1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:13,600 Mark 834 What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? 2 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:17,920 What does it entail? What does it require? 3 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,840 What does it demand? That is the question that the 4 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:27,360 Lord Jesus is going to answer in this text today, though the 5 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:32,870 answer was not a direct response to a question that the disciples 6 00:00:32,870 --> 00:00:38,310 themselves asked. Instead, Peter and the disciples 7 00:00:38,790 --> 00:00:41,990 proved their serious lack of understanding concerning the 8 00:00:41,990 --> 00:00:45,270 sufferings that the Messiah must endure. 9 00:00:45,990 --> 00:00:50,670 And because of that, they also proved their ignorance in a lot 10 00:00:50,670 --> 00:00:54,630 of areas as well. And Jesus perceived that Jesus 11 00:00:54,630 --> 00:00:57,070 understood that. So now at this time he's going 12 00:00:57,070 --> 00:01:03,940 to take the opportunity to explain that as much as the the 13 00:01:03,940 --> 00:01:10,180 sufferings of the Messiah are inevitable and determined, there 14 00:01:10,180 --> 00:01:14,020 is a measure of suffering that the followers of this Messiah 15 00:01:14,020 --> 00:01:18,180 must also anticipate and expect and prepare for. 16 00:01:19,460 --> 00:01:23,900 That is what Christ is going to say in these powerful, life 17 00:01:23,900 --> 00:01:29,780 altering, defining statements about what it means to really 18 00:01:29,780 --> 00:01:33,380 come after Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be truly 19 00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:37,180 associated with this King of Glory? 20 00:01:37,780 --> 00:01:42,340 And it is so vital, so crucial that we understand this because 21 00:01:42,340 --> 00:01:47,220 there are millions of people today who would confidently 22 00:01:47,220 --> 00:01:54,000 admit that they are indeed followers of Jesus Christ, that 23 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,960 they are joined to His Kingdom, that they do belong to him, and 24 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,560 that they are coming after him, so to speak. 25 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,960 But do they really? Because I'm afraid that many 26 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:13,800 people have misinterpreted their acknowledgements, affirmations, 27 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:19,080 maybe even admiration of certain elements of who Jesus Christ is, 28 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:24,120 but in reality are not really following him. 29 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:29,000 Because regardless of those things, what Jesus makes so 30 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,080 clear here is that there is a standard that needs to be met in 31 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,120 order to truly be numbered among his own. 32 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:42,040 In other words, the genuineness and the efficacy of your saving 33 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:49,240 confession in Jesus Christ is ultimately determined. 34 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:57,440 If that confession produces this radical conformity to this kind 35 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:01,440 of discipleship. Let me make it plain and simple. 36 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,840 In these verses, if you cannot say in your heart of hearts, 37 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:12,560 Amen, that is of me, this testifies of me, then you have 38 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,080 every right to question whether or not you are a legitimate 39 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:20,180 follower of this Christ. And Jesus really gives it to us 40 00:03:20,180 --> 00:03:22,980 in a very well known verse. And as well known as it is, I 41 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:27,220 think there are even some who misunderstand what Christ has 42 00:03:27,220 --> 00:03:29,940 said here. Let's read this verse together. 43 00:03:30,940 --> 00:03:35,100 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to 44 00:03:35,100 --> 00:03:41,820 them, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and 45 00:03:41,820 --> 00:03:51,940 take up his cross and follow me. Lord, we ask, please, if you do 46 00:03:51,940 --> 00:04:00,100 not empower this delivery, if you do not awaken our hearts, we 47 00:04:00,100 --> 00:04:02,460 will not know the success that you want us to know. 48 00:04:02,460 --> 00:04:06,300 You will need to help us, Lord, And we ask with humility. 49 00:04:06,300 --> 00:04:11,740 Please, please, please let not this time together be void of 50 00:04:11,740 --> 00:04:15,590 your power. Let us hear your voice loud and 51 00:04:15,590 --> 00:04:20,110 clear. Let us see Jesus only cloak 52 00:04:20,790 --> 00:04:25,110 anything and anyone else except the Son of God. 53 00:04:25,710 --> 00:04:28,870 This is our prayer, Father. In Jesus name. 54 00:04:29,310 --> 00:04:34,150 Amen. If anyone would come after me, 55 00:04:34,150 --> 00:04:39,070 let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. 56 00:04:40,230 --> 00:04:44,440 This is the summary of what it means to be a true follower of 57 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,360 Jesus Christ. And according to Jesus Christ, 58 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:51,720 there are two things that are required in order for you and I 59 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,920 to truly be identified as one belonging to Him. 60 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,680 These are the two things. There has to be something that 61 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:04,840 you reject, and there must be something that you accept. 62 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:06,840 Where do we get that from? It's clear. 63 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:13,910 Let him deny himself. Self is the object that we must 64 00:05:14,070 --> 00:05:21,710 renounce, and 2nd to that and take up his cross and follow me. 65 00:05:22,150 --> 00:05:26,270 This idea of a cross is the thing that we must be willing to 66 00:05:26,270 --> 00:05:32,110 receive or accept, that must be clear and and we have the terms 67 00:05:32,110 --> 00:05:33,470 and conditions. It's right there. 68 00:05:34,630 --> 00:05:39,250 But we have to also define them. So, OK, these two things are 69 00:05:39,250 --> 00:05:43,170 required for me to even begin to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. 70 00:05:43,410 --> 00:05:47,570 I must reject something, and I also must receive something. 71 00:05:49,730 --> 00:05:54,610 But what does this mean? What does it mean to deny 72 00:05:54,610 --> 00:05:58,010 myself? Well, if you just hear it in 73 00:05:58,010 --> 00:05:59,850 isolation, it can mean 100 different things. 74 00:06:00,810 --> 00:06:02,530 Deny my plans. Deny my dreams. 75 00:06:02,530 --> 00:06:04,250 Deny my diet. Deny my friends. 76 00:06:04,250 --> 00:06:06,130 Deny my job? Deny my house? 77 00:06:06,330 --> 00:06:09,210 Deny what? What are you asking me of, Lord? 78 00:06:09,210 --> 00:06:13,570 To deny? And I believe the best way to 79 00:06:13,570 --> 00:06:18,130 understand what it means to deny oneself is to understand 1st and 80 00:06:18,130 --> 00:06:21,050 to establish what he is asking me to 1st accept. 