1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:10,110 Chapter 1, Mark Chapter 1, It's a privilege to be in God's house 2 00:00:10,110 --> 00:00:13,550 this morning. And boy, I think it's, I've said 3 00:00:13,550 --> 00:00:16,149 this many times, but I think we take it for granted so often. 4 00:00:16,590 --> 00:00:19,550 What an opportunity that we have to, to be in God's house and to 5 00:00:19,550 --> 00:00:21,270 open his word. And I'm telling there's, there's 6 00:00:21,270 --> 00:00:23,830 people all around the world today that would love to have 7 00:00:23,830 --> 00:00:25,550 the opportunity that we have right now. 8 00:00:26,590 --> 00:00:28,990 They're meeting in China and, and other places where they have 9 00:00:28,990 --> 00:00:32,400 to meet underground and they have to hide the fact that 10 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,840 they're going to church and they don't have Bibles because 11 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:36,240 there's no Bibles available to them. 12 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:38,120 What a what a tremendous privilege that we have. 13 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,880 I hope you never take it for granted, but in Mark chapter 14 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:48,360 one, we have obviously the beginning of this book and the 15 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,680 disciples are are being called for the first time and we picked 16 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,680 this up. I just want to read a few verses 17 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,600 here in Mark chapter #1 and let's start in verse #16 18 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,120 obviously talking about Jesus. Now as he walked by the Sea of 19 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,560 Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into 20 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:09,000 the sea, For they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come 21 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,320 ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 22 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,280 And straightway they forsook their Nets, and followed him. 23 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,120 And when he had gone a little farther, thence he saw James the 24 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:21,200 son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the 25 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,040 ship mending their Nets. And straightway he called them 26 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,160 and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the 27 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,560 hired servants and one after him. 28 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,600 And we hear a lot about discipleship and not not that 29 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,640 that's a bad thing, but you know, many churches have 30 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,800 discipleship classes and and they have conferences on 31 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,520 discipleship. And I'm for that. 32 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:41,720 I don't. I don't have anything. 33 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:44,360 Against that at all, obviously we do a lot of that ourselves. 34 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,680 We have a lot of books that are written about discipleship. 35 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:49,840 I have a whole section of books on my shelf that's all dealing 36 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:51,960 with discipleship. We are going through our one 37 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,280 year discipleship course on Wednesday nights right now. 38 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,720 So I'm in favor of discipleship. I'm in favor from books about 39 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,440 discipleship, but here in our text, we're given one of the 40 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,760 clearest and probably the most powerful picture of discipleship 41 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,360 in all of the Bible. And this is, this is not 42 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:09,280 complicated. It's not, it's not theoretical, 43 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,240 it's not a program, it's not a book that somebody wrote to take 44 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,480 you through it. It's a response to a person, 45 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,080 capital P. And we have that response in 46 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:20,240 Mark chapter 1. And this will be our text here 47 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,880 in verse #18. And straightway they forsook 48 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,720 their Nets and followed him. Let me say before we we get any 49 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,000 further into the message that there's a difference between 50 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,840 interest and commitment. There's a difference between 51 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,240 interest and commitment. A man that says he has an 52 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,640 interest in getting in shape is going to go out and buy a pair 53 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:45,080 of shoes and maybe some workout clothes and maybe even a 54 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,680 membership to the gym. He's going to start watching 55 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,080 some videos on how to work out and how to do those things the 56 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:52,480 best. But if he never changes his 57 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,720 diet, he never shows up at at 5:00 AM for a workout like he's 58 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,600 supposed to, that's a man that's interested in getting in shape, 59 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:01,560 but he's not committed to getting in shape. 60 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,160 The man that's committed to getting in shape is the one who 61 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,480 involved who who who changes his entire schedule. 62 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,680 He structures his whole life around that goal of getting in 63 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,480 shape. The the Winter Olympics. 64 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,080 I think it's a little bit less obvious at the Winter Olympics 65 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,280 than it is at the Summer Olympics, but they work hard to 66 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,880 get into the shape that they're in so they can go and compete 67 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:23,400 for their country. That is, that is a whole group 68 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:24,960 of people. However many athletes, I think 69 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,160 280 something athletes that are there representing their 70 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,440 countries at the Olympics. That is, that is a whole group 71 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:35,120 of people that have structured their entire life around staying 72 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,320 in shape and around working to in their particular discipline 73 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,760 to to be the best that they can be in their field. 74 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,480 That's commitment. There's a difference between 75 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,640 interest and commitment, and a lot of people are interested and 76 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,760 being disciples, but very few are committed to being disciples 77 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,960 of Jesus Christ. In our text, these men didn't 78 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,280 attend a seminar on how to be fishers of men. 79 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,720 They didn't take notes on the call of Christ. 80 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,360 They moved immediately. The Bible says, and this verse 81 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,320 gives us exactly what discipleship is. 82 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,200 And there are three elements that I see in this verse this 83 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,600 morning that are essential marks of a true disciple. 84 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,360 And if these if these three things that we're going to look 85 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,839 at this morning are not present in somebody's life or in a 86 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,200 church or wherever it happens to be, we may have church 87 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:27,040 membership, we may have religion, we may have activity, 88 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,840 but we don't have discipleship. And so I want to preach a 89 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:32,880 message to you this morning on true discipleship. 90 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,200 And I want to look at three things in this passage that are 91 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,640 vital to us being disciples of Jesus Christ. 92 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:41,160 Let's pray and then we'll look at these things this morning. 93 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,240 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us and 94 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,800 thank you for the opportunity and for the privilege that we do 95 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,160 have of being able to gather around your word this morning. 96 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:50,760 May it be a help to us. God, I pray that you'd help us 97 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:53,600 all to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. 98 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,480 I ask for your blessing on the message for your power and 99 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,880 preaching it, and I ask for those who are listening this 100 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,640 morning to hear it in the way that you want them to hear it 101 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,640 and to speak to hearts and only the way that the Holy Spirit 102 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:06,920 can. And God, I pray that you would 103 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,280 move us into action this morning to being true disciples for you. 104 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:13,360 Thank you again for all that you do for us in Jesus name, Amen. 105 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,080 I want you to see first of all, that if you're going to be a 106 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,720 true disciple of Jesus Christ, it's going to involve fervency, 107 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,320 verse 18 and, and, and put a bookmark there or something. 