just going to read through 21.
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  This is Jesus talking to his disciples.
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  He's preparing to die and to face crucifixion.
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  And this is what he says, verse 18.
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  If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
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  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.
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  But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
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  Remember the word that I have said to you.
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  A servant is not greater than his master.
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  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
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  If they kept my word, they would also keep yours.
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  But all these things they do to you on the account of my name,
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  because they do not know him who sent me.
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  Just join me in prayer.
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  Father, I just ask that this morning you would use your word to break down any kind of entitlement
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  or any desire that we have to flee your presence.
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  That we would face you.
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  That you would show us our sin.
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  That we would have the faith to know how to deal with it in our hearts and in our lives.
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  Challenge us this day.
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  And thank you for the examples we find in your word of people who suffered and died for the cause of Christ
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  and are still doing so today.
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  Make us aware of that, Lord.
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  And just ask that in Christ's name.
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  Amen.
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  Amen.
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  So, do you know that nearly, nearly 160,000 Christians will be killed this year?
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  That was roughly what the statistics have been over the last few years and they're increasing.
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  And we're going to just use this text just to kind of start walking through,
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  kind of setting the background for persecution.
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  But you'll notice a word that pops up a lot here in these few verses.
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  And it's just the term, the world.
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  Okay?
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  And the word here is cosmos.
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  It means the order or the system.
• 5:00
  It's not talking about like the beauty of creation or the beauty of nature or the created order.
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  It's speaking in terms of, it's using a negative sense here to talk about like how the people of this world are alienated from God.
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  It's the world is a way of thinking, an ideology, a perception of life and the purpose of life that sets itself against God and God's purposes.
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  It's a whole system of organized humanity that is hostile towards God and alienated from God.
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  So, that's the truth of what we're talking about here.
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  It's the way that the world is going and flowing.
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  So, when Jesus says, he warns his disciples that the world will hate you, the cosmos will hate you.
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  And then he explains why.
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  Because the world has hated him.
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  You know, Christ came into the world in love and grace to a rebellious creation to show them the way to be reconciled to the Father.
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  Showed them that it was by grace, through faith in him.
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  And the result is they spat on this offer of grace from God.
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  They hated him.
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  And it says, you know, this Greek word for hate is a very strong word indicating to detest, to abhor.
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  And it even pictures like an ongoing persecution against someone that you hate.
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  So, that's what we're talking about in this term.
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  But he says, if they hate me, they're going to hate you.
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  And he says why?
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  In two ways.
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  He says, for one, you don't belong to the world.
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  And then secondly, not only do you not belong to the world, but you belong to me.
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  And I chose you out of the world.
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  And so, therefore, you will suffer.
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  And he says, if you were of the world, if you belonged to it and not to me, the world would befriend you.
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  The world would love you.
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  It would treat you as one of its own.
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  But I chose you out of the world, and therefore the world will hate you.
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  And he gives you that illustration of a servant is not greater than his master.
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  And he's saying, like, look, I'm your master.
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  I'm your Lord.
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  The one that you seek to be like.
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  The one that I'm your example.
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  You listen to me, and you follow me, and you believe the words that I teach.
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  So, very clearly, he concludes that they're going to reject you because they've rejected me.
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  And so, then he goes on to conclude at the end of that, in verse 21, a lot of people in this world think that they're okay with God, but they reject Christ.
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  But, in reality, if you reject Christ, you're rejecting the Father.
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  That's what he says here.
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  Because they do not know him who sent me.
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  In verse 21, Jesus says, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
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  That's in chapter 14, 9.
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  And he also says, in other places in the gospel, whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
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  So, all these other world religions who think that they know God, but yet reject the one he sent, do not know the Father.
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  See, it's just a text to look at just to say that those of us who really belong to Christ,
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  we're going to face some measure of hostility by the cosmos because we are not going along with it.
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  We're pressing up against it.
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  We're saying, no, life is about this.
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  This is what matters and not this.
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  And we're going to confront them with evil that is in this world and say,
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  the only hope you have is to be reconciled to God through Christ.
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  And so, the Apostle Paul in Colossians 1, 24, he talks about how he's sharing in the sufferings of Christ.
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  Then he goes on, he says,
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  In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, the church.
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  And what he means in this is not that Christ's sufferings were inadequate to achieve salvation for us,
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  but what he is saying is there are many places in the world that don't know about the suffering of Christ.
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  They haven't physically seen Jesus come and suffer on their behalf.
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  So what he is saying is that through his life, through his body, through his suffering,
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  he's going to betray to the world the sufferings of Christ.
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  So believers going out into the world to preach the gospel,
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  they are an extension of Christ and his sufferings.
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  Joseph's son, who I recommend a book that he wrote as well,
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  Joseph's son, he was a Baptist pastor in Romania in the 1980s,
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  exiled by the government, imprisoned, tortured,
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  interrogated over and over to try to get him to renounce the gospel.
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  But as you'll read, like in Torture for Christ and a lot of these other books,
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  they just embraced it and often converted many of the people that were interrogating them
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  and many of the people that were torturing them out there.
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  So they were just being tortured, preaching the gospel to them.
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  But in regard to the verse in Colossians that we are filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions to reach the world,
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  he said this, he says,
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  I am an extension of Jesus Christ.
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  When I was beaten in Romania, he suffered in my body.
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  It is not my suffering.
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  I only had the honor to share in his sufferings.
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  Suffering and martyrdom have been sent as a part of God's plan.
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  They are instruments by which he achieves his purpose in history
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  and by which he will accomplish his final purpose with man.
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  So I have the privilege, I'm not saying this is anything cool,
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  but for some years I've had the privilege to know David Platt,
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  who is the IMB president in our convention.
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  And I challenge you to read his books.
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  They are really challenging and life-giving, scriptural.
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  And I remember him telling me one time that he was at this really large Southern Baptist church here in the South,
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  and he was talking about persecution,
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  talking about brothers and sisters around the world that he personally knew,
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  not just that he read about,
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  that were undergoing extreme persecution because of the name of Christ.
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  And deep down really praying and hoping that they would just, you know,
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  say, hey, let's go and suffer with them or let's be in prayer for them.
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  Let's do whatever we can to, you know, be a part of what they're going through.
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  He said, after it was over, like, we'll say he didn't even finish.
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  He said he was sharing and the pastor walked up there and just like put his hand on his shoulder
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  and just said, you know, thank you for sharing with us, brother David.
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  But you know what this just makes me think of?
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  This just makes me think that I'm so thankful that I live in America
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  and so thankful that, you know, I have the freedom to come here and worship
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  and that we live in a country that, you know, the red, white, and blue and, you know, eagle soaring, you know, like that.
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  And David just thought, I thought that, you know, Lee Greenwood was going to walk out
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  and sing God Bless the USA like right as I finish sharing.
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  And what we have to understand is if we really are thankful for freedom we have,
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  it's not going to turn to that kind of response.
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  It's going to turn into, now let's go and suffer with them.
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  Let's be a part and feel what they're going through.
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  And, you know, we're going to read some things in the Scripture now that I hope are going to challenge you
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  that I'm taking very seriously myself, like even asking, like in my own personal life, in my marriage,
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  like what is this going to look like?