81 00:06:23,730 --> 00:06:26,330 If I'm going to understand what it is that I had to reject, I 82 00:06:26,330 --> 00:06:29,050 must also understand what it means to accept and what it is 83 00:06:29,050 --> 00:06:33,770 that I'm called to accept. Because here's where we get a 84 00:06:33,770 --> 00:06:36,730 clear understanding of Christ requirements. 85 00:06:36,730 --> 00:06:41,610 Here the denying of myself is clearly connected to this 86 00:06:41,610 --> 00:06:47,930 concept of taking up a cross, so it narrows it down, right? 87 00:06:47,930 --> 00:06:50,090 You can't separate those two realities. 88 00:06:50,930 --> 00:06:55,370 I am denying myself for the purpose of adding to myself 89 00:06:55,570 --> 00:06:57,010 something else. So there's something about 90 00:06:57,010 --> 00:07:02,530 myself that's getting in the way of taking up this cross. 91 00:07:03,930 --> 00:07:07,930 And So what Jesus is essentially saying is you must renounce the 92 00:07:07,930 --> 00:07:13,210 resistance that you might sense when you hear the invitation to 93 00:07:13,210 --> 00:07:16,530 apply to your life a personal cross. 94 00:07:17,890 --> 00:07:20,690 Now we're getting somewhere. Now it's becoming a little bit 95 00:07:20,690 --> 00:07:25,450 more clear and obvious. But here's the problem. 96 00:07:25,570 --> 00:07:30,130 When you and I hear or even see the symbol of a cross, one's 97 00:07:30,130 --> 00:07:33,410 understanding of it can range from anything between an empty 98 00:07:33,850 --> 00:07:40,420 fashion icon to an emblem of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. 99 00:07:41,740 --> 00:07:43,620 But I can tell you one thing for certain concerning this 100 00:07:43,620 --> 00:07:46,380 audience, the disciples, and the crowd that was invited to hear 101 00:07:46,380 --> 00:07:50,180 this teaching as well, That when they heard the idea of a cross, 102 00:07:50,460 --> 00:07:52,380 there was one thing that came to mind. 103 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:55,660 One thing that came to mind. And not only did it come to 104 00:07:55,660 --> 00:07:59,460 mind, I'm sure it also sent a chill down their spine. 105 00:08:00,820 --> 00:08:05,880 Take up a cross meant one thing. Death sentence. 106 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:14,480 What Jesus is essentially inviting people to do is to die, 107 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:20,080 to die. But not just any kind of death. 108 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:26,480 Jesus was very specific with the method of death. 109 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:29,080 There are different forms of execution at this time. 110 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,000 The most common among the Jews was stoning. 111 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:32,840 You see that all throughout the Old Testament. 112 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:35,159 Why did Jesus choose to talk about the crucifixion? 113 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,919 Because there was something about the components of a Roman 114 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:43,720 crucifix that Jesus wanted to bring to their minds and 115 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,360 parallel it with what it means to be identified with him. 116 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:54,560 When somebody was ordained and destined to die in this manner, 117 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,360 there are many things that made it a very painful experience. 118 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:01,280 Apart from the fact that you're going to die. 119 00:09:02,510 --> 00:09:05,590 One of the things that it includes was public humiliation. 120 00:09:06,430 --> 00:09:08,910 And so this instrument, called the cross, would be placed upon 121 00:09:08,910 --> 00:09:12,710 the soldier of the shoulder rather of the criminal, and he 122 00:09:12,710 --> 00:09:16,030 would make his way on foot to the site in which he would be 123 00:09:16,030 --> 00:09:18,990 hung. And on that way, you would have 124 00:09:18,990 --> 00:09:24,590 others, bystanders and observers who would mock you, who would 125 00:09:24,670 --> 00:09:27,830 slur things at you, who would hurl things at you, who might 126 00:09:27,830 --> 00:09:31,930 even spit on you. And once you arrived to that 127 00:09:31,930 --> 00:09:37,330 site, you were stripped naked. And then you would be hung on 128 00:09:37,330 --> 00:09:42,610 that cross, bruised and exposed, while people watch you until you 129 00:09:42,610 --> 00:09:48,490 gave your final breath. This was shameful. 130 00:09:49,130 --> 00:09:50,930 This was not a private experience. 131 00:09:50,930 --> 00:09:55,530 This was very much public. It was for all to see, and 132 00:09:55,530 --> 00:09:59,760 invited all others to also make this a much more grueling 133 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:02,600 experience than it could have been. 134 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:08,160 And one of the reasons why this ill treatment was designed was 135 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:12,280 because the Roman Crucifix was reserved for the worst of the 136 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:15,880 worst of criminals. There are other punishments for 137 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:20,880 different offenses, but when you were called to carry across, it 138 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,440 was because you did something worthy of such torture. 139 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,000 You were the lowest of the low. You were the scum of the earth. 140 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:36,760 You're a nuisance to society, you with a cross. 141 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:42,120 Nobody needs to really know what you did That alone testified 142 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:51,200 that you deserve this. And Jesus was misunderstood, was 143 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:57,820 misunderstood as being someone who blasphemed God and was 144 00:10:57,820 --> 00:10:59,860 destined to die such a horrible death. 145 00:11:00,860 --> 00:11:02,820 And how can you think about the cross? 146 00:11:02,820 --> 00:11:06,020 How can you think about a cross without associating it with 147 00:11:06,420 --> 00:11:09,980 suffering? It wasn't a quick death. 148 00:11:10,380 --> 00:11:15,860 It wasn't a merciful experience. It was designed to make it as 149 00:11:15,940 --> 00:11:21,220 agonizing as possible. And the primary pain that 150 00:11:21,220 --> 00:11:24,660 somebody would experience on the cross was that of suffocation. 151 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:30,520 The way you would be hung there by nails and by a rope is that 152 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:35,040 you would sink, your body weight would sink almost into itself 153 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,080 and your your lungs would be collapsed. 154 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,280 There would be pressure on your breathing, and so you would have 155 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:46,640 to lift yourself up in order for more oxygen to come in. 156 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:51,660 And so you would there be there, not just with pierced limbs, but 157 00:11:51,660 --> 00:11:58,020 also with a very difficult time to get air in and out. 158 00:11:58,300 --> 00:12:02,380 And so if you did not die at the desired time, they would break 159 00:12:02,380 --> 00:12:06,180 your legs, the only support system you had in order to make 160 00:12:06,180 --> 00:12:12,420 your death quick. But that wasn't ultimately, the 161 00:12:12,420 --> 00:12:16,180 desire wasn't just for you to die, it was for you to exit this 162 00:12:16,180 --> 00:12:19,340 world in the most gruesome way you can imagine. 