108 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,240 We're going to be jumping around a little bit, but we're going to 109 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,000 come back to Mark chapter 1 and verse #18. 110 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,280 But the Bible says, and there's just one word right there. 111 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:35,960 And straightway that word straightway means to do 112 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,920 something immediately or without delay. 113 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,240 When Jesus called these men, now we know them as the disciples 114 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,880 today, they became the apostles. But there was a lot of disciples 115 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,640 of Jesus Christ, people who Jesus called, who answered that 116 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,120 call. But here these men. 117 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:54,040 There was no hesitation with them. 118 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,560 Jesus called and straightway, immediately, they got up and 119 00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,800 they followed Jesus. There was no negotiation. 120 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,040 Well, what are you going to do for us if we decide to follow 121 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,320 you? What's in it for me? 122 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:05,960 What? What can I get out of it? 123 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,800 You're calling me to be a disciple. 124 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:09,880 This is obviously something that you want me to do. 125 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,200 What's what's in it for me? What can I get out of this? 126 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,480 There was no negotiation. When Jesus called, they moved. 127 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:17,720 They were not putting things off until they could get into a 128 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:23,600 better situation financially. The true discipleship looks like 129 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:25,320 exactly what we see happening here. 130 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:29,360 And straightway, immediately Jesus called them, they went. 131 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,360 True discipleship does not procrastinate. 132 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:36,160 Some people may set out to obey God, but later the devil's been 133 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:37,760 using that trick for a long time. 134 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,600 He does it first of all for people who are who need to come 135 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,360 to Christ for salvation, right? He doesn't have any problem with 136 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:47,840 people come in and accepting Jesus. 137 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:49,880 Christ as their Savior as long as they do it later. 138 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,240 And he's going to tell them that yes, you do need Christ. 139 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:56,400 Yes, you do that, that you, you, you need to have your sins 140 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:58,920 forgiven. You need to have them them 141 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:00,640 covered under the blood of Jesus Christ. 142 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,160 You need to to and only Jesus Christ can wash away your sins. 143 00:07:04,280 --> 00:07:07,880 The devils believe in tremble, the Bible says, but I think many 144 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,760 times, especially if somebody sitting in a service or if 145 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,640 somebody is giving them the gospel and they're, they're put 146 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:15,760 to a decision and they're, they're pricked in their heart 147 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:17,920 and they understand, they know that they need to make that 148 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,160 decision for Christ. But the devil comes and says, 149 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:22,560 just do it later. This is not the right time. 150 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:23,640 You got a lot of things going on. 151 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:25,520 Look at all the things that you're going to have to give up 152 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:27,160 if you come to Christ. Look what? 153 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,920 Look what's going to look how your life is going to change 154 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,680 and, and, and, and, and you've got everything that's so nice 155 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,480 and so comfortable right now. If you accept Christ, things are 156 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:37,760 going to be different. You can accept him, but just do 157 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:39,360 it later. Put it off for a little bit 158 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,600 until there's a better time. The devil's been doing that for 159 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:44,480 years. And what happens with most of 160 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:46,680 those people? Is they never come to Christ. 161 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:49,760 They put it off, and they put it off, and they put it off, and 162 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,600 one day they find themselves standing before God because they 163 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,840 died unexpectedly. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, 164 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:00,120 for thou knowest not. Thou knowest not what a day may 165 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:02,080 bring forth. That's what Proverbs tells us. 166 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,080 But he does the same thing. After you're saved, He'll do 167 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,120 everything he can to keep you. From serving the Lord. 168 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,720 Oh, you should serve the Lord. You should do it. 169 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,200 He, he's worthy to be. He's worthy to be served. 170 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,800 He's worthy to be lived for. But just just do it later. 171 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,360 I mean, look, you already got saved, you know that you're on 172 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:22,160 your way to heaven. You know that you can't spend an 173 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,520 eternity in hell because because of that salvation. 174 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:28,720 So yeah, the next step is that you need to start living for the 175 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:30,720 Lord, be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. 176 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,080 But just just do it later. There's plenty of time for that. 177 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:37,799 You go do what you want to do what for yourself first, Then 178 00:08:37,799 --> 00:08:40,280 you can serve God. And a lot of Christians fall for 179 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:45,360 those lies later. I'll pray. 180 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:47,200 More. Later. 181 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:52,120 I'll serve later, I'll surrender later, I'll get very serious 182 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:56,000 about living for God. But true discipleship says now 183 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,720 Ecclesiastes Chapter 9 and verse 10 says whatsoever thy hand 184 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,720 findeth to do, do it with all thy might. 185 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:05,840 That's what he expects us to do immediately. 186 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,600 I was in the EMT for about 5 years in Chesterfield before we 187 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,240 started this church and I. I would have. 188 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:13,760 Continued. There was a lot of continuing 189 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,640 education hours that you had to do and I just didn't think that 190 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,560 I would have the time to do it after, once we got, once we 191 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:24,040 started the church. So I, I, I let my certifications 192 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:26,920 and all that stuff expire, but I wrote out a Chesterfield 19, 193 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,680 Chesterfield Station 19 during that time with Chesterfield Fire 194 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,600 and EMS and, and I would, I would take my computer up there 195 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,360 and get some things done while I was waiting for the, the, the 196 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,080 calls to come out or waiting for the alarm to go off. 197 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:45,160 But you know what I figured out? When the alarm sounds at the 198 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,680 fire station, nobody says, well let let's finish our coffee 199 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:51,520 first. Then, then we'll go to that 200 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,440 call, right? Nobody, the alarm goes off. 201 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,800 Nobody says, let's talk about what we're going to do. 202 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:58,920 And then we'll, then we'll make a decision to decide if it's 203 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,880 worth going to that call or not. No, they don't. 204 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,160 They nobody said, let's take a vote on whether or not we're 205 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:06,480 going to go. Oh, that alarm goes off and 206 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:08,320 whatever you are in the middle of you drop it. 207 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:10,200 And there's been, there was many times when I was sitting up 208 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:11,400 there, we were in the middle of dinner. 209 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,520 The alarm goes off and everybody's like, well, that 210 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,280 figures. Leave everything there and, and, 211 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,800 and jump in the trucks and head out nobody, because that's, 212 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,880 that's exactly what the there were lives at stake. 