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  Because it's not just going to be something I store up here.
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  But what I want you to know is in the context of what we're going to be reading today,
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  persecution was real.
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  Like it was, this is going to happen if you follow me.
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  And it also is real even today for thousands of our brothers and sisters across the world.
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  And it's not okay for us, as Nathan alluded to earlier, to just say,
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  well, I'm just glad I live in America. Wonderful.
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  But you should know that Jesus demands the same type of loyalty, love, and devotion
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  as He's asking for anyone who's wanted to risk their life.
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  It's the same kind of sacrifice.
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  And so there's three points we're going to walk through today,
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  each one having a specific text, but we're mainly going to be in the Gospel of Luke.
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  So turn over to Luke 14.
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  Luke chapter 14 and go to verse 25.
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  Luke 14, go to verse 25.
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  And the first point I'm going to make are things that we must do as believers,
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  even here in the West, in America.
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  Number one, we must weigh the cost of following Christ.
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  All right?
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  We must weigh the cost of following Christ.
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  Now, how many of you, when you gave your life to Christ,
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  actually were challenged to think about that?
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  Or was it just, you know, pray this prayer, come down the aisle, maybe be baptized,
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  which in and of itself are not really bad things.
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  But I really feel you see Jesus doing this a lot throughout His ministry.
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  But as soon as people knew who He was, and He began becoming like too popular,
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  He would say things to them that would make them just either split or stay with them.
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  And I always, whenever I'm sharing the Gospel with someone, like, you know,
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  I'll give you an example.
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  There was a baseball player that I met with for probably two months straight every week,
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  just going through the Gospel, talking about sin and God's holiness and the cross and faith
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  to the point where He got it.
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  Like, you know, I understand.
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  Like, I get it.
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  And I believe it.
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  I believe it.
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  And I said, well, great.
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  And then I asked Him, what's holding you back from just following Christ now?
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  And then I usually switch into a couple of weeks of trying to talk them out of following Jesus.
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  And what I mean by that are passages like we're about to read.
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  Luke 14, verse 25.
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  Now great crowds accompanied Him, and He turned and said to them,
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  If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children
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  and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
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  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
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  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost,
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  whether he has enough to complete it?
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  Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish,
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  all who see it begin to mock him, saying,
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  This man began to build and was not able to finish.
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  Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war,
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  will not sit down and first deliberate whether he is able with 10,000
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  to meet him who comes against him with 20,000?
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  And if not, while the other is yet a great way off,
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  he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
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  So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all he has cannot be My disciple.
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  Very heavy words.
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  And He said this when He was getting momentum.
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  He was becoming cool.
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  Crowds were following Him.
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  And He kind of turns around and stared at this crowd who,
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  in a way, is just kind of following Him around to see Him do tricks
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  and thinks He's cool.
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  They're intrigued.
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  Indeed, He turns around and boldly says these heavy words to this crowd that is flirting with Him.
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  And a few things you'll be able to draw out of this is,
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  first of all, Christ says,
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  I am more important.
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  I am more worthy than your family is.
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  That's harsh.
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  Most people in this entire world,
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  including those who are some of the most wicked, vile people ever,
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  they still love their own family.
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  Right?
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  All of us love our family.
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  And He says,
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  I demand a superior love to all those who you call family
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  and all earthly relationships that you have.
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  And so, the word hate here is not the same word that's being used in John 15.
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  It's used here in a comparative sense,
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  not like in terms of malice or evil towards somebody,
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  but it's used in a comparative sense to mean loving one thing or a person much less than another thing.
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  So that love for this one thing,
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  by comparison,
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  looks like hate to the other thing.
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  So, it's not saying have malice and evil in your heart towards your family.
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  It's just saying,
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  I demand a much greater love than your family.
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  And He's saying,
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  I cultivate such a deep love for Christ and a desire to know Him
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  that all other loves in this world,
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  by comparison,
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  look like hate.
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  And in a similar context,
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  in Matthew chapter 10,
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  you don't have to turn there,
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  but Matthew chapter 10, verse 34,
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  Jesus gives us a clearer picture of what it means
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  so I can actually hate your family in this way.
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  He says this in verse 34,
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  Listen to this.
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  So,
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  what He's saying here is like the true living presence of Christ in your life
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  can cause relational division.
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  It can cause,
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  it can bring a sore to,
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  it means by that,
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  like it can cause some true division in your families.
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  You can be rejected by your family.
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  He's saying.
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  In this context,
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  it was real.
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  You'd be kicked out of your family more than likely.
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  Still is the case around the world.
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  I would like to just give you an example of a friend of mine,
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  a personal friend.
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  Her name's Kara.
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  She lives in Northern Ireland.
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  She's a school teacher.
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  And she grew up in,
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  if you don't know about Northern Ireland,
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  Northern Ireland is still under Great Britain.
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  It's a part of the UK.
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  It's not a part of the Republic of Ireland.
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  Very strange,
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  I know.
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  Read the history.
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  But,
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  but there's a huge battle in the North over centuries of Protestant versus Catholic.
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  Irish Catholic versus Brits and Scots who were there who are Protestant.
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  And most of us,
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  it's not about the gospel at all.
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  It's just about nationalism,
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  politics.
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  But Kara grew up in a very devout Irish Catholic home.
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  Her father,
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  I'm pretty sure,
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  was a part of a militia group in Northern Ireland.
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  And she,
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  she had a friend that was a part of one of the,
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  the Baptist youth associations and was a believer.
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  And she kind of,
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  she says now,
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  like I was tricked into going to this,
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  you know,
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  this summer camp.
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  I thought it was just going to be like games and outdoor adventures,
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  but they did do that.
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  They talked about the gospel while they were there.
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  And so in the process,
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  Kira heard for the first time,
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  like the gospel and believed and was completely just devastated by like the love of Christ for her and the forgiveness of sins.
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  And as soon as she gave her life to Christ though,
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  she had to think,
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  wait,
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  stop.
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  If I do this,
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  my family is probably going to hate me,
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  especially my father,
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  because I'll be saying like,
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  I'm not going this way anymore.
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  I'm going this way.
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  I'm not for what the Roman church is doing here in Northern Ireland.
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  And she was terrified.
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  She was in tears.
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  She just couldn't sleep for nights.
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  She finally went back,
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  back home,
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  and was praying and working up the courage to at least tell her mom,
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  finally told her mom what Christ has done.
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  And her mom just broke down in tears and said,
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  praise God.
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  I only came to know Jesus two weeks ago.
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  Like there's two of us in this family now.
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  So they just began encouraging one another,
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  praying.
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  And they finally worked up the boldness to tell the father,
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  the husband,
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  and he was furious,
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  furious.
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  Lost,
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  lost control,
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  threw things around,
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  just angry,
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  saying like,
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  you're betraying me,
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  you're betraying your country,
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  you're betraying like the cause here.
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  And for a long time,
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  just a lot of fighting between her mom and her father.
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  And eventually her dad called her and the rest of the family to a meeting.
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  And they were,
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  she was pretty sure that her dad was going to say,
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  we're getting a divorce and this family is done.
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  So finally,
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  they sat down together in the living room there in Belfast.