163 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:26,320 That's what a cross at this time encompassed, public humiliation, 164 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:35,360 levels of discomfort even to the point of death, and even an 165 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:40,320 identification that you would not want on your worst enemies. 166 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:48,870 And Jesus says, if you want to be my follower, you have to be 167 00:12:48,870 --> 00:12:53,910 willing to accept such realities as my follower. 168 00:12:56,110 --> 00:12:58,630 That's what it means to take up your cross. 169 00:13:00,030 --> 00:13:02,750 To take up your cross is not God's way of saying if you're 170 00:13:02,750 --> 00:13:04,550 going to follow me, I'm going to make life a little bit more 171 00:13:04,550 --> 00:13:06,710 difficult for you because, you know, I got to make you tough 172 00:13:06,710 --> 00:13:09,350 and I can't let you just enjoy your life. 173 00:13:10,230 --> 00:13:13,470 And so here's some random suffering, Here's some 174 00:13:13,470 --> 00:13:15,870 difficulty just to keep you straight. 175 00:13:15,870 --> 00:13:17,430 That's not what the Lord is talking about. 176 00:13:18,120 --> 00:13:22,360 What he's saying is look here and verse 35. 177 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:24,840 Forever would save his life, will lose it. 178 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:29,880 But whoever loses his life, for my sake and the Gospels, will 179 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:34,400 save it. The shame, the embarrassment, 180 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:40,640 the difficulty, the pain is for being associated with the person 181 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:46,080 and the cause of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to take up 182 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:52,000 your cross, and this is what they understood. 183 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:59,400 And to deny yourself, then, is to say joyfully, I'm willing. 184 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:08,360 I'm willing, because you are worthy, And not only are you 185 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:15,500 worthy, but I am convinced that to experience these things with 186 00:14:15,540 --> 00:14:18,940 you in my life is far greater than to escape these things. 187 00:14:18,940 --> 00:14:23,620 If it means that you are not my Lord and my Savior, that is what 188 00:14:23,620 --> 00:14:28,340 it means to follow Jesus Christ. That is the response of a true 189 00:14:28,340 --> 00:14:35,620 disciple of Jesus Christ. I am willing, whatever it cost 190 00:14:36,500 --> 00:14:42,470 to carry this cross, to carry the name of Jesus, to carry the 191 00:14:42,470 --> 00:14:44,510 message of Jesus, to represent that message. 192 00:14:44,910 --> 00:14:50,950 So be it. And Jesus modeled. 193 00:14:51,350 --> 00:14:55,030 He didn't just teach this. He modeled what the way of the 194 00:14:55,030 --> 00:15:00,230 cross looks like, what a crucified life looks like. 195 00:15:00,830 --> 00:15:02,950 I told you earlier that I was reading John and I was reading 196 00:15:02,950 --> 00:15:07,950 it this this week and a statement Jesus made shot out of 197 00:15:07,950 --> 00:15:11,880 the pages of my Bible and has been the meditation of my heart 198 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,400 throughout this week. And providentially, it it it 199 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:20,400 just shows what Christ even more means by the crucified life. 200 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,000 Denying yourself and taking up your cross. 201 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,680 Listen, you have to understand this is serious. 202 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,960 This is the qualifying factor of being truly in the faith. 203 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:34,200 This is what deciphers just somebody who says they follow 204 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,040 Jesus. Somebody who truly, genuinely 205 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,980 follows Jesus. This is what changed me. 206 00:15:38,980 --> 00:15:41,420 This is what changed me. When all my life up to the age 207 00:15:41,420 --> 00:15:45,540 of 19, I thought I really followed Jesus Christ until I 208 00:15:45,540 --> 00:15:48,700 saw take up your cross. Well, I've never been told that. 209 00:15:51,220 --> 00:15:54,140 I was just told repeat a prayer. I was just told if I didn't want 210 00:15:54,140 --> 00:15:56,700 to go to hell, come here to the front and repeat these 211 00:15:56,700 --> 00:15:59,140 statements, these acknowledgments. 212 00:16:00,300 --> 00:16:03,860 Jesus says no, deny yourself and take up your cross. 213 00:16:04,580 --> 00:16:07,570 And here I am as a college student, looking around, and I 214 00:16:07,570 --> 00:16:09,930 have a history in the faith. I have family in the faith. 215 00:16:10,130 --> 00:16:13,970 I have church attendance, But there's no sight of a personal 216 00:16:13,970 --> 00:16:17,610 cross. Where is my cross? 217 00:16:18,250 --> 00:16:20,890 Luke says that when you take up your cross, he adds a word 218 00:16:20,970 --> 00:16:24,850 daily. Take up your cross daily. 219 00:16:24,850 --> 00:16:27,330 You know what that means? If I'm a true follower of Jesus 220 00:16:27,330 --> 00:16:31,370 Christ, every single time I open my eyes in the morning, I'm not 221 00:16:31,370 --> 00:16:33,050 just thinking about the coffee I'm I'm going to drink. 222 00:16:33,050 --> 00:16:34,610 I'm not thinking about the outfit I'm going to wear. 223 00:16:34,850 --> 00:16:38,370 I'm looking at the end of my bed to see a cross that I am to 224 00:16:38,370 --> 00:16:41,890 carry. Does that sound like 225 00:16:41,890 --> 00:16:45,290 Christianity in our day? It doesn't matter. 226 00:16:46,090 --> 00:16:47,890 It's the Christianity Jesus wants. 227 00:16:48,650 --> 00:16:53,050 And he calls the shots turn with me to John 12. 228 00:16:53,050 --> 00:16:54,690 This, this is what I'm trying to get to. 229 00:16:55,650 --> 00:17:00,930 I got a little carried away. I'm sorry, in John chapter 12, 230 00:17:10,490 --> 00:17:13,210 look at verse 23 and Jesus answer them. 231 00:17:13,210 --> 00:17:16,210 The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 232 00:17:16,770 --> 00:17:20,290 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls 233 00:17:20,290 --> 00:17:22,690 into the earth and dies, it remains alone. 234 00:17:22,970 --> 00:17:25,450 But if it dies, it bears much fruit. 235 00:17:25,930 --> 00:17:27,690 This is Jesus speaking about his own death. 236 00:17:28,690 --> 00:17:30,850 This is how he's going to be glorified, and he's speaking 237 00:17:30,850 --> 00:17:32,570 about the fruit that it's going to produce. 238 00:17:32,830 --> 00:17:35,150 But look at verse 25. Whoever loves his life loses it, 239 00:17:35,150 --> 00:17:37,310 and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for 240 00:17:37,310 --> 00:17:39,910 eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must 241 00:17:39,910 --> 00:17:42,710 follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be. 242 00:17:42,710 --> 00:17:45,110 Also. If anyone serves me, the Father 243 00:17:45,110 --> 00:17:47,910 will honor him. So understand the backdrop of 244 00:17:47,910 --> 00:17:51,510 this is not the verse. Jesus is communicating and 245 00:17:51,510 --> 00:17:54,030 explaining and teaching about his own death. 