213 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,200 And, and many times you get there and it wasn't really a big 214 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,080 deal and it wasn't the life and death emergency that the person 215 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,240 thought it was. But it could. 216 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:33,920 Be and there were many times when it was a life and death 217 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,560 situation. And if the firefighters had said 218 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:39,520 this is probably another one of those times when it's not really 219 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,240 an urgent matter. Let's just finish eating 1st and 220 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,720 then we'll go out there and see if this person is still alive or 221 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,000 not. No, but there was an urgency 222 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,240 because lives were on the line. They moved immediately because 223 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:53,440 of what was at stake. And I think the reason why so 224 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,400 many Christians are not fervent is because they've lost the 225 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:01,840 sense that eternity is at stake. Discipleship means that when God 226 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,400 speaks, you move. There are people that are dying 227 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,200 without Christ. There are people that are that 228 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,640 are on their way to hell right now that because you won't 229 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,800 commit to true discipleship, you're interested in it. 230 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:15,240 That's why you're here this morning. 231 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,120 But you won't commit to true discipleship. 232 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,160 And there are people that are dying around you that you have 233 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,440 an opportunity to witness to because you haven't committed 234 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:29,080 your life to Christ. Their eternity is hanging in the 235 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,600 balance. True discipleship doesn't 236 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,840 procrastinate. True discipleship makes use of 237 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,640 the opportunities. See, when when Christ passes by, 238 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:42,080 you cannot assume he's going to pass by again if you don't 239 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,840 answer that call. These fishermen understood 240 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:46,960 something. They may not have the 241 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:49,120 opportunity to follow Christ again. 242 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:54,040 Jesus had walked the shores of Galilee for his entire life 243 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:55,400 growing up. That's where he grew up. 244 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,880 He grew up in Nazareth, right on the shores of Galilee. 245 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:03,520 It's only 60 miles all the way around the entire the Sea of 246 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:05,160 Galilee. I'm sure Jesus had done that 247 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:07,320 many times. He had walked around that sea, 248 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,560 He probably knew that certain area like the back of his hand 249 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:13,600 and he had probably seen those fishermen on that same shore 250 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,760 many times, but today was different. 251 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,600 He walked to them and he said follow me and I'll make you 252 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:23,560 fishers of men. That was their opportunity. 253 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:26,000 That was their window of time that they had to become 254 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,320 disciples of Jesus Christ. The Bible says immediately, 255 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:34,600 straight way they followed him. If they had waited to mend one 256 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:40,000 more net, or waited to make one more sale, or if they had waited 257 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,520 to talk it over amongst themselves and Mull it around in 258 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:45,200 their minds for a while to see if there was some advantage to 259 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,040 following Christ, then very likely they would have missed 260 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:52,080 their calling. Turn over to Mark chapter 10. 261 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,080 You're not too far from there. I want you to think about the 262 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,840 rich young ruler. Young, wealthy, obviously lots 263 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,240 of potential. Obviously a desire to follow 264 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,400 Jesus. He was interested in it because 265 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:09,120 he comes to Jesus and he asked him what he needed to do to be 266 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:12,640 his disciple, and Jesus told him exactly what he needed to do, 267 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:16,120 surrender to Christ. Now for him that looked like 268 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,560 giving up his riches, his riches. 269 00:13:19,680 --> 00:13:22,240 He was very wealthy. That's why he's called the rich 270 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,360 young ruler. But obviously he was interested 271 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:27,000 in being a disciple of Jesus Christ. 272 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,200 He wanted to know, what do I have to do to be a disciple? 273 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,760 But look at what happens in Mark chapter 10 and verse #22 And we 274 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,360 see this parallel passage in almost every, I think, in all of 275 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:40,800 the all three of the other gospels as well. 276 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,560 But Mark chapter 10 and verse 22 says it this way. 277 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:47,360 And he was sad at that. Saying and went away grieved, 278 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:53,480 for he had great possessions. That rich young ruler went away 279 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:58,480 sorrowful, He delayed and that delay became disobedience. 280 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,200 And we have no record in the rest of that Bible that the the 281 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,400 rich young ruler ever came back and, and took advantage of the 282 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,400 opportunity that he had to follow Jesus Christ as a 283 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:11,440 disciple of Jesus Christ. He passed his window of 284 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,480 opportunity. Jesus called him to be a 285 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:15,400 disciple. This is what you need to do. 286 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,720 And he went away sorrowful because he did not do it 287 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,720 immediately. He didn't do it straight way the 288 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,760 way that these fishermen did. And I wonder how many Christians 289 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,080 there are out in the. World today that have every 290 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:29,360 intention of surrendering their lives to Christ, but they waited 291 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,760 because they wanted to see what was going to happen first. 292 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,040 They wanted to see what other opportunities presented 293 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,880 themselves. They wanted to see how this was 294 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,360 going to benefit them before they follow Jesus Christ. 295 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:40,520 And they didn't follow him. And now they're still sitting 296 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,400 maybe even in churches today, maybe still with an interest in 297 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,000 being a disciple of Jesus Christ. 298 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,960 But they missed the opportunity that they had to follow Jesus 299 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:51,680 Christ as a true disciple. Of Jesus Christ because they 300 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:56,280 didn't follow him straightway. They missed their moment. 301 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,760 True discipleship is marked by a spiritual urgency. 302 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:05,600 Turn over to Romans chapter 12. See, our churches are full of 303 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,200 people who are saved but who are not surrendered. 304 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,000 And I dare say that many of our churches are full of people who 305 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,800 are not even saved, first of all. 306 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,800 But those who are saved are not surrendered to doing whatever it 307 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:19,680 is that God wants them to do with their lives. 308 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,880 There's very little zeal. There's very little passion for 309 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,440 the things of God. There's very little urgency. 310 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,040 We'll get them talking about the things that they're interested 311 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,560 in, and they'll talk your ear off about it, start talking 312 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:33,560 about the things of God. And there's just not that much 313 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,040 interest anymore because they have no passion for 314 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,480 discipleship, because they see no urgency. 315 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,440 We're given a list in Romans chapter 12 of the marks of a 316 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:47,360 true Christian, a true disciple. And in verse #11 kind of right 317 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:50,840 in the middle of that list, it says this not slothful in 318 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:55,040 business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. 