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  And finally,
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  she,
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  he said,
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  as much as it's killing me to say this,
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  I see like the love of Christ in your life.
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  And I want that for my life.
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  And he gave his life to Christ.
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  And that's a transformed family.
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  But Kira had to weigh the costs of,
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  of such a relationship with Jesus.
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  And that's just an example in the West.
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  But around the world,
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  this is a true thing.
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  This can happen.
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  Your family can leave you.
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  Your family could kill you,
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  throw you out.
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  And so,
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  it is a,
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  you know,
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  we need to not just say,
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  well,
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  I'm glad that wouldn't happen to me.
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  We have to weigh the costs as well.
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  So,
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  first we see that Christ demands a superior love to family.
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  But secondly,
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  in this text,
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  we see that he desires a superior love to your family.
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  Yourself.
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  Even your own life,
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  he says.
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  You must love me more than your own life.
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  He says that you must take up your cross.
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  And later on,
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  or earlier in Luke,
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  so a few places I want you to turn,
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  but,
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  just flip earlier to Luke chapter 9.
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  We're going to look at some things in Luke 9 together.
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  Trying to keep you in the same book.
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  But,
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  Luke 9 verse 23,
• 25:16
  similarly,
• 25:18
  Christ said this,
• 25:19
  And he said to all,
• 25:23
  if anyone would come after me,
• 25:26
  let him deny himself,
• 25:28
  take up his cross daily,
• 25:30
  and follow me.
• 25:31
  For whoever would save his life will lose it.
• 25:34
  Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
• 25:39
  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world
• 25:42
  and loses or forfeits himself?
• 25:44
  So,
• 25:46
  this phrase,
• 25:47
  take up your cross,
• 25:49
  it is an invitation to come and die and suffer.
• 25:53
  In this context,
• 25:54
  it meant only death.
• 25:55
  It didn't mean jewelry.
• 25:56
  It didn't mean anything cool or culturally acceptable.
• 25:59
  It was a mockery,
• 26:01
  and it meant to come and die.
• 26:03
  So,
• 26:03
  if you're going to come with me,
• 26:05
  you must take up your cross.
• 26:07
  It's an invitation.
• 26:08
  And he also said,
• 26:11
  like,
• 26:11
  to deny yourself.
• 26:13
  And like,
• 26:14
  the phrasing of this word in the original language means
• 26:16
  to refuse to associate with.
• 26:19
  And like,
• 26:20
  you're refusing to associate with the things
• 26:23
  that you used to associate with
• 26:25
  before you knew Christ.
• 26:27
  To relinquish absolute control of your life.
• 26:31
  A willingness to follow Jesus,
• 26:33
  to serve him,
• 26:33
  to keep his commandments.
• 26:35
  And if need be,
• 26:35
  yeah,
• 26:36
  like to die for him.
• 26:39
  And so,
• 26:40
  I think,
• 26:41
  if I could paraphrase,
• 26:44
  saying this to us now,
• 26:46
  if Jesus would say something along this line,
• 26:49
  if you knew that coming after me to be my disciple
• 26:52
  would cost you your life,
• 26:55
  would you come anyway?
• 26:57
  It might not cost you your life,
• 26:59
  but if it did,
• 27:00
  would you still come?
• 27:02
  Are you that desperate for Jesus?
• 27:04
  Do you see how much you need him
• 27:06
  and how precious he is
• 27:08
  that you would be willing
• 27:09
  to lose your life?
• 27:11
  Are you willing to give up your life now
• 27:13
  for eternal life later?
• 27:16
  That's just what he's saying.
• 27:18
  It's not a,
• 27:19
  it's not cool theology.
• 27:20
  It's not to help you live a better life.
• 27:22
  It's a call to come and die.
• 27:24
  Like,
• 27:24
  to give your whole life,
• 27:26
  to surrender everything
• 27:27
  for Christ.
• 27:28
  And back in our text,
• 27:31
  you can stay in Luke 9,
• 27:32
  but back in Luke 14,
• 27:35
  he gives you an example.
• 27:36
  He said,
• 27:37
  two examples,
• 27:38
  one of building a tower
• 27:40
  and the other one of going to war
• 27:42
  to show like how you need to stop
• 27:43
  and think about
• 27:45
  what you're doing.
• 27:47
  So it didn't just,
• 27:49
  come on,
• 27:50
  Jesus wants you on his team
• 27:51
  and I'm not going to tell you
• 27:52
  how much that costs.
• 27:53
  He says,
• 27:54
  you need to stop
• 27:55
  and think about
• 27:56
  what it's going to cost you
• 27:57
  to follow me.
• 27:59
  Don't rush into this,
• 28:00
  in other words.
• 28:02
  Slow down.
• 28:03
  Which is so anti
• 28:05
  what most churches are doing today.
• 28:06
  Is that not true?
• 28:08
  It's quick,
• 28:09
  easy,
• 28:09
  believism
• 28:10
  that costs nothing.
• 28:12
  And he's saying,
• 28:13
  stop and consider.
• 28:15
  Some of you may
• 28:17
  remember me sharing
• 28:18
  about another friend of mine
• 28:19
  who's from Kyrgyzstan,
• 28:22
  which is over near China.
• 28:24
  His picture was out
• 28:26
  on the board out there.
• 28:27
  I don't know if you've ever seen it,
• 28:28
  but his name's Ossal.
• 28:30
  And he does ministry
• 28:31
  with the Underground Church
• 28:33
  in Central Asia.
• 28:35
  And he came up here.
• 28:37
  There's probably only a handful of you
• 28:39
  that were probably here back then,
• 28:40
  but probably,
• 28:41
  probably eight or nine years ago,
• 28:43
  he stood on this stage.
• 28:44
  He came here
• 28:45
  and shared with like
• 28:46
  probably 80 to 100
• 28:47
  college students.
• 28:49
  and he said,
• 28:50
  you know,
• 28:52
  in America
• 28:52
  it's fairly easy
• 28:54
  to come to be a Christian.
• 28:58
  But he said,
• 28:59
  in Central Asia,
• 29:00
  first you have to stop
• 29:00
  and consider
• 29:01
  if you're going to be a Christian,
• 29:04
  you have to be willing
• 29:05
  to be kicked out
• 29:06
  of your family.
• 29:08
  And then he said,
• 29:09
  after that,
• 29:10
  your community
• 29:11
  will ostracize you
• 29:13
  and ridicule you.
• 29:15
  then he said,
• 29:17
  the state
• 29:17
  will either not allow you
• 29:19
  to work,
• 29:21
  imprison you,
• 29:21
  or kill you.
• 29:24
  And he said,
• 29:25
  if someone
• 29:26
  that we've been sharing Christ with
• 29:28
  goes through all of that,
• 29:31
  still trusting Christ,
• 29:32
  we know that they're a true Christian.
• 29:34
  That's like what he said.
• 29:36
  And I was just so
• 29:38
  challenged by that.
• 29:40
  So some of you,
• 29:41
  like,
• 29:41
  don't take these stories
• 29:43
  as like,
• 29:43
  that just makes me feel shameful.
• 29:45
  That just makes me feel guilty.