246 00:17:54,750 --> 00:17:57,350 Now you're about to see something so spectacular, and it 247 00:17:57,350 --> 00:17:59,430 deals with the humanity of Jesus Christ. 248 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:01,840 Notice what it says here in verse 27. 249 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,720 This is what ministered to me in my own reading. 250 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,960 Now is my soul troubled? Pause. 251 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:15,840 Now is my soul troubled. I praise God that the Holy 252 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:16,880 Spirit included that in His word. 253 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:20,120 You know what This is showing the realness of the humanity of 254 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,880 Jesus. Here he is speaking about his 255 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:29,300 own death, and not only is he speaking at it as A1 animated 256 00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:34,020 stoic teacher, he's speaking about it and he feels the 257 00:18:34,020 --> 00:18:40,740 emotions with it. In his humanity, he senses the 258 00:18:40,740 --> 00:18:48,100 struggle of having to endure the wrath of God, the punishment for 259 00:18:48,180 --> 00:18:52,260 humanity's sins, and it's causing his heart to be in 260 00:18:52,260 --> 00:18:57,220 turmoil. I wonder what his face looked 261 00:18:57,220 --> 00:19:00,010 like. Oh, I wonder how he said it. 262 00:19:01,170 --> 00:19:04,650 But I praise God that our God came into this world to not just 263 00:19:04,850 --> 00:19:08,130 experience what we experienced, but to feel what we feel at 264 00:19:08,130 --> 00:19:11,450 times. Now is my soul troubled? 265 00:19:11,770 --> 00:19:14,650 But more than that, now I don't just have a high priest who 266 00:19:14,650 --> 00:19:18,290 sympathizes with my feelings. I don't just have a high priest 267 00:19:18,290 --> 00:19:21,010 who understands what it's like to consider the severity of 268 00:19:21,010 --> 00:19:24,690 situations and not to be disconnected with all the 269 00:19:24,690 --> 00:19:28,500 complexities of circumstances. More than that, he teaches me 270 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:33,020 what to do with my feelings, especially when those feelings 271 00:19:33,020 --> 00:19:35,180 tend to me to steer away from the will of God. 272 00:19:35,460 --> 00:19:38,940 Now is my soul troubled? And what shall I say? 273 00:19:40,540 --> 00:19:46,500 Father saved me from this hour, but for this purpose I've come 274 00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:49,460 to this hour. So what is he saying? 275 00:19:50,140 --> 00:19:53,340 I'm feeling this turmoil. It's real. 276 00:19:53,500 --> 00:19:56,050 It's powerful. What should I do? 277 00:19:56,050 --> 00:19:59,050 Ask God to deliver me from it? It's a rhetorical question. 278 00:19:59,330 --> 00:20:01,050 Should I ask God to save me? No. 279 00:20:01,050 --> 00:20:02,570 No. Because this struggle that I'm 280 00:20:02,570 --> 00:20:07,890 feeling has to do with the will of the Father and me coming into 281 00:20:07,890 --> 00:20:09,770 this world. This is the very reason why I've 282 00:20:09,770 --> 00:20:15,210 come into this world, and you and I, this is our example. 283 00:20:15,210 --> 00:20:18,170 You and I will also sense struggle in the path of 284 00:20:18,170 --> 00:20:20,010 obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. 285 00:20:21,410 --> 00:20:25,170 And here's your model. Notice what he does in verse 28. 286 00:20:25,170 --> 00:20:27,330 Instead of saying Father, save me from this hour, he says, 287 00:20:27,450 --> 00:20:32,410 Father, glorify your name, Glorify your name. 288 00:20:35,930 --> 00:20:39,810 Here's what this means in our walk with the Lord. 289 00:20:40,250 --> 00:20:44,890 The priority is not emotional or physical comfort. 290 00:20:46,170 --> 00:20:49,330 It is not temporal satisfactions. 291 00:20:50,850 --> 00:20:53,730 It's not even you having a certain reputation in the eyes 292 00:20:53,730 --> 00:20:56,650 of men. Here's what Christ is teaching. 293 00:20:57,730 --> 00:21:02,250 The way of the Cross is the glory of God being your 294 00:21:02,250 --> 00:21:08,890 priority. Always, always, always, always, 295 00:21:08,890 --> 00:21:16,610 Father, glorify your name. That is the constant, perpetual, 296 00:21:16,730 --> 00:21:22,120 unbroken cry for the true Father of Jesus Christ when all things 297 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,560 are well and when it gets really difficult to follow Christ, 298 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:29,280 which is very difficult to teach on in the Disneyland of the 299 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:37,560 world called America. But I'm sure this would hit 300 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:39,920 different to those passes in China. 301 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:54,360 Father, glorified your name. God's glory is your priority, no 302 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:57,800 matter how costly. This is what it means to deny 303 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:04,040 yourself to take up your cross. God's glory, your priority, no 304 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:08,280 matter how costly. Deny yourself, take up that 305 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:17,120 cross and Jesus expands further on that back in Mark 8. 306 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:21,080 Not by exhorting more, not by expanding on that initial 307 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,150 thought. But he does something quite 308 00:22:23,150 --> 00:22:25,670 fascinating. He gives incentives. 309 00:22:26,590 --> 00:22:30,430 As you stand at the crossroads and hear that call for all 310 00:22:30,430 --> 00:22:33,110 people of all generations, it hasn't changed. 311 00:22:33,990 --> 00:22:38,030 If anyone would come after me, and that's a high cost. 312 00:22:38,030 --> 00:22:41,430 That's a life altering decision. And so he understands that. 313 00:22:41,950 --> 00:22:43,910 And he doesn't just leave you with that command now. 314 00:22:43,910 --> 00:22:49,190 He begins to explain some things to you in order to consider 315 00:22:49,190 --> 00:22:54,320 this, to joyfully consider it, because he knows in hearing 316 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,440 that, that there are walls that go up and there are hesitations 317 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:01,200 and there are obstacles. And so for the next 4 verses he 318 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:06,480 gives, he gives these explanations for you to consider 319 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:14,040 a cross. Let's read them together, verse 320 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,090 35. For whoever would save his life 321 00:23:17,090 --> 00:23:18,650 will lose it. But whoever loses his life, for 322 00:23:18,650 --> 00:23:20,090 my sake and the Gospels will save it. 323 00:23:20,090 --> 00:23:23,530 For what does a profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit 324 00:23:23,530 --> 00:23:26,330 his soul? For what can a man give in 325 00:23:26,330 --> 00:23:31,130 return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and 326 00:23:31,130 --> 00:23:34,450 of my words, and this adulterous and sinful generation of him, 327 00:23:34,850 --> 00:23:38,370 will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the 328 00:23:38,370 --> 00:23:42,210 glory of his Father with the holy angels? 