319 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,280 You cannot be a true disciple of Jesus Christ and be casual about 320 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,800 the things of God. Please understand something this 321 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,920 morning. The the greatest enemy of 322 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,680 discipleship is not rebellion. It is procrastination. 323 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:11,680 Most people that are sitting in churches that are. 324 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:14,640 Saved are not saying no way in the world you're going to get me 325 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,480 to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. 326 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,760 No way I'm going to follow what God wants me to do. 327 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:22,640 No way that I'm going to go anywhere that he wants me to go. 328 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:24,640 No, most people are saying, you know what? 329 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,840 I need to do that I need to, I need to surrender. 330 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:29,320 I need to do what God wants me to do. 331 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,040 I need to live for him. But I've just got so many things 332 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,600 going on right now that that's going to have to wait. 333 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,720 And they procrastinate, and they procrastinate, and they put it 334 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,320 off, and they put it off until it's too late to do what God 335 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,280 called. Them to do we're not following, 336 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,560 we're not not following God because we hate the Bible or 337 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,920 because we hate prayer or we hate souls, but we've just a lot 338 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,080 of other things that we allow to get in the way. 339 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,760 We have a lot of other things that we want to accomplish 340 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:59,000 first. Once I get my things done, then 341 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:03,560 I can turn and focus on some of the other things of God, but 342 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,280 that's not how discipleship works. 343 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:07,839 When God says pray, do it straight way. 344 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:11,760 When God says serve, do it straight way. 345 00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:15,000 When God says give, do it straight way. 346 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,599 When God says go, do it straight way. 347 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,599 That's what a true discipleship, a true disciple does. 348 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,240 That's what true discipleship looks like. 349 00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:26,680 There's a fervency to. It there's a there's an 350 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,760 immediacy to it, a true disciple will be marked. 351 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,080 By Fervency, but also I want you to see this go back over to Mark 352 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:38,000 Chapter 1. True discipleship is not just 353 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,800 marked by fervency, it's also marked by forsaking. 354 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:46,400 The Bible says in Mark chapter 1 and verse #18 and straightway 355 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,000 they forsook their. Nets. 356 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,040 They did it immediately, but they forsook some things. 357 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:57,040 They were hindering them from being true disciples of Jesus 358 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,480 Christ. Discipleship always costs 359 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,520 something because discipleship requires sacrifice. 360 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:07,440 And that's what most people. Are not willing to part with 361 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:14,520 turn over to Luke chapter 14. Salvation is free but 362 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:16,120 discipleship will cost you everything. 363 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,240 These fishermen that became disciples of Jesus did not 364 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,520 adjust their schedule to fit Jesus. 365 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,880 In they say, well, yes, discipleship is important. 366 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:30,160 So I'm going to I'm going to do a little bit of that here and 367 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:32,840 there. They abandoned everything to 368 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,120 follow Christ. Their Nets were their. 369 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:38,480 Livelihood that was their that was their income, that was their 370 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:40,600 future. And yet they laid them down 371 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:45,720 because Christ called them. You think about the sacrifice 372 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:48,160 that they made. They walked away from all of it. 373 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,200 It's not like they had insurance so that if they if they ever 374 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,560 lost their job, they would get compensated for it. 375 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:57,680 They didn't have that. They didn't. 376 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:00,600 They didn't have bank accounts that had four O 1 KS in them 377 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:02,680 that they were going to live off of for the rest of their lives. 378 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,760 They had the little jangling bag of money that they carried with 379 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:07,480 them and that was probably about it. 380 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:11,880 But they didn't say, well, well, OK, we'll follow you. 381 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:14,280 But you got to explain how all this is going to work out. 382 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,800 You got to tell me how this how this whole thing ends if I if I 383 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,280 surrender and if I follow you and if I forsake these things 384 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,640 and tell me how we're going to be taken care of. 385 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,400 I got to make sure that that everything's lined up before I 386 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,600 agree to do this. They didn't. 387 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,000 They just forsook everything. That was everything that they 388 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,640 had, That was everything that they lived for. 389 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:38,480 That was everything that kept them alive. 390 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:43,600 They didn't. They forsook all of it. 391 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:46,080 Here's what you have to understand. 392 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,800 You cannot follow Christ and hold on to everything else. 393 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,920 Jesus was teaching a great multitude on discipleship in 394 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,880 Luke chapter 14. And this is the conclusion that 395 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,480 Jesus came to after he was talking to them for a while 396 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:02,840 about this in verse #33 He says this. 397 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:09,080 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that 398 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:14,800 he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 399 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,520 Think about the the, the, the ramifications of that. 400 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,560 Think about the, the, the, the seriousness of that. 401 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,280 Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, 402 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:30,400 he cannot be my disciple. He doesn't say should not be my 403 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,120 disciple. He says cannot be my disciple. 404 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,320 So many Christians want to add Jesus Christ to their life 405 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,480 without subtracting anything else. 406 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:44,480 But discipleship always involves surrender. 407 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,880 Discipleship always involves surrender. 408 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,520 Being a true disciple of Jesus Christ means you have to abandon 409 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,000 some of the dreams that you think you have for yourself. 410 00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:00,040 Being a true disciple means you have to abandon some of the 411 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,520 things that you think you are good at, to follow Christ and to 412 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:08,280 do His work. I always hesitate to use myself 413 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,640 an example because I don't want you to get the wrong idea that 414 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:12,920 I'm up here thinking that I'm the model Christian or I'm the 415 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,120 one that everybody should follow, that I have everything 416 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,880 figured out. I use personal examples 417 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,120 sometimes to show you that I'm doing my best to practice what I 418 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,200 preach, but also that I don't live in a vacuum of church. 