• 29:48
  You can either allow it to be that
• 29:49
  or you can allow it to be
• 29:51
  a conviction
• 29:52
  that God is hitting you with
• 29:53
  and then just repent
• 29:54
  and strive to live
• 29:57
  as they live
• 29:58
  and have the faith
• 29:58
  that they have
• 29:59
  in the Savior.
• 30:01
  So use it as encouragement
• 30:02
  and not just,
• 30:04
  I'm terrible
• 30:04
  and I don't measure up.
• 30:06
  Use it as fuel
• 30:08
  to follow Christ.
• 30:11
  Then in case he missed anything,
• 30:13
  in our text back in Luke 14,
• 30:16
  he says,
• 30:16
  you know,
• 30:17
  relinquish all you have,
• 30:19
  everything.
• 30:20
  In case I left the stone unturned,
• 30:22
  if losing your life wasn't enough,
• 30:23
  like,
• 30:24
  relinquish all you have,
• 30:26
  everything,
• 30:27
  to follow Christ.
• 30:29
  So stop
• 30:30
  and weigh the cost.
• 30:32
  Weigh the cost
• 30:33
  of following Jesus.
• 30:35
  The same baseball player,
• 30:36
  after I kind of challenged him
• 30:37
  with this,
• 30:38
  these texts,
• 30:39
  a week later,
• 30:42
  he came back and says,
• 30:43
  you know,
• 30:44
  I want you to know
• 30:45
  that I really believe this,
• 30:46
  like,
• 30:46
  I really believe that,
• 30:47
  you know,
• 30:47
  Jesus is real
• 30:48
  and that I need him
• 30:49
  and all of this,
• 30:50
  but,
• 30:51
  you know,
• 30:51
  I mentioned this
• 30:52
  to my girlfriend
• 30:53
  that I'm living with right now
• 30:54
  and she doesn't think
• 30:56
  it's a great idea.
• 30:57
  It means we'd have to break up
• 30:58
  and I,
• 30:59
  you know,
• 30:59
  maybe one day,
• 31:00
  like,
• 31:00
  I'll come back around to this.
• 31:02
  It was heartbreaking,
• 31:05
  but what would I have done
• 31:06
  if I had just said,
• 31:06
  well,
• 31:07
  you can still be a Christian.
• 31:08
  You know,
• 31:08
  you can still,
• 31:09
  it's okay,
• 31:09
  Jesus is all right
• 31:10
  with your adultery.
• 31:12
  You know,
• 31:12
  he exposed the one thing
• 31:14
  that he cared more about
• 31:15
  than Christ.
• 31:18
  He didn't really see his need,
• 31:20
  just pretended that he did.
• 31:23
  And so,
• 31:24
  this goes to number two.
• 31:26
  Number two,
• 31:28
  we must weigh the urgency
• 31:29
  of following Christ.
• 31:32
  So weigh the cost,
• 31:33
  but weigh the urgency too.
• 31:34
  So it isn't like
• 31:35
  when we're sharing with people,
• 31:37
  it isn't,
• 31:37
  you know what,
• 31:38
  you've got the rest of your life
• 31:39
  to think about this.
• 31:41
  The Bible stresses urgency
• 31:42
  as well as weighing the cost.
• 31:46
  While you're in Luke 9,
• 31:49
  look down to verse 57.
• 31:52
  And these are another time
• 31:54
  when people were following
• 31:56
  around Jesus
• 31:57
  and this is something
• 31:57
  that he said
• 31:58
  to three different men.
• 31:59
  verse 57,
• 32:03
  chapter 9.
• 32:05
  As they were going
• 32:06
  along the road,
• 32:08
  someone said to him,
• 32:09
  I will follow you
• 32:11
  wherever you go.
• 32:13
  Bold statement.
• 32:15
  Verse 58.
• 32:16
  And Jesus said to him,
• 32:18
  foxes have holes
• 32:19
  and the birds of the air
• 32:21
  have nests,
• 32:22
  but the Son of Man
• 32:23
  has nowhere
• 32:24
  to lay his head.
• 32:26
  To another he said,
• 32:28
  follow me.
• 32:30
  But he said,
• 32:30
  Lord,
• 32:31
  let me first go
• 32:32
  and bury my father.
• 32:34
  And Jesus said to him,
• 32:36
  leave the dead
• 32:37
  to bury their own dead.
• 32:39
  But as for you,
• 32:41
  go and proclaim
• 32:42
  the kingdom of God.
• 32:44
  Yet another said,
• 32:45
  I will follow you,
• 32:46
  Lord,
• 32:47
  but let me first
• 32:48
  say farewell
• 32:49
  to those who are at home.
• 32:51
  Jesus said to him,
• 32:53
  no one
• 32:54
  who puts his hand
• 32:55
  to the plow
• 32:56
  and looks back
• 32:57
  is fit
• 32:57
  for the kingdom of God.
• 33:01
  Again,
• 33:02
  hard words.
• 33:04
  True for us
• 33:04
  as it was true for them
• 33:06
  and true for anyone else
• 33:07
  in the world.
• 33:09
  So,
• 33:11
  you may be like,
• 33:11
  man,
• 33:11
  Jesus is really strict here.
• 33:13
  He's being a little unreasonable.
• 33:16
  He could have all these
• 33:16
  extra followers,
• 33:17
  but he's,
• 33:18
  you know,
• 33:19
  being overboard.
• 33:21
  But a really close glance at
• 33:23
  context here
• 33:25
  will help you realize
• 33:27
  all he's really doing
• 33:28
  is just exposing
• 33:29
  that they don't really believe
• 33:30
  who he says he is.
• 33:33
  So,
• 33:33
  the first man,
• 33:35
  this same account
• 33:36
  is in Matthew.
• 33:38
  And Matthew calls
• 33:39
  this man a scribe.
• 33:40
  So this man,
• 33:41
  the first man here
• 33:41
  was a scribe.
• 33:44
  A man who apparently
• 33:45
  was used to
• 33:46
  a pretty comfortable lifestyle
• 33:47
  and making some decent money
• 33:49
  probably.
• 33:51
  And back then,
• 33:52
  as today,
• 33:53
  if you were low
• 33:54
  on the totem pole
• 33:55
  of social life,
• 33:56
  you would
• 33:56
  attach yourself
• 33:58
  to someone
• 33:59
  who was
• 34:00
  powerful,
• 34:01
  influential,
• 34:02
  and as they rose,
• 34:04
  you went with them.
• 34:05
  Same kind of thinking
• 34:06
  even today.
• 34:08
  So,
• 34:09
  he wanted to advance
• 34:10
  his position
• 34:11
  in society.
• 34:13
  And Jesus,
• 34:14
  you know,
• 34:14
  again,
• 34:15
  cut straight to the point
• 34:16
  and informed this man,
• 34:17
  if you're looking
• 34:18
  for comfort,
• 34:19
  if you're looking
• 34:20
  for riches,
• 34:21
  for great influence
• 34:23
  in an early way,
• 34:25
  worldly way,
• 34:26
  I'm the wrong guy.
• 34:27
  I'm not your guy.
• 34:29
  I don't even have
• 34:29
  anywhere to lay my head.
• 34:31
  I don't have a mansion
• 34:32
  and tons of cars
• 34:34
  and all those other
• 34:35
  comforts of life.