329 00:23:42,530 --> 00:23:47,990 Every single one of those verses is a blow to any fleshly impulse 330 00:23:47,990 --> 00:23:52,670 or hesitation to deny yourself and to take up a cross in the 331 00:23:52,670 --> 00:23:56,230 name of Jesus Christ. And let's just group them and in 332 00:23:56,230 --> 00:23:58,790 three things because you can. You can take the 2 middle verses 333 00:23:58,790 --> 00:24:01,910 and attach them together. What is Christ saying here in 334 00:24:01,910 --> 00:24:04,790 verse 35? Initially, what he's actually 335 00:24:04,790 --> 00:24:08,430 saying is to lose your life really is to save your life. 336 00:24:10,110 --> 00:24:12,150 To lose your life is really to save it. 337 00:24:12,750 --> 00:24:16,060 And so you hear this idea of taking up your cross, denying 338 00:24:16,060 --> 00:24:19,380 yourself, and immediately you curl up. 339 00:24:21,380 --> 00:24:25,460 Immediately you shrink back because what is self? 340 00:24:25,460 --> 00:24:27,420 What it what does it mean to live for self? 341 00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:30,220 Self gratification, self preservation. 342 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:33,140 And not only to live for that, but to protect anything that 343 00:24:33,140 --> 00:24:37,700 would threaten that would threaten that Being your 344 00:24:37,700 --> 00:24:41,180 ultimate experience in life, those things being heightened 345 00:24:41,540 --> 00:24:45,020 and matured and nurtured. This is what we shield from in 346 00:24:45,020 --> 00:24:47,660 our flesh. Anything that would try to 347 00:24:47,660 --> 00:24:52,260 hijack my pursuit of personal happiness and not true 348 00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:58,100 happiness, may I add, to save your life is to protect yourself 349 00:24:58,100 --> 00:25:01,420 from anything that would take that away from you. 350 00:25:02,660 --> 00:25:05,900 But by doing that, you're really losing your life. 351 00:25:07,620 --> 00:25:11,220 And the way that actually save your life is to rid yourself of 352 00:25:11,220 --> 00:25:14,980 that, is to get rid of that is to renounce that, to deny it, to 353 00:25:14,980 --> 00:25:19,220 disown yourself from it. It's a paradox. 354 00:25:20,380 --> 00:25:23,340 It's a paradox. And what does that mean? 355 00:25:23,340 --> 00:25:25,060 To save my life means to lose it. 356 00:25:25,060 --> 00:25:26,900 And to lose my life is to save it. 357 00:25:27,060 --> 00:25:31,140 Well, I read it to you in John 1225 and John 1225. 358 00:25:31,140 --> 00:25:34,020 It's clear whoever loves his life loses it. 359 00:25:34,620 --> 00:25:36,900 Hold on. If I love my life, I lose my 360 00:25:36,900 --> 00:25:38,580 life. Yes. 361 00:25:39,340 --> 00:25:44,180 And whoever hates his life, what's going on here, hates his 362 00:25:44,180 --> 00:25:47,340 life. Yes, hates his life in this 363 00:25:47,340 --> 00:25:51,740 world will keep it for eternal life. 364 00:25:53,060 --> 00:25:57,820 It's about eternal life. When he says save your life, 365 00:25:58,340 --> 00:26:01,820 what are you losing? If you save your life, if you 366 00:26:01,820 --> 00:26:04,700 say I don't want this wave across, I want my way, you're 367 00:26:04,700 --> 00:26:10,870 losing eternal life. And to lose your life to say I'm 368 00:26:10,870 --> 00:26:13,630 willing, I'm willing to come after you. 369 00:26:13,670 --> 00:26:17,070 I'm willing to take up my cross. Anything that it costs to be 370 00:26:17,070 --> 00:26:23,670 associated with you, I say yes to you is to save yourself for 371 00:26:23,670 --> 00:26:28,430 eternal life. So losing your life really means 372 00:26:28,510 --> 00:26:31,510 winning life. But there's a secondary 373 00:26:31,510 --> 00:26:34,870 application. The second application is this, 374 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,160 that there is a saving of my life that can cause me to lose 375 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:42,080 in this life, not in just in the next life, in this life. 376 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,720 And there is a losing a life that can save life in this life. 377 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,640 My experience here now. Because here's what people can 378 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,280 also hear when they hear deny yourself and take up your cross. 379 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:52,920 Here's what it means. Translation. 380 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,320 Endure misery. It's going to get really good 381 00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:59,360 and it's going to be worth it once you die and you get to 382 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:03,460 heaven. So just bite your tongue, put it 383 00:27:03,460 --> 00:27:07,980 on the southcloth and ashes, try not to disappoint God. 384 00:27:09,060 --> 00:27:11,820 And then once you get through the gates, you'll say okay, it 385 00:27:11,820 --> 00:27:14,260 was worth it. Is that what Jesus means here? 386 00:27:16,940 --> 00:27:19,140 Can I show you that the Bible in fact, says the opposite? 387 00:27:19,140 --> 00:27:21,060 There's a There's so many ways to explain this. 388 00:27:21,060 --> 00:27:23,180 One of my favorite is in First Timothy 5. 389 00:27:24,260 --> 00:27:28,460 Look at First Timothy 5 when Paul's speaking about widows who 390 00:27:28,460 --> 00:27:30,540 are worthy of financial assistance from the local 391 00:27:30,540 --> 00:27:37,260 church. First Timothy. 392 00:27:37,260 --> 00:27:39,860 If you want to know where Timothy is it, it's bundled up 393 00:27:39,860 --> 00:27:44,300 with all the other epistles that start with the letter T First 394 00:27:44,300 --> 00:27:48,220 Timothy 5. Look at verse five. 395 00:27:53,260 --> 00:27:57,940 It says here she who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set 396 00:27:57,940 --> 00:28:02,180 her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night 397 00:28:02,180 --> 00:28:05,930 and day. Verse 6 But she who is self 398 00:28:05,930 --> 00:28:09,770 indulgent is dead even while she lives. 399 00:28:14,490 --> 00:28:17,090 That is so countercultural. If you want to live, you should 400 00:28:17,090 --> 00:28:20,530 be self indulgent. Acquire more, achieve more, 401 00:28:20,530 --> 00:28:24,810 Stuff your life with more. Is that not the anthem of what 402 00:28:24,810 --> 00:28:28,330 it means to live? And here's what the Bible says. 403 00:28:28,690 --> 00:28:33,250 The self indulgent, those who live just for you to acquire, to 404 00:28:33,250 --> 00:28:37,250 know, to experience more, more, more, more in this life. 405 00:28:37,570 --> 00:28:43,570 You're a Walking Dead man. You're a spiritual zombie. 406 00:28:45,770 --> 00:28:49,090 Oh yeah, you have, you have plans and you have eyes and you 407 00:28:49,090 --> 00:28:52,850 have full mobility and you have money and you have interactions 408 00:28:52,850 --> 00:28:54,450 with this world. But here's what the Bible says. 409 00:28:54,570 --> 00:28:59,990 You're dead while you live. Now if it's true that the self 410 00:28:59,990 --> 00:29:02,870 indulgent are dead while they live, then the opposite also 411 00:29:02,870 --> 00:29:06,830 must be true. That those who deny self are 412 00:29:06,830 --> 00:29:12,790 really living are really living and Jesus. 413 00:29:12,950 --> 00:29:15,590 Jesus the best example illustrates that in so many 414 00:29:15,590 --> 00:29:17,830 ways. What about in that spectacular 415 00:29:17,830 --> 00:29:19,790 conversation that he has with a woman at the well? 416 00:29:19,950 --> 00:29:23,030 The disciples all go out into the villages to grab food for 417 00:29:23,150 --> 00:29:25,630 Jesus because he is weary and he is tired. 