419 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,960 I understand what life is like in the real world outside of 420 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:30,320 church. So there's a lot of things that 421 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,080 I think that I could be doing and this is in my own mind, but 422 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,560 there's a lot of things that I think I could be doing besides 423 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:40,120 standing behind this pulpit. I wanted to be in the military 424 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:41,640 and I think I'd have been decent at it. 425 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,600 I love the the police side of things and I think that's 426 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,680 something I'd really enjoy. Have a mind at least a little 427 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,000 bit for business when it comes to, to being a, you know, doing 428 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:57,080 entrepreneurial type things. Those are things that I, that I 429 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,760 think I could succeed at if I stepped out of the pulpit and 430 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:01,560 went right into those things. Now, I don't know. 431 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:04,480 I'm, I'm, I'm not saying that I've got all these talents and 432 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:06,560 these abilities and everything else, but they're things that, 433 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:10,600 that their interests that I have and things that, that I feel 434 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,320 like I might be OK at. But Jesus called me to be a 435 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,520 disciple and I'm so glad that I answered that call. 436 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:21,800 I don't make a lot of money. I don't have the money to do 437 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:23,600 anything and everything that I want to do. 438 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:26,640 I can't just go buy something because I feel like I want. 439 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,000 I can't drive whatever I want to drive. 440 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:31,880 I don't have a bunch of money sitting in a, in a, in a, in a 441 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,280 savings account somewhere just waiting for me to finally retire 442 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,760 and go enjoy life somewhere I don't have. 443 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:41,200 Those are things that you give up when you decide to become a 444 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,640 disciple of Jesus Christ. But there is no life that I 445 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,360 would rather be living than the life that I'm living for Jesus 446 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:50,880 Christ right now. I'm leaving tomorrow morning to 447 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,360 go down to Belize, and I wish it was for a vacation. 448 00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,840 It's not. But I will say it's going to be 449 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,200 82° in Belize and you're going to be cold here. 450 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,480 So at least there's that. But we're going down to sign the 451 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,640 contracts on this, on this missions property to see what 452 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,120 God will do with a bunch of disciples who are willing to 453 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:11,680 surrender themselves to do whatever it is that God wants 454 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,480 them to do. And who knows how many souls are 455 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:16,240 going to be saved as a result of this. 456 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,440 And, and there's a bunch of you that have gone down there with 457 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,360 me to Belize and have seen the ministry and have seen the 458 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,360 potential, have seen what God can do. 459 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,720 And a lot of you have been willing to be a part of those 460 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:28,680 things. It's an amazing thing. 461 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,160 The more that's that's more exciting than making triple what 462 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:33,600 my salary. Is right now. 463 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,040 Because I know this, that one day when I stand before God, I 464 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,320 want to he. He might come back today and I 465 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,800 hope he does. And all of these things that 466 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:43,880 we're working on are not going to be, they're not going to 467 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,680 count for anything necessarily because he's coming back and, 468 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:48,880 and everything can just go on the way that it is. 469 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,120 I'll be in heaven. But when he comes back, I want 470 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:54,960 him to find me with my shoulder to the to the plow and just 471 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,400 pushing forward as far and as fast as I can for Christ. 472 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,960 I don't know what opportunities I have left. 473 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,640 I want to make it count for Christ. 474 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:06,720 And one of these days when I'm gone, it doesn't matter how much 475 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,240 money I had in my bank account. It doesn't matter what my house 476 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:10,560 look like. It doesn't matter what kind of 477 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:12,560 car I drive. It doesn't matter whether I was 478 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,680 successful in business or in the military or in anything else 479 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:17,560 that I feel like I could accomplish something in. 480 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,600 Those things are going to count for nothing. 481 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,680 Only what we do for Christ is what's going to matter. 482 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,920 Only what we do for Christ is what's going to count for 483 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:27,680 something. And I want to be able to take 484 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,760 all those things and give it to him and say, I surrendered some 485 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,840 things in my life that I wish I could have had. 486 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,480 I gave up some things that I thought would be enjoyable, but 487 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,640 here's what I got to replace it and I'm giving it back to you. 488 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:43,840 That's what true discipleship gives you when you're willing to 489 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:45,520 surrender those things to Christ. 490 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,080 God's opening a lot of doors with the with the police work, 491 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,720 it's opened a lot of doors in this church. 492 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,760 I just, I just told my wife yesterday we were talking about, 493 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,840 I said, I have a lot of things in my plate right now and none 494 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:01,320 of it's bringing in any money. But that's not what it's about. 495 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,160 I wanted to be I want to be surrendered to Christ into his 496 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:08,360 work. And I've said this, I and and I 497 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:11,240 know that that a lot of you look at things and you say, well, 498 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:12,760 he's just you got. I don't know how you get the 499 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:16,680 things done that you get done and, and God works all of those 500 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,280 things out. There are a lot of things that 501 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,520 we're working on, but. Here's, here's something that I, 502 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,120 that I, I don't even know where I came up with this or, or when, 503 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:29,880 but I think when you're younger, you have a lot of energy and 504 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:33,240 very little wisdom and you think you're smart, you think you know 505 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,080 everything. And then you look back 20 years 506 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:39,800 later and you realize how little you actually know, right. 507 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,640 And I'll probably look back in 20 years and think, man, I 508 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,200 really didn't know anything then either. 509 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:47,560 My father-in-law always used to say that you don't have any 510 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:50,920 sense until you're 40 and you're not guaranteed any after that. 511 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,720 But when you're young, you have a lot of energy and not a lot of 512 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:56,000 wisdom. When you're old, you have a lot 513 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,360 of wisdom and no energy, right? I think you have a little. 514 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:02,560 Window in there. Where you have the. 515 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,720 Most energy and the most wisdom that you're going to have at the 516 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,600 same time. And I'm in that window right now 517 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,560 and I'm trying to make it count because one of these days I'm 518 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,400 not going to have the energy to be able to do the things that 519 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,760 we're doing right now. We're trying to make it count 520 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:18,800 for Christ while we have the opportunity to do it. 521 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,120 And boy, I hope he comes back at the end of that window so I 522 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,240 don't have to lose all my energy and know all the things that I 523 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,720 should have done that I didn't do because I had, you know, I 524 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:28,880 had no wisdom and no knowledge of how to do it. 525 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:32,560 But I tell you this, these fishermen, they forsook more 526 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:34,760 than just their Nets. Go back over to Mark chapter 527 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,680 one. Oh, it's easy to to say, you 528 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,360 know, I'll give my life for Christ and, and I'll give up my 529 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:43,440 livelihood and I'll, I'll go surrender and I'll, if God wants 530 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:45,480 me to go to the mission field, I'll go to the mission field. 