• 34:37
  So the path
• 34:38
  of true discipleship
• 34:39
  is not found
• 34:40
  in comfort
• 34:41
  or ease,
• 34:42
  but rather
• 34:43
  in a hard life
• 34:43
  that brings suffering
• 34:44
  and persecution.
• 34:45
  And he knew
• 34:46
  this man
• 34:47
  was not in it
• 34:47
  for him.
• 34:48
  He wanted
• 34:48
  something else
• 34:50
  out of him.
• 34:51
  So this man
• 34:52
  considered those things
• 34:54
  more important
• 34:54
  than following
• 34:56
  the king of kings.
• 34:57
  The second man
• 34:59
  said,
• 35:00
  let me go
• 35:00
  and bury my father first.
• 35:03
  So again,
• 35:03
  sounds honorable,
• 35:04
  right?
• 35:06
  So,
• 35:07
  but just again,
• 35:08
  a studying of
• 35:08
  the context here.
• 35:10
  It didn't necessarily
• 35:12
  mean
• 35:12
  that his father
• 35:13
  was dead.
• 35:14
  this was a
• 35:15
  cultural way
• 35:16
  of saying,
• 35:17
  let me wait
• 35:18
  for my inheritance
• 35:19
  first.
• 35:20
  Let me wait
• 35:21
  until my father dies
• 35:22
  and then let me
• 35:22
  get my inheritance
• 35:23
  and then I'll
• 35:24
  come follow you.
• 35:26
  And so,
• 35:28
  that's why
• 35:28
  Jesus' phrase,
• 35:30
  let the dead
• 35:31
  bury their own.
• 35:32
  Like,
• 35:32
  look,
• 35:32
  what I'm telling
• 35:33
  you to do
• 35:34
  overrides
• 35:35
  that importance
• 35:36
  of waiting
• 35:37
  for your father
• 35:37
  to die.
• 35:38
  I'm telling you
• 35:39
  the most important
• 35:40
  thing for you
• 35:40
  to do
• 35:41
  is to go
• 35:42
  and proclaim
• 35:42
  the kingdom
• 35:43
  of God.
• 35:45
  So,
• 35:46
  again,
• 35:47
  this man
• 35:48
  desired money
• 35:49
  and title
• 35:50
  and inheritance
• 35:51
  more than
• 35:52
  following the
• 35:53
  Messiah.
• 35:55
  And then thirdly,
• 35:56
  this is the most
• 35:56
  puzzling one
• 35:57
  to me,
• 35:58
  at least.
• 35:59
  The man says,
• 36:00
  simply,
• 36:00
  let me say goodbye
• 36:02
  to my family
• 36:02
  and then I'll
• 36:04
  come follow you.
• 36:06
  Do you think
• 36:07
  that is a
• 36:07
  undesirable,
• 36:08
  like a
• 36:08
  unrealistic request?
• 36:10
  I don't.
• 36:13
  But,
• 36:13
  again,
• 36:14
  Jesus sees
• 36:15
  something that
• 36:15
  we don't see
• 36:16
  here.
• 36:17
  And I want
• 36:18
  you to,
• 36:19
  again,
• 36:19
  hold your
• 36:20
  hand on Luke,
• 36:21
  don't move it,
• 36:22
  but turn to
• 36:23
  1 Kings.
• 36:25
  I'll get some
• 36:26
  Old Testament
• 36:27
  action today.
• 36:28
  1 Kings
• 36:29
  chapter 19.
• 36:32
  This is the
• 36:33
  story of
• 36:34
  Elisha
• 36:35
  and Elijah,
• 36:37
  the two
• 36:39
  prophets of
• 36:40
  ancient Israel
• 36:41
  in the early
• 36:43
  days of the
• 36:44
  nation.
• 36:45
  And this is
• 36:46
  when Elijah
• 36:46
  is getting
• 36:47
  ready to
• 36:48
  pass on
• 36:49
  being the
• 36:50
  prophet to
• 36:51
  Elisha.
• 36:52
  And
• 36:53
  it's an
• 36:54
  interaction that
• 36:55
  takes place.
• 36:57
  And just
• 36:57
  think about
• 36:57
  the similarities
• 36:59
  between this
• 37:00
  third man that
• 37:00
  Jesus is talking
• 37:01
  to and what
• 37:02
  happens right
• 37:03
  here.
• 37:03
  verse 19.
• 37:06
  So,
• 37:06
  talking about
• 37:07
  Elijah.
• 37:10
  So he
• 37:11
  departed from
• 37:11
  there and
• 37:12
  found Elisha,
• 37:13
  the son of
• 37:14
  Japhat,
• 37:15
  who was
• 37:16
  plowing with
• 37:17
  twelve yoke of
• 37:18
  oxen in front
• 37:18
  of him.
• 37:19
  And he was
• 37:20
  with the
• 37:20
  twelve.
• 37:22
  And Elijah
• 37:22
  passed by him
• 37:23
  and cast his
• 37:24
  cloak upon
• 37:25
  him.
• 37:25
  Kind of a
• 37:26
  symbolic act
• 37:28
  of passing
• 37:28
  it on.
• 37:29
  And he
• 37:30
  left the
• 37:30
  oxen and
• 37:31
  ran after
• 37:31
  Elijah.
• 37:32
  And listen
• 37:32
  to this.
• 37:33
  Let me
• 37:34
  kiss my
• 37:35
  father and
• 37:36
  my mother
• 37:36
  and then
• 37:37
  I'll follow
• 37:37
  you.
• 37:39
  Sound
• 37:39
  familiar?
• 37:40
  And he
• 37:41
  said to
• 37:41
  him,
• 37:41
  Go back
• 37:42
  again,
• 37:42
  for what
• 37:43
  have I
• 37:43
  done to
• 37:43
  you?
• 37:45
  And he
• 37:45
  returned from
• 37:46
  following him
• 37:47
  and took
• 37:47
  the yoke of
• 37:48
  oxen and
• 37:49
  sacrificed
• 37:49
  them and
• 37:50
  boiled their
• 37:51
  flesh with
• 37:52
  the yokes of
• 37:52
  oxen and
• 37:53
  gave it to
• 37:54
  the people and
• 37:55
  they ate.
• 37:56
  Then he
• 37:57
  arose and
• 37:57
  went after
• 37:58
  Elijah and
• 37:59
  assisted him.
• 38:01
  All right.
• 38:02
  Now,
• 38:03
  what's
• 38:03
  different about
• 38:04
  Elisha and
• 38:05
  this third
• 38:05
  man that
• 38:06
  Jesus is
• 38:06
  talking to?
• 38:07
  A big
• 38:08
  difference.
• 38:09
  Elijah did
• 38:10
  go home.
• 38:12
  He says
• 38:12
  farewell to
• 38:13
  his family.
• 38:15
  But then,
• 38:15
  listen to this,
• 38:16
  he sacrifices
• 38:16
  the yoke of
• 38:17
  oxen to
• 38:18
  the Lord.
• 38:19
  And these
• 38:20
  are all
• 38:20
  symbolic acts
• 38:21
  of severing
• 38:22
  himself from
• 38:23
  an old way
• 38:23
  of life to
• 38:25
  start a new
• 38:25
  one.