418 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,760 And when they come back after this woman hears that he is the 419 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,080 Messiah. After this woman hears what all 420 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:39,440 that she had done was revealed by this amazing man, Rabbi Eat. 421 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,760 And Jesus says in John 434 my food is to do the will of him 422 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:46,440 who sent me to accomplish his work. 423 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:54,360 In other words, I already ate, but he didn't really physically 424 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:58,280 eat. So what is he saying there? 425 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:04,600 Jesus connects, doing the will of God with a universal 426 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,720 experience known as eating. You probably ate today. 427 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:10,920 You're probably wanting me to stop sooner so you can eat. 428 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:16,800 Now we all know what it's like to eat, do we not? 429 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:22,320 And Jesus says doing the will of God is like the experience and 430 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:28,970 the benefits of eating food. It quenches a desire. 431 00:30:29,650 --> 00:30:33,850 It energizes you. It brings the light into your 432 00:30:33,850 --> 00:30:37,010 life. It sustains you. 433 00:30:37,250 --> 00:30:42,810 It strengthens you. It's a real experience only with 434 00:30:42,810 --> 00:30:47,930 good as a consequence, of course, in moderation. 435 00:30:49,570 --> 00:30:52,050 And Jesus says what it's like to eat and what happens when you 436 00:30:52,050 --> 00:30:54,890 eat is what it's like when your life is submitted to the will of 437 00:30:54,890 --> 00:30:58,530 God. True delight, true strength, 438 00:30:58,890 --> 00:31:02,930 true sustenance and wholeness and a sense of completeness. 439 00:31:04,330 --> 00:31:06,850 And listen, this is so significant, so real is that 440 00:31:06,850 --> 00:31:11,490 experience of walking in the will of God that it even gave 441 00:31:11,650 --> 00:31:15,410 Jesus the energy to not even want to physically eat. 442 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,960 It was so fulfilling for Jesus that when the food was presented 443 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:27,040 to him didn't really need it. And if that's true, if me doing 444 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,560 the will of God is capable of me even at times not wanting the 445 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:33,800 essential things of life, What about the things in life that 446 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:38,200 are not essential? What about the things in life 447 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,400 that harm me and hurt me, though they tempt me? 448 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:46,970 Is there not a blessing, and not just knowing the experience of 449 00:31:46,970 --> 00:31:48,930 eating, but what it also protects me from? 450 00:31:48,930 --> 00:31:53,010 And that's exactly what the Lord is saying here. 451 00:31:53,050 --> 00:31:56,610 There's a fulfillment, a real sense of satisfaction, that 452 00:31:56,610 --> 00:31:58,090 comes from obeying the will of God. 453 00:31:58,490 --> 00:32:02,050 Which was what to suspend my own needs and desires for the sake 454 00:32:02,050 --> 00:32:06,010 of serving somebody else, for, for prioritizing the glory of 455 00:32:06,010 --> 00:32:11,330 God in this moment. And that is true for you and I. 456 00:32:12,470 --> 00:32:15,070 You and I can also expect that when he calls us to deny 457 00:32:15,070 --> 00:32:20,070 ourselves, he's not calling you to a lifelong misery. 458 00:32:20,750 --> 00:32:23,590 He's calling you to put to death lesser things. 459 00:32:25,270 --> 00:32:28,710 One evangelist put it this way. It's like jumping into the ocean 460 00:32:28,710 --> 00:32:32,350 with a backpack or Fanny pack filled with 80 or 100 pounds of 461 00:32:32,350 --> 00:32:35,190 gold. You're drowning, but you want to 462 00:32:35,190 --> 00:32:37,910 hold on to the gold. At what cost? 463 00:32:37,910 --> 00:32:41,070 Your life. And so unlock that thing. 464 00:32:41,070 --> 00:32:42,830 Cut that thing out so that you can what? 465 00:32:42,830 --> 00:32:44,670 Live. Truly live. 466 00:32:44,670 --> 00:32:48,030 And this is what Jesus saying? Renounce it. 467 00:32:48,030 --> 00:32:51,430 Remove it. Disassociate yourself from it so 468 00:32:51,430 --> 00:32:57,430 that you would truly know life. You're saving your life for 469 00:32:57,430 --> 00:32:58,790 what? Inferior pleasures? 470 00:32:58,790 --> 00:33:01,830 Inferior sense of purpose? Inferior sense of security? 471 00:33:01,830 --> 00:33:05,390 Inferior sense of true reputation and identification? 472 00:33:07,470 --> 00:33:09,870 Deny it. See it for what it is, and 473 00:33:09,870 --> 00:33:12,510 understand that by losing your life, you're really saving your 474 00:33:12,510 --> 00:33:16,990 life. So you're the disciples in the 475 00:33:16,990 --> 00:33:21,510 crowd hearing you. OK, but he goes on beyond that, 476 00:33:22,390 --> 00:33:25,950 and he says here in the next part, for what does a prophet a 477 00:33:25,950 --> 00:33:30,310 man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? 478 00:33:32,790 --> 00:33:34,950 What does a prophet a man if he gains the whole world but 479 00:33:34,950 --> 00:33:39,840 forfeits his soul? Here's the 2nd incentive. 480 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,880 Here's the 2nd explanation. Not just losing your life really 481 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:47,120 means to save it, but your soul is more valuable than gaining 482 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:52,920 the whole world the value of the human soul. 483 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:59,120 So suppose that you've been granted this opportunity, this 484 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:06,240 once, in a multigenerational opportunity, to gain absolutely 485 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:10,800 everything, Not partly not to be named among the 100 most rich, 486 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:14,920 but to be at the top of the top. You own everything. 487 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:18,199 Every product, anything, is accessible to you by the snap of 488 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:20,080 the finger. Every piece of land that you 489 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:25,080 desire will be yours. Any project that was once 490 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:28,080 accomplished, any project that you would want to be realized, 491 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:31,280 all of that, is now available to you. 492 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:36,600 Suppose you have that opportunity and the other choice 493 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,000 is to deny yourself and to take up a cross. 494 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,400 Which one do you think people would choose? 495 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:47,800 Just look at how most people are living. 