531 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,080 If God wants me to do this or that or whatever, I'll do it. 532 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,160 Easy to say that, hard to do it. But that's just that's just 533 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,080 giving up the livelihood. That's just giving up the 534 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:56,600 prospects of having hundreds of thousands of dollars in your 535 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:59,360 bank account, right? That's, that's all that's given 536 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:01,080 up. Look they these disciples in 537 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:05,400 Mark chapter one verse #20 and straightway he called them, and 538 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,200 they left their father Zebedee in the ship. 539 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,160 With the hired servants, it's kind of funny to me because I 540 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,560 can see Zebedee sitting there after they left saying what in 541 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,880 the world just happened? I had all my I had all my kids 542 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:19,280 around me. They were helping me work in 543 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,080 this in this business. And this guy comes along and 544 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:24,040 says come follow me. And now I don't have any help. 545 00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,000 What what what just happened? Just sitting there in the ship 546 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:27,920 by himself? They. 547 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,760 Didn't just leave their Nets. They left their relationships, 548 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,920 they left their reputations, they left their comfort, they 549 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,840 left their familiarity. They left everything to follow 550 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,520 Christ. Turn over to Luke chapter. 14 551 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,040 Again, this is what Jesus has to say about it. 552 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:59,960 Luke chapter 14, verse #26. If any man come after me, sorry. 553 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:06,320 If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and 554 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:12,320 wife and children and brethren and sisters, yeah, and his own 555 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,520 life also, he cannot be my disciple. 556 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:20,080 And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot 557 00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:24,400 be my disciple. Anything that comes before 558 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:29,720 Christ must be left behind if you're going to be a true 559 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:32,880 disciple of Jesus Christ. So what keeps Christians from 560 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,080 discipleship today? Comfort. 561 00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:38,560 I like my life, I like where I'm at. 562 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,400 I like how easy everything is in America. 563 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:44,520 Convenience. I don't want to be 564 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,760 inconvenienced. I don't want to. 565 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,360 I don't want to sit in a house with no AC in it. 566 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:52,720 I don't want to not have money to buy the things that I want to 567 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:54,680 have. I don't want to not be able to 568 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,960 do this or do that. I like my possessions and my 569 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,680 conveniences. Career. 570 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,600 Hey, when I, when I get all done with everything that I want to 571 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:05,000 accomplish in my life, then I'll give the rest of my life to 572 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:07,560 living for the Lord. You're going to give them the 573 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:09,360 broken down pieces that are left. 574 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,560 So it's going to happen and you're going to do everything 575 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:14,400 for yourself and you're going to look back and you're going to 576 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:21,040 say wish I'd done more for Christ because now I'm old and 577 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:23,200 now I'm wise enough to understand that I should have 578 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,720 given my life to Christ, but I don't have the energy left to do 579 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,040 it. And all I got left is these few 580 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:30,440 broken pieces that I can give him for a couple years. 581 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,400 You're going to wish, you're going to wish that you had 582 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,520 surrendered your life to Christ. Oh, a lot of people want to 583 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:39,840 follow Christ as long as it costs them nothing. 584 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,120 There's always a cross before there's a crown. 585 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,480 Ever heard of the story of the one way missionaries? 586 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:50,760 Late 1800s, early 1900s. There was a group of 587 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:53,480 missionaries who dedicated their lives to following Christ. 588 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,600 So no matter what the cost was, they decided that they were 589 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:58,280 going to do it. And so instead of packing 590 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:01,960 suitcases, they would pack all of their belongings into a 591 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:07,680 coffin and buy a one way ticket and go to wherever they felt God 592 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:09,120 was leading them as a missionary. 593 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:16,520 One way tickets don't get you back home coffins. 594 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,640 I mean, you're planning to stay there for life. 595 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,880 And one of the missionaries was a guy by the name of Peter 596 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,880 Milne. And he left the Lord. 597 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:30,240 He felt the Lord leading him to a tribe of headhunters in the 598 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,040 New Hebrides Islands in the South Pacific off of Australia's 599 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:34,560 coast. And every missionary that had 600 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,960 ever tried to reach those people had been killed. 601 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,680 But he felt like that's where God was leading him to go as a 602 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,320 missionary. And so he packed up all his 603 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,680 belongings into a coffin. He bought a one way ticket, and 604 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,360 he headed off to those islands. They didn't kill him. 605 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:54,680 He spent the next 50 years sharing the message of the 606 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:56,600 gospel among the natives on that island. 607 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:00,880 And he died 50 years later of natural causes. 608 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:05,040 And that tribe buried him. And they inscribed this on his 609 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,720 tombstone. When he came, there was no 610 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:12,160 light. When he left, there was no 611 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:16,800 darkness. Turn over to Matthew chapter 16. 612 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,760 What a powerful testimony of a true servant of Jesus Christ. 613 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,520 We need to be one way missionaries. 614 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:28,400 The reason why we don't accomplish much for Christ is 615 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,280 because we always give ourselves a way out. 616 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,480 I'll serve Christ until it's not convenient anymore. 617 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,040 Then I'm going to go back to what I know. 618 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:43,880 Matthew chapter 16 and verse #24 Then said Jesus unto his 619 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,840 disciples, if any man will come after me, and let him deny 620 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,960 himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 621 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:56,080 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever 622 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:59,560 will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 623 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:01,720 That's the spirit of a true disciple. 624 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,320 Tell me how many people have that mindset today? 625 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:15,800 So few, so few. Now if I, if I want to, if I 626 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:17,920 really want to make it big, I got to go out there and do that 627 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,480 for myself. No, I don't know. 628 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:22,480 If you save your life, you're going to lose it. 629 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:24,200 If you lose. Your life for my sake and the 630 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,480 gospels. You'll find it. 631 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,440 What a concept. It's not. 632 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,960 I'll follow Jesus as long as it works out for me. 633 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:42,400 Anywhere, any cost, any length of time, I'm yours. 