• 38:26
  He ended
• 38:27
  his livelihood
• 38:27
  in order to
• 38:29
  say, like,
• 38:29
  I'm leaving
• 38:30
  this and I'm
• 38:30
  moving to
• 38:31
  this.
• 38:32
  He had
• 38:32
  nothing to
• 38:32
  go back
• 38:33
  to.
• 38:34
  So he
• 38:34
  just momentarily
• 38:36
  went back
• 38:37
  to cut old
• 38:37
  ties.
• 38:39
  However,
• 38:39
  Jesus clearly
• 38:40
  sees that
• 38:40
  this man
• 38:41
  loves his
• 38:43
  family so
• 38:44
  much that
• 38:45
  though he
• 38:45
  may follow
• 38:46
  him for a
• 38:46
  time, he's
• 38:47
  always going
• 38:48
  to be looking
• 38:48
  back over
• 38:49
  his shoulder
• 38:50
  saying, like,
• 38:51
  I've got to
• 38:52
  go back.
• 38:53
  I can't follow
• 38:54
  you anymore.
• 38:55
  I've got to
• 38:55
  go and be
• 38:56
  with my
• 38:56
  family.
• 38:56
  And, again,
• 38:59
  a superior
• 38:59
  love to
• 39:01
  family is
• 39:02
  what Christ
• 39:02
  calls us
• 39:02
  for.
• 39:04
  He makes
• 39:04
  that analogy
• 39:05
  that, you
• 39:07
  know, most
• 39:07
  of us are
• 39:07
  not familiar
• 39:08
  with plowing
• 39:08
  at all, but
• 39:09
  if you're not
• 39:10
  looking forward,
• 39:11
  you can't
• 39:11
  plow a
• 39:12
  straight line.
• 39:13
  And so he's
• 39:13
  saying, if you're
• 39:14
  always looking
• 39:14
  back, you're
• 39:15
  just going to
• 39:15
  go all over
• 39:16
  the place.
• 39:17
  And so he
• 39:18
  turns this
• 39:19
  man away.
• 39:20
  And Luke,
• 39:22
  always looking
• 39:22
  over his
• 39:23
  shoulder, and
• 39:24
  eventually, where
• 39:25
  he would walk
• 39:25
  away from
• 39:26
  Jesus,
• 39:26
  Jesus.
• 39:27
  So, there
• 39:30
  is urgency
• 39:30
  in following
• 39:31
  Jesus.
• 39:33
  I've used
• 39:34
  this analogy
• 39:34
  before, but
• 39:36
  years ago, when
• 39:37
  I was waiting
• 39:38
  for my lung
• 39:38
  transplant, I
• 39:40
  was getting
• 39:40
  sick and
• 39:42
  sicker and
• 39:42
  sicker, and
• 39:44
  the surgeons
• 39:45
  told me
• 39:46
  basically this,
• 39:49
  look, you're
• 39:50
  very sick.
• 39:51
  You have
• 39:51
  20% of your
• 39:53
  lung function
• 39:53
  going this
• 39:55
  way.
• 39:55
  You're not
• 39:55
  going to make
• 39:56
  it much
• 39:56
  longer.
• 39:56
  You really
• 39:57
  need to
• 39:58
  get a
• 39:59
  transplant.
• 39:59
  There's
• 39:59
  urgency here.
• 40:00
  You need to
• 40:01
  get this
• 40:02
  procedure done.
• 40:04
  And then he
• 40:04
  said, but
• 40:05
  this is a
• 40:06
  huge decision.
• 40:08
  A lot
• 40:08
  goes into
• 40:09
  this.
• 40:09
  There's no
• 40:09
  guarantee that
• 40:10
  you'll even
• 40:10
  survive the
• 40:11
  surgery or
• 40:12
  the recovery.
• 40:14
  You have to
• 40:14
  think about
• 40:16
  this, though.
• 40:16
  You have to
• 40:16
  weigh the
• 40:17
  cost of what
• 40:17
  you're about
• 40:18
  to do.
• 40:19
  So there was
• 40:19
  urgency, but
• 40:21
  there was also
• 40:21
  weigh the cost,
• 40:22
  like in that
• 40:23
  same decision.
• 40:24
  And that's
• 40:25
  what it is.
• 40:26
  Like, are we
• 40:26
  willing to
• 40:27
  say, whatever
• 40:29
  it is, like
• 40:29
  it's urgent, I'm
• 40:30
  going to deal
• 40:31
  with this in my
• 40:31
  life.
• 40:32
  I'm going to
• 40:33
  follow Christ,
• 40:35
  whatever it
• 40:35
  costs.
• 40:38
  Thirdly, this is
• 40:40
  the final point.
• 40:41
  We must weigh
• 40:42
  the worthiness of
• 40:45
  Christ.
• 40:45
  Christ.
• 40:47
  And last
• 40:49
  thing I want
• 40:49
  you to turn
• 40:50
  to, but look
• 40:50
  at Mark
• 40:51
  chapter 10.
• 40:52
  Mark
• 40:53
  chapter 10.
• 40:55
  So, the
• 40:59
  reality is we
• 41:01
  feel like we're
• 41:01
  losing and
• 41:02
  sacrificing so
• 41:03
  much for Jesus,
• 41:04
  but in reality
• 41:06
  we are not.
• 41:08
  Sins forgiven,
• 41:11
  rebellion against
• 41:12
  God, pardoned,
• 41:13
  reconciled to
• 41:16
  God, spared
• 41:17
  His judgment,
• 41:19
  given His
• 41:20
  fellowship, given
• 41:21
  a relationship
• 41:22
  with the
• 41:22
  Creator, an
• 41:24
  eternal life to
• 41:25
  come, eternal
• 41:27
  joy in Christ
• 41:29
  to come.
• 41:31
  If we really
• 41:32
  understood what
• 41:33
  we've gained in
• 41:34
  Christ, we would
• 41:34
  never be able to
• 41:35
  say we sacrificed
• 41:36
  anything, because
• 41:38
  it would be that
• 41:38
  much greater.
• 41:39
  It would be
• 41:39
  infinitely greater
• 41:40
  than anything we
• 41:41
  feel that we've
• 41:42
  lost here.
• 41:42
  only Christ is
• 41:44
  worthy of that.
• 41:46
  So, listen to
• 41:46
  this.
• 41:47
  This is one of
• 41:48
  those moments
• 41:48
  when the
• 41:50
  disciples are
• 41:50
  being very, you
• 41:52
  know, self-pity,
• 41:53
  like, well, we've
• 41:53
  done so much for
• 41:54
  you.
• 41:55
  And Luke, or
• 41:56
  excuse me, Mark
• 41:57
  10, verse 26,
• 41:59
  says, they were
• 42:01
  exceedingly
• 42:02
  astonished and
• 42:03
  said to Jesus,
• 42:04
  who then can be
• 42:05
  saved?
• 42:06
  And Jesus
• 42:07
  looked at them
• 42:08
  and said,
• 42:09
  with man it is
• 42:10
  impossible, but
• 42:11
  not with God.
• 42:13
  For all things
• 42:14
  are possible
• 42:15
  with God.
• 42:16
  This is after he
• 42:16
  turned that man
• 42:17
  away.