496 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,719 You know what Jesus is saying. If you choose the first one, 497 00:34:55,800 --> 00:35:00,840 you're a fool. If pursuing these things at the 498 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:06,160 cost of your soul is what you will do with your brief 499 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:13,840 existence, you're a fool. You don't understand the value. 500 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,400 You don't understand what awaits concerning your soul. 501 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,720 And Jesus, by saying this is saying trust me, at the end of 502 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:29,120 it all, whatever suffering you had to endure for my namesake 503 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:33,400 and for my gospel sake will be worth it. 504 00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:40,540 Even if what you had been given a chance to do was a pain free, 505 00:35:40,860 --> 00:35:45,500 unending prosperity. No problems, no tribulation, no 506 00:35:45,500 --> 00:35:52,380 issues, was the alternative. You taking up a cross is better 507 00:35:52,380 --> 00:35:53,820 than you gaining the whole world. 508 00:35:56,620 --> 00:36:00,220 And when I was meditating on this verse, I thought to myself, 509 00:36:00,860 --> 00:36:04,180 how quickly will you realize that when all is said and done, 510 00:36:05,610 --> 00:36:13,090 how quickly I believe the microsecond that you give your 511 00:36:13,090 --> 00:36:17,330 final breath and you enter into that next World, you'll realize 512 00:36:17,330 --> 00:36:21,210 it. It will flood your soul. 513 00:36:23,130 --> 00:36:25,570 And the opposite is true for those who sought to gain the 514 00:36:25,570 --> 00:36:29,210 whole world but forfeited their soul. 515 00:36:29,810 --> 00:36:30,970 Can I show you an example of that? 516 00:36:31,090 --> 00:36:33,130 Remember the rich man in Lazarus and Luke 16? 517 00:36:33,730 --> 00:36:35,210 I want you to see a detail there that I love. 518 00:36:35,210 --> 00:36:50,120 And Luke 16, Luke 1619. There was a rich man who was 519 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:53,600 clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously 520 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:58,680 every day and at his gate was a was laid a poor man named 521 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:00,640 Lazarus. This is how we know it's not a 522 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:02,160 parable. You don't name people in 523 00:37:02,160 --> 00:37:06,130 parables. This is a real story that his 524 00:37:06,130 --> 00:37:09,530 gate was a was laid a poor man named Lazarus covered with sores 525 00:37:09,530 --> 00:37:12,970 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table, 526 00:37:13,730 --> 00:37:18,330 just wanted crumbs. Moreover, even the dogs came and 527 00:37:18,330 --> 00:37:21,570 licked his sores. Isn't it a sad side when we see 528 00:37:21,570 --> 00:37:23,970 more compassion from animals than from human beings? 529 00:37:27,050 --> 00:37:29,690 So here's this man at the gate of this rich man's house, and 530 00:37:29,690 --> 00:37:32,960 these dogs are licking his sores and all he's asking for. 531 00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:34,360 He's not asking for a seat at the table. 532 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,080 He's just asking for whatever falls from the table, never gets 533 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:40,040 it. So we have this contrast of 534 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,640 life. You have this rich man, proud, 535 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:48,040 arrogant, and as we're going to find out, not a believer, and 536 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:51,600 clearly this man, Lazarus, who had a horrible fate in life but 537 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:55,360 was indeed a believer. Look at verse 22. 538 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:58,280 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to 539 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:00,560 Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was 540 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:02,340 buried. What stands out to you? 541 00:38:04,540 --> 00:38:08,060 Both of these people died. Who was carried by angels? 542 00:38:11,060 --> 00:38:15,380 Lazarus. Did the rich man receive any 543 00:38:15,380 --> 00:38:20,620 kind of escort? No, he was just dumped into the 544 00:38:20,620 --> 00:38:23,100 grave. Dumped into Hades. 545 00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:27,860 You know what that tells me? The moment the moment Lazarus 546 00:38:27,860 --> 00:38:32,560 died, he was met with heavenly bliss. 547 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:38,080 Even the angels personally came to him and brought him to 548 00:38:38,080 --> 00:38:41,680 Abraham's side. I wonder what went through his 549 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:45,040 mind. And here's this man who probably 550 00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:47,160 received a very honorable funeral. 551 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:53,040 He probably even in advance paid for a spectacle in honor of his 552 00:38:53,040 --> 00:38:56,680 name. And the moment he dies? 553 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:10,730 No reception, no warm welcome. Hell, what does it profit a man 554 00:39:13,410 --> 00:39:17,290 to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul? 555 00:39:18,450 --> 00:39:22,210 And then he goes on to say, what can a man give in return for his 556 00:39:22,210 --> 00:39:26,410 soul? That can mean many things. 557 00:39:26,410 --> 00:39:28,810 I think one of the things it means is that on that day, 558 00:39:29,610 --> 00:39:32,330 people who have not denied themselves and taken up their 559 00:39:32,330 --> 00:39:38,010 cross will be so desperate to have their soul preserved for 560 00:39:38,010 --> 00:39:41,210 eternity that maybe in their desperation they're going to 561 00:39:41,210 --> 00:39:45,290 make attempts to give something to God, to purchase their soul. 562 00:39:48,970 --> 00:39:53,370 What a tragic thing to even think about all these people 563 00:39:53,370 --> 00:39:58,770 with companies and businesses and stocks and shares and 564 00:39:58,770 --> 00:40:02,580 unimaginable wealth. Trying to convince the judge of 565 00:40:02,580 --> 00:40:04,780 the earth. What do I need to give to have 566 00:40:04,780 --> 00:40:07,140 my soul return? What do I need to give? 567 00:40:08,620 --> 00:40:11,340 It'll be too late. Because God doesn't want your 568 00:40:11,340 --> 00:40:12,340 stuff. He wants you. 569 00:40:12,340 --> 00:40:17,140 He wants your heart. He wants your faith. 570 00:40:18,260 --> 00:40:23,760 He wants your affection. So the disciples and the crowds 571 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:25,560 are hearing this one. To lose your life really means 572 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:28,040 to save it too. The soul is more valuable. 573 00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:30,640 As you're contemplating the cost, well, contemplate this. 574 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:34,320 Your soul is more important, more valuable, the greatest 575 00:40:34,320 --> 00:40:36,680 investment you can make regardless, even if you gain the 576 00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:46,520 whole world to deny Christ. Lastly, Jesus says something 577 00:40:47,870 --> 00:40:49,830 that should motivate us further. And listen, this should 578 00:40:49,830 --> 00:40:52,390 strengthen you who have made a decision to take up your cross 579 00:40:52,390 --> 00:40:56,870 and follow Jesus Christ. Let this strengthen you, verse 580 00:40:56,870 --> 00:40:59,150 38. For whoever is ashamed of me and 581 00:40:59,150 --> 00:41:02,790 of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him, 582 00:41:02,790 --> 00:41:06,350 will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the 583 00:41:06,350 --> 00:41:08,550 glory of his Father with the holy angels? 