634 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:48,440 I'm a disciple and discipleship involves forsaking, not just 635 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:51,880 fervency, not just forsaking, but back over in Mark chapter 1, 636 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:53,400 I want to give you the last point here. 637 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:59,760 The Bible says this and straightway fervency. 638 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:06,800 They forsook their Nets forsaking and the last phrase 639 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:15,360 there says and followed him. Third Point when it comes to 640 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:21,040 true discipleship is following. That's the heart of all 641 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:22,640 discipleship. That's the goal. 642 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:24,760 That's the purpose of discipleship. 643 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:26,640 Discipleship is not about a system. 644 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,560 It's not about a denomination. It's not about being a Baptist. 645 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:34,720 It's not about a program. Discipleship is about a person. 646 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:39,520 They followed him. That's discipleship. 647 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,400 Christ is the object of discipleship. 648 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,760 Philippians chapter 1 and verse 21 for to me. 649 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,960 To live is Christ, and to die is gain. 650 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:52,040 The goal of discipleship is not knowledge, although knowledge is 651 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:55,920 not a bad thing if we apply that knowledge and use it to. 652 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:59,240 Further work for Christ. But the goal of discipleship is 653 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,000 not just knowledge, it's Christ likeness. 654 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,520 I want to be like Christ. That's going to make you a true 655 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:07,920 disciple of Him. It's not activity, it's 656 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:09,920 obedience. And there are so many people who 657 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:12,679 are busy trying to pretend that they're doing things for God, 658 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:14,480 but they're not really following Him. 659 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,080 They're not obeying him. It's not about position, it's 660 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:20,960 about closest closeness to him. That's what true discipleship 661 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:24,199 boils down to. How close are you following 662 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:27,280 Christ? How much do you look like him? 663 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,639 Can people tell that you're even related? 664 00:34:32,199 --> 00:34:35,480 What happens in a family? Following requires submission. 665 00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:37,239 A servant does not choose the path. 666 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,000 The master chooses the path the servant follows. 667 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:43,320 We don't. Vote on God's will. 668 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:46,080 We just do it. God calls you. 669 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:48,520 All right, well, let me let me think about this for a little 670 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:49,639 bit. All right, let's put it to a 671 00:34:49,639 --> 00:34:51,840 vote. Let's see if this this is God's 672 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:53,480 will or not. Let's see if I'm going to follow 673 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:56,199 God's will or not. No, God gives us his will. 674 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,800 He tells us what he wants us to do, and we do it. 675 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,400 That's true discipleship. We don't improve on his plan. 676 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,720 We don't demand explanations. We just follow. 677 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:09,680 In the Middle East, shepherds do not drive the sheep. 678 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:12,240 They lead them. And, and, and, and. 679 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:13,920 I've seen shepherds in the Middle East and I've seen 680 00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:15,320 shepherds in other places in the world. 681 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:20,080 In fact, I was in Romania and I was, we, we climbed to the top 682 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:23,040 of this, this big hill that that overlooked the entire city. 683 00:35:23,280 --> 00:35:26,440 And it was we, we sat down and we got to the top of the hill 684 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:28,720 and we're looking down on these pastures and there was actually 685 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:31,320 a giant flock of sheep down there. 686 00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:34,480 And the shepherd comes walking over, and the next thing you 687 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:35,480 know. All of those sheep. 688 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:37,400 And it was, I mean, you're looking at it from like an 689 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,280 airplane view. That's how high we were up in 690 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,000 the air. But you can see all of these 691 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:43,840 sheep and they there was, there was just a big flock of them 692 00:35:43,840 --> 00:35:45,880 that were all there. And as the shepherds started 693 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,440 walking toward the gate, all the sheep started following him. 694 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:51,760 And the gate was not wide. It was enough for one or maybe 2 695 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:53,240 sheep to fit through at the same time. 696 00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:56,560 And so you can see this giant flock of sheep that all narrowed 697 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:00,880 down into one little exit. And there's the shepherd walking 698 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,240 in front of He wasn't behind them, whipping them and driving 699 00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:04,840 them. He was in front. 700 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:07,440 He was leading them and they were following behind him. 701 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:10,120 Here's the thing about those sheep. 702 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,520 The sheep follow because they know the shepherd and they 703 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:19,280 recognize His voice, and they're submitted to the will of the 704 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,840 shepherd because they know that he's the one that's taking care 705 00:36:21,840 --> 00:36:24,720 of them. They don't know where the next 706 00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:27,360 pasture is. They don't know where the water 707 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,040 is going to come from. They don't know a lot of those 708 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:31,840 things, but they don't have to know. 709 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:34,680 They don't know where the danger is, but they don't have to know. 710 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:37,120 The shepherd knows and they just know that they have to follow 711 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:39,800 the shepherd and that's exactly what they do. 712 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:43,840 Luke Chapter 9 and verse 23 says if any man will come after me, 713 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:48,400 let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 714 00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:52,080 Discipleship is not having all the answers, it's knowing who 715 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:56,520 the shepherd is. Following requires submission, 716 00:36:56,520 --> 00:37:00,480 but it also requires trust. There will be times when you 717 00:37:00,480 --> 00:37:02,960 don't understand where He's leading you. 718 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,520 There'll be times when you don't understand what he's doing. 719 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,600 There'll be times when you don't understand why God allows 720 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:11,120 something. And I've been in that position 721 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:13,800 many times in my life. God, I don't know what you're 722 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:15,520 doing. God, I don't understand why 723 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:18,200 you're allowing this to happen. But I know that it's you, and I 724 00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:21,560 know that you're leading me, and I don't have all the answers, 725 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:23,720 but I know that you do, and I'm just going to follow. 726 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,040 That's what true discipleship is all about. 727 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:29,800 The discipleship is not about understanding everything before 728 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:32,320 you commit to follow Christ. It's about obedience. 729 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:35,640 You don't have to understand the Shepherd to know His voice. 730 00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:38,840 Just follow. Just follow. 731 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:42,960 Turn over to one last passage in John chapter 12. 732 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:48,360 Mark chapter 1 gives us a picture of true discipleship. 733 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:52,840 Fervency. No delay, God, you're calling me 734 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:55,400 Jesus. You want me to do something for 735 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:58,880 you straightway, I'll do it immediately. 736 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:03,680 No delay forsaking no rivals. There's there's nobody that that 737 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,400 is going to get in my way of forsaking whatever I need to 738 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:11,400 forsake to be what you need me and want me to be in a following 739 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:15,000 no conditions I'm not. I'm not going to follow you if 740 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:16,400 these things work out. I'm not going to. 741 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:18,360 Follow you when I'm just going to follow. 742 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:20,680 That's what true discipleship is all about. 