• 42:19
  Peter, of course
• 42:20
  it would be
• 42:20
  Peter, right?
• 42:21
  Peter began to
• 42:22
  say to him,
• 42:23
  see, we have
• 42:24
  left everything
• 42:25
  and followed
• 42:26
  you.
• 42:28
  Like, we've
• 42:28
  sacrificed
• 42:29
  everything, Lord.
• 42:31
  And Jesus
• 42:31
  said to him,
• 42:32
  truly, I say
• 42:33
  to you, there
• 42:34
  is no one who
• 42:35
  has left house,
• 42:37
  our brothers,
• 42:38
  our sisters,
• 42:39
  our mother,
• 42:40
  our father,
• 42:40
  our children,
• 42:41
  our lands,
• 42:42
  for the sake,
• 42:43
  for my sake,
• 42:44
  and for the
• 42:45
  gospel.
• 42:46
  Who will not
• 42:47
  receive a hundred
• 42:48
  fold now in
• 42:49
  this life,
• 42:50
  houses,
• 42:51
  brothers and
• 42:52
  sisters,
• 42:52
  mothers,
• 42:53
  children and
• 42:53
  lands,
• 42:54
  with persecutions
• 42:56
  in the age to
• 42:56
  come, eternal
• 42:57
  life.
• 42:59
  So, his
• 43:00
  response seems
• 43:01
  to indicate,
• 43:02
  this is how I'm
• 43:04
  going to rule out
• 43:05
  this idea that
• 43:06
  you're losing
• 43:06
  something,
• 43:07
  that you've
• 43:08
  sacrificed
• 43:08
  something.
• 43:10
  He's saying
• 43:10
  you're denying
• 43:11
  yourself like
• 43:12
  little finite
• 43:13
  things here in
• 43:14
  order to gain
• 43:14
  something that is
• 43:15
  far greater.
• 43:16
  And the fact
• 43:17
  that you know
• 43:18
  me and that
• 43:18
  you have
• 43:19
  eternal life
• 43:19
  is going to
• 43:21
  be so great,
• 43:22
  so glorious,
• 43:23
  that you
• 43:24
  would not even
• 43:24
  begin to ever
• 43:25
  say, I
• 43:26
  sacrifice to
• 43:27
  follow Jesus.
• 43:29
  Surely what he
• 43:30
  means is that he
• 43:31
  himself makes
• 43:32
  up infinite
• 43:33
  times over for
• 43:34
  every sacrifice.
• 43:35
  sacrifice.
• 43:36
  Jesus wants
• 43:37
  us to think
• 43:38
  about sacrifice
• 43:39
  in a way that
• 43:40
  rules out self-pity.
• 43:42
  Deny yourself
• 43:43
  garbage here so
• 43:44
  you could have
• 43:44
  gold later.
• 43:45
  That's like what
• 43:46
  he's almost
• 43:46
  saying.
• 43:47
  Don't throw
• 43:48
  away your life
• 43:49
  over things that
• 43:49
  don't matter and
• 43:50
  perish.
• 43:52
  So, I wanted
• 43:54
  to read this
• 43:56
  in closing,
• 43:58
  but this is
• 43:59
  an Iranian
• 44:01
  pastor who
• 44:04
  converted to
• 44:05
  Christianity
• 44:05
  from Islam
• 44:06
  and he
• 44:08
  has a church
• 44:09
  in Amsterdam
• 44:10
  now and
• 44:12
  predominantly
• 44:13
  made up of
• 44:15
  people from
• 44:16
  Africa and
• 44:16
  Asia and
• 44:17
  Amsterdam.
• 44:18
  And listen to
• 44:18
  this, his
• 44:20
  main goal is
• 44:21
  to train
• 44:21
  missionaries to
• 44:22
  reach the
• 44:23
  West, to
• 44:24
  come to
• 44:24
  America and
• 44:25
  to come to
• 44:26
  the places
• 44:27
  where supposedly
• 44:28
  there's a lot
• 44:28
  of Christians
• 44:29
  and really to
• 44:30
  say, look,
• 44:31
  we're bringing
• 44:31
  the gospel to
• 44:32
  you guys.
• 44:33
  So, this
• 44:36
  is what he
• 44:36
  was asked
• 44:37
  the question,
• 44:38
  why are so
• 44:39
  many American
• 44:39
  churches not
• 44:40
  really doing
• 44:41
  well?
• 44:41
  Why are we
• 44:42
  failing?
• 44:44
  Why are we
• 44:44
  not really
• 44:45
  growing?
• 44:45
  Why are we
• 44:46
  stagnant?
• 44:47
  And he
• 44:49
  said a few
• 44:50
  things.
• 44:52
  This is what
• 44:52
  he said.
• 44:54
  Number one,
• 44:56
  we must
• 44:56
  embrace the
• 44:57
  miraculous.
• 44:58
  Because America
• 44:59
  has so many
• 45:00
  comforts,
• 45:00
  people don't
• 45:01
  see the
• 45:02
  need for
• 45:03
  God to
• 45:03
  act in
• 45:04
  the miraculous
• 45:04
  way.
• 45:05
  In Africa
• 45:06
  and other
• 45:07
  places where
• 45:07
  there are
• 45:07
  few hospitals
• 45:08
  and churches
• 45:09
  for healing,
• 45:11
  but the
• 45:12
  truth is that
• 45:13
  we need the
• 45:13
  Holy Spirit
• 45:14
  like never
• 45:15
  before.
• 45:17
  We can't
• 45:18
  just have
• 45:18
  great buildings
• 45:19
  and wonderful
• 45:20
  social gatherings
• 45:21
  and miss the
• 45:22
  Holy Spirit.
• 45:24
  A church
• 45:24
  without the
• 45:25
  Spirit's power
• 45:26
  will not
• 45:27
  save the
• 45:28
  world.
• 45:28
  number two,
• 45:32
  this is
• 45:33
  convicting.
• 45:35
  We must
• 45:36
  reject Hollywood
• 45:37
  tendencies.
• 45:39
  Some churches
• 45:39
  in the United
• 45:40
  States look
• 45:40
  more like
• 45:41
  they're sponsoring
• 45:41
  fashion shows
• 45:42
  or TV
• 45:43
  programs.
• 45:44
  This is a
• 45:45
  bad example
• 45:45
  to churches
• 45:46
  in other
• 45:47
  nations.
• 45:48
  And I know
• 45:48
  that some
• 45:49
  foreign churches
• 45:49
  are now copying
• 45:50
  this flashy
• 45:51
  American style.
• 45:53
  For example,
• 45:53
  in some
• 45:54
  African countries,
• 45:55
  some pastors
• 45:56
  have started
• 45:56
  imitating this
• 45:57
  Hollywood style
• 45:58
  by manipulating
• 45:59
  people to
• 46:00
  get money.
• 46:02
  I was
• 46:02
  shocked to
• 46:03
  hear that
• 46:03
  one pastor
• 46:04
  in a
• 46:04
  developing
• 46:04
  country
• 46:05
  recently
• 46:06
  began
• 46:07
  dealing
• 46:07
  in a
• 46:08
  stolen
• 46:08
  luxury
• 46:09
  car so
• 46:09
  he can
• 46:10
  make
• 46:10
  money
• 46:11
  for
• 46:11
  himself
• 46:12
  and
• 46:12
  appear
• 46:13
  successful.
• 46:15
  Number
• 46:16
  three,
• 46:17
  we must
• 46:18
  forsake
• 46:19
  our pride.
• 46:21
  Outsiders
• 46:21
  do not
• 46:22
  read our
• 46:22
  doctrines
• 46:23
  or our
• 46:23
  bulletin
• 46:23
  boards.
• 46:24
  They read
• 46:24
  our character
• 46:25
  and our
• 46:26
  lives.
• 46:26
  When people
• 46:28
  see that
• 46:28
  we live
• 46:28
  a dual
• 46:29
  life,
• 46:30
  why would
• 46:30
  they bother
• 46:31
  to be a
• 46:31
  part of
• 46:32
  the church?
• 46:33
  And this
• 46:33
  is how
• 46:34
  he sums
• 46:34
  it up.
• 46:35
  I wish
• 46:36
  that my
• 46:37
  American
• 46:38
  brothers and
• 46:39
  sisters
• 46:39
  realized how
• 46:40
  hurtful it
• 46:41
  is to the
• 46:42
  cause of
• 46:43
  Christ when
• 46:43
  they focus
• 46:44
  so much
• 46:44
  on material
• 46:45
  things.
• 46:46
  I am
• 46:47
  not against
• 46:48
  beauty of
• 46:49
  things and
• 46:49
  having things,
• 46:50
  but why does
• 46:51
  a preacher
• 46:51
  need a
• 46:52
  limousine
• 46:53
  instead of a
• 46:54
  normal car?
• 46:54
  must
• 46:56
  preachers
• 46:57
  have a
• 46:57
  huge
• 46:58
  entourage
• 46:58
  in order
• 46:59
  to enter
• 47:00
  conferences
• 47:00
  and churches?
• 47:01
  God is
• 47:02
  fed up
• 47:03
  with all
• 47:03
  these
• 47:03
  things.
• 47:04
  We cannot
• 47:05
  transform
• 47:05
  others if
• 47:06
  we
• 47:06
  ourselves
• 47:07
  are not
• 47:07
  transformed.
• 47:10
  So,
• 47:10
  for those
• 47:11
  of you
• 47:11
  here who
• 47:13
  are without
• 47:13
  Christ,
• 47:14
  know that
• 47:14
  the offer
• 47:15
  of salvation
• 47:16
  is completely
• 47:18
  a gift
• 47:18
  of God's
• 47:19
  grace in
• 47:20
  Christ.
• 47:20
  So come
• 47:20
  to him,
• 47:22
  surrender
• 47:22
  your life
• 47:22
  to him,
• 47:23
  but know
• 47:23
  it's going
• 47:23
  to cost
• 47:24
  you.
• 47:24
  If you
• 47:24
  really are
• 47:25
  following
• 47:25
  him,
• 47:26
  as we
• 47:27
  read,
• 47:27
  all those
• 47:28
  who desire
• 47:29
  to live a
• 47:29
  godly life
• 47:30
  in Christ
• 47:31
  Jesus will
• 47:31
  be persecuted.
• 47:35
  And for
• 47:35
  believers,
• 47:37
  this was
• 47:37
  something that
• 47:39
  I've thought
• 47:39
  about over
• 47:39
  the years.
• 47:41
  A long
• 47:41
  time ago,
• 47:43
  an abbot,
• 47:44
  or kind
• 47:45
  of like a
• 47:45
  monk,
• 47:47
  was asked,
• 47:47
  you know,
• 47:49
  after your
• 47:49
  life's over,
• 47:50
  like,
• 47:50
  what if you
• 47:50
  realized that
• 47:51
  there really
• 47:51
  was no
• 47:52
  God?
• 47:52
  Like,
• 47:52
  you surrendered
• 47:53
  your whole
• 47:53
  life to
• 47:53
  being in
• 47:54
  a monastery
• 47:55
  to have
• 47:55
  a quiet
• 47:56
  life?
• 47:57
  What if
• 47:57
  you realized
• 47:58
  at the
• 47:58
  very end
• 47:59
  there was
• 47:59
  no God?
• 48:00
  Would you
• 48:00
  consider it
• 48:01
  to be like
• 48:01
  a wasted
• 48:02
  life?
• 48:04
  And the
• 48:04
  abbot replied
• 48:05
  this,
• 48:06
  holiness and
• 48:07
  silence are
• 48:09
  beautiful in
• 48:10
  themselves,
• 48:11
  even without
• 48:12
  the promise
• 48:12
  of reward.
• 48:13
  I still
• 48:14
  would have
• 48:14
  used my
• 48:15
  life the
• 48:15
  same way.
• 48:17
  Like,
• 48:17
  meaning,
• 48:18
  I've
• 48:19
  lived a
• 48:19
  life of
• 48:20
  peace and
• 48:21
  solitude
• 48:22
  and beauty
• 48:23
  and even
• 48:25
  if this
• 48:25
  turned out
• 48:25
  to be a
• 48:26
  hoax,
• 48:26
  I would
• 48:26
  say it
• 48:27
  was a
• 48:27
  good life.
• 48:28
  How many
• 48:29
  of you
• 48:29
  could say
• 48:30
  that?
• 48:31
  But here's
• 48:32
  the staggering
• 48:33
  difference,
• 48:34
  very different
• 48:35
  from what
• 48:36
  the apostle
• 48:36
  Paul said.
• 48:38
  He's
• 48:39
  basically
• 48:39
  talking about
• 48:39
  the resurrection
• 48:40
  in 1 Corinthians
• 48:42
  15.
• 48:44
  This is what
• 48:44
  he said.
• 48:45
  This is how
• 48:45
  different it is
• 48:46
  from what the
• 48:46
  abbot said.
• 48:47
  If in
• 48:48
  Christ we
• 48:50
  have only
• 48:51
  hoped in
• 48:52
  this life,
• 48:53
  we above
• 48:53
  all people
• 48:54
  are to be
• 48:55
  most pitied.
• 48:56
  Like,
• 48:57
  we have
• 48:57
  thrown
• 48:59
  ourselves to
• 49:00
  slaughter and
• 49:01
  torture for
• 49:01
  Christ.
• 49:02
  Pity us if
• 49:03
  this wasn't
• 49:04
  true.
• 49:06
  Not,
• 49:06
  well,
• 49:07
  it was a
• 49:07
  good life
• 49:07
  anyway.
• 49:09
  And I
• 49:09
  hope that
• 49:10
  all of us,
• 49:11
  you and
• 49:12
  me,
• 49:13
  can say,
• 49:14
  like,
• 49:14
  I really
• 49:15
  sacrificed to
• 49:16
  follow Christ.
• 49:17
  And then in
• 49:18
  doing so,
• 49:18
  you're
• 49:19
  enlightened and
• 49:19
  you see,
• 49:20
  like,
• 49:20
  I really
• 49:20
  didn't
• 49:21
  sacrifice
• 49:21
  anything
• 49:22
  because of
• 49:23
  how much
• 49:23
  I've
• 49:23
  gained
• 49:24
  in Christ.
• 49:27
  Join me
• 49:28
  in prayer.