743 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:24,360 And this, this message is for Christians today. 744 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:27,040 If you don't know Christ as your Savior, then you can never be a 745 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:30,080 disciple of Jesus Christ. You can never follow him because 746 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:33,240 you'll never know his voice. And you'll spin your wheels and 747 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:36,560 you'll be extremely frustrated trying to be a disciple of Jesus 748 00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:38,600 Christ until you come to know him as your savior. 749 00:38:40,240 --> 00:38:44,400 The questions for Christian, the question for Christians today is 750 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:46,720 not are you saved? The question is, are you a 751 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:49,920 disciple? Being saved does not 752 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,520 automatically make you a disciple of Jesus Christ. 753 00:38:53,680 --> 00:38:56,640 You should be, but it doesn't automatically make you a 754 00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:00,560 disciple. Jesus is still calling and the 755 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:05,880 only response is straightway. Ever been to a wedding? 756 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:10,560 The bride and groom don't say. I'll be faithful as long as it's 757 00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:14,640 convenient. They don't say that in the vows. 758 00:39:15,240 --> 00:39:18,440 No, they say, forsaking all others. 759 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:22,080 I commit myself faithfully to you, right. 760 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:25,920 That's that's discipleship. Jesus didn't call these men to a 761 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:27,680 class. He didn't. 762 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:29,880 He called them to himself and they responded. 763 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,840 With fervency, they responded with forsaking. 764 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:35,520 They responded by following Jesus Christ. 765 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:38,520 They responded by following Him as the shepherd. 766 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:45,520 Hernan Cortez landed in Mexico in March of 1519. 767 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:51,120 Which initiated what's known as the Spanish conquest of the 768 00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:55,480 Aztec empire and he he he first arrived there on the Yucatan 769 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,680 peninsula, but ultimately he ended up establishing a base 770 00:39:58,680 --> 00:39:59,840 near. What's present day? 771 00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:01,680 Veracruz, right there on the coast. 772 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:03,520 And from there he marched inland. 773 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:07,000 In the end, by November of that year, he had reached Tanukti 774 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:11,240 LAN, which is the was the capital of the Aztec Empire. 775 00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:13,040 And they they, they took all of it. 776 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:18,080 But the key to making that whole thing work happened the moment 777 00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:22,560 they landed in Mexico. Because you know what he did? 778 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:28,280 He had them burn all their ships, and all those ships in 779 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:32,080 the harbor sank. Those men did not have a choice. 780 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,240 They were going to either go forward in there, you were going 781 00:40:35,240 --> 00:40:39,040 to conquer, or they were going to die trying because there was 782 00:40:39,040 --> 00:40:41,680 no retreat. There was no way for them to get 783 00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:45,920 back where they came from. He burned all the ships so there 784 00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:49,640 could be no retreat. That's why they conquered. 785 00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:52,320 There was no old life to go back to. 786 00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:57,040 These disciples burned their ships when they dropped their 787 00:40:57,040 --> 00:40:59,880 Nets. They didn't leave themselves a 788 00:40:59,880 --> 00:41:02,560 way out. They removed that backup plan. 789 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:05,400 And many are not disciples because they're trying to keep 790 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,240 an escape route to their old life. 791 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,840 I'll be a disciple. We'll see how this thing goes. 792 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,240 I'll be a disciple. I'll follow Christ until it gets 793 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:17,720 a little bit difficult and I'm, I'm out. 794 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:22,880 Oh, John chapter 12 and verse #26 the Bible says this. 795 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:28,760 If any man serve me, let him follow me. 796 00:41:30,040 --> 00:41:34,720 And where I am there shall also my servants be. 797 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:41,040 If any man serve me, him, O my Father, honor. 798 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:45,240 Well, there's a cost to discipleship. 799 00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:49,640 It's not easy to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. 800 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:52,880 There's a great honor that comes with it. 801 00:41:54,200 --> 00:41:58,280 It may not be in this life. It may not be because you can go 802 00:41:58,280 --> 00:41:59,720 out and make a name for yourself. 803 00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:02,040 In fact, a lot of the people who are trying to make names for 804 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:04,400 themselves are not really true disciples of Christ. 805 00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:09,120 They're disciples of themselves. The people who who get a name 806 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:12,840 for themselves. Doesn't mean they're not, but 807 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:14,880 many times it happens after they're dead when everybody 808 00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:17,040 finds out what they actually did for Christ because they were 809 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:18,960 keeping it hidden because they weren't doing it for that. 810 00:42:19,680 --> 00:42:21,440 They were doing it because they were trying to accomplish things 811 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:26,480 for Christ. But him the Bible says, will my 812 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:33,720 father honor. There's a lot of awards that you 813 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:37,280 can get in this life. Presidential Medal of Freedom is 814 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:41,200 typically consider to be one of the highest civilian honors that 815 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:44,840 you can get. Do you know how much that's 816 00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:52,280 going to pale in comparison to get in that crown when you stand 817 00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:56,840 before Christ? Oh, I didn't get the crown, but, 818 00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:59,080 but, but I got a Presidential Medal of Freedom. 819 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:05,960 The highest honor. The highest honor is going to 820 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:10,920 pale. In comparison to being a true 821 00:43:10,920 --> 00:43:16,640 disciple of Jesus Christ, Him, will my Father honor what's He 822 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:18,320 telling you to do that you've been putting off? 823 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:22,800 What Nets are you still holding on to? 824 00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:28,400 Are you truly following Him or you just walking near Him? 825 00:43:30,240 --> 00:43:32,000 True discipleship involves a lot. 826 00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:37,440 It involves a fervency, an urgency, and understanding that 827 00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,800 I cannot delay to be His disciple. 828 00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:44,800 It involves A forsaking. There's a lot of things that you 829 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:48,560 could have if you decide not to be a disciple of Christ. 830 00:43:48,560 --> 00:43:51,960 There's a lot of things you give up if you do decide to be a 831 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:56,560 disciple of Jesus Christ. And true discipleship requires 832 00:43:56,560 --> 00:43:59,720 following. Not about some program. 833 00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:01,560 It's not about a 12 step process. 834 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:10,760 It's about following Christ. Are you a true disciple of Jesus 835 00:44:10,760 --> 00:44:14,120 Christ? It's a question that I want to 836 00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:19,280 leave for you this morning. Are you a true disciple of Jesus 837 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:21,120 Christ? Let's pray. 838 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:23,160 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us. 839 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:26,720 Thank you for the privilege that we have of being here this 840 00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:30,880 morning. Got everybody that's listening 841 00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:37,080 to this message. You know, some may not be saved 842 00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,840 and think they are. Some may know they're not saved 843 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,720 and know they need to be. Pray that you'd help them to 844 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:45,000 come to know you as their Savior. 845 00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:49,320 For those who do know that they're saved, those who do know 846 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:54,000 that Christ has covered their sins under his blood. 847 00:44:56,560 --> 00:45:00,600 God, may you help us to be true disciples of Christ, not 848 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:05,520 pretending not, not busy looking like a disciple of Christ, but 849 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:09,160 truly a disciple of Christ. And may you help us to make the 850 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,720 changes that we need to make in our lives to be what you need us 851 00:45:12,720 --> 00:45:16,880 to be, so that we can be true disciples and truly be used by 852 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:19,360 you. Well thank you again for all you 853 00:45:19,360 --> 00:45:21,240 do for us. In Jesus name, Amen.