584 00:41:09,430 --> 00:41:13,830 So if possessions aren't a problem for people to shun their 585 00:41:13,830 --> 00:41:20,740 cross, popularity is usually the other thing, being on good terms 586 00:41:20,740 --> 00:41:23,700 with people. And Jesus knew that. 587 00:41:24,100 --> 00:41:28,700 And so Jesus says, I'm aware that part of your resistance is 588 00:41:28,700 --> 00:41:33,220 to be ashamed, to deny me, to not want to be linked with me, 589 00:41:33,820 --> 00:41:36,540 not just me personally, but even my words. 590 00:41:37,820 --> 00:41:40,340 But he does something so specific and so strategic. 591 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:46,160 He colors the people, He colors the the those that we're trying 592 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:49,560 that we're even thinking about winning their approval from. 593 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:53,640 He doesn't say your family. He doesn't say your boss. 594 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:55,760 He didn't say the wealthy. He doesn't say the intelligent. 595 00:41:55,760 --> 00:41:56,960 He doesn't say the sophisticated. 596 00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:59,480 He doesn't say the scientifically intelligent. 597 00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:02,760 What does he say in this adulterous and sinful 598 00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:06,400 generation? Why is he doing that? 599 00:42:08,300 --> 00:42:12,020 I think one for us to realize just how silly it is to even 600 00:42:12,020 --> 00:42:16,140 consider between the approval of such a people and the King of 601 00:42:16,140 --> 00:42:18,020 Glory. So hold on. 602 00:42:18,380 --> 00:42:21,980 You're struggling to follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly 603 00:42:22,180 --> 00:42:25,540 because you want to win the praise and the affection of an 604 00:42:25,540 --> 00:42:27,900 adulterous and sinful generation. 605 00:42:31,540 --> 00:42:34,420 Here's a here's how I categorize this. 606 00:42:34,540 --> 00:42:37,540 If there's any other incentive there is to take up your cross 607 00:42:37,540 --> 00:42:41,540 and follow Jesus, it is this. The alternative to denying self 608 00:42:41,580 --> 00:42:46,420 is pathetic. The alternative to denying self 609 00:42:46,420 --> 00:42:50,620 is absolutely pathetic, and I think that should be more true 610 00:42:50,620 --> 00:42:52,420 in our day of age than anything else. 611 00:42:54,460 --> 00:42:56,420 They don't have it all together, do they? 612 00:42:58,460 --> 00:43:04,210 Look what they're talking about. They can't even figure out 613 00:43:04,330 --> 00:43:06,930 what's real. Never mind what's true. 614 00:43:07,290 --> 00:43:10,490 Never mind what's objectively right, what's even 615 00:43:10,490 --> 00:43:12,890 scientifically correct and accurate. 616 00:43:13,330 --> 00:43:15,490 Those are the people that we're intimidated by. 617 00:43:17,250 --> 00:43:20,770 Those are the ones that we want to try to swoo and convince that 618 00:43:20,770 --> 00:43:26,530 we are modern and up to date and developed and progressive. 619 00:43:27,410 --> 00:43:30,170 Who cares? Who cares? 620 00:43:33,410 --> 00:43:35,730 Blind guides leading blind people. 621 00:43:36,490 --> 00:43:39,050 Why would I want to join that line and head down the Cliff? 622 00:43:39,250 --> 00:43:40,930 It's like I saw the Lord's trying to wake them up. 623 00:43:41,370 --> 00:43:43,850 Hey, remember in your contemplation of carrying your 624 00:43:43,850 --> 00:43:48,770 cross, remember who you're actually trying to win an 625 00:43:49,570 --> 00:43:56,050 adulterous and sinful people. If we just see what sin really 626 00:43:56,050 --> 00:43:59,130 does, what the fate of sin is really is what the fruit of sin 627 00:43:59,130 --> 00:44:01,530 is. And Satan is doing an incredible 628 00:44:01,530 --> 00:44:04,450 job by masquerading it and by making it seem like it is 629 00:44:04,450 --> 00:44:06,490 enjoyable, making it seem like it is life. 630 00:44:06,890 --> 00:44:12,650 It is true life and layers it. And so you have young people 631 00:44:12,650 --> 00:44:15,210 today because I know it. You can't fool me, young person. 632 00:44:16,570 --> 00:44:18,250 I know it. I know what it's like to sit in 633 00:44:18,250 --> 00:44:19,370 a meeting like this and go under. 634 00:44:19,490 --> 00:44:24,730 Sit under a meeting that calls people to give their lives to 635 00:44:24,730 --> 00:44:28,170 Christ. I'm not sure how much I heard 636 00:44:28,170 --> 00:44:31,000 about denying yourself. I know what it's like. 637 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:35,440 Do you want to follow Jesus? And down deep inside, you know 638 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:38,320 what you might be feeling? Yeah, this is right. 639 00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:41,920 This is stirring my heart. It's pulling on my heartstrings. 640 00:44:41,920 --> 00:44:43,360 But there's really something out. 641 00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:45,680 There are things out there that I really want. 642 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:52,400 There are people out there that I really want. 643 00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:55,360 Jesus says they're an adulterous and sinful generation. 644 00:44:55,360 --> 00:45:02,340 What do you want from them? And in contrast of him, will the 645 00:45:02,340 --> 00:45:05,180 Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his 646 00:45:05,180 --> 00:45:08,380 Father and with the holy angels? Here's what it means to 647 00:45:08,540 --> 00:45:10,300 ultimately take up your cross. You got to make a choice. 648 00:45:10,860 --> 00:45:15,020 Whose approval am I after this adulterous and sinful 649 00:45:15,020 --> 00:45:20,900 generation, or the eternal, most beautiful, uncomparable, all 650 00:45:20,900 --> 00:45:26,100 glorious Son of God? Whose opinion? 651 00:45:26,980 --> 00:45:32,740 Whose plan, whose worldview, whose standard, whose 652 00:45:32,740 --> 00:45:34,340 principles? Which one am I going to choose? 653 00:45:38,740 --> 00:45:41,820 And to take up your cross is to look at that adulterous and 654 00:45:41,820 --> 00:45:43,540 sinful generation. It says, No matter what you say 655 00:45:43,540 --> 00:45:48,180 about me, no matter what you want to do with me, I want his 656 00:45:48,180 --> 00:45:53,100 commendation. So I will follow him, though not 657 00:45:53,100 --> 00:45:57,760 go with me. Sometimes when people hear the 658 00:45:57,760 --> 00:46:02,560 call of the gospel, what springs up? 659 00:46:02,720 --> 00:46:05,600 Look, I'm not interested in making my workplace awkward. 660 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:08,320 I'm not interested in creating tension in my marriage with my 661 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:11,000 unbelieving spouse, or my cousins or my uncles or my 662 00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:13,760 siblings. I'm not interested in being 663 00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:15,880 scorned, just like what a cross does. 664 00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:19,480 Public humiliation, public scorn. 665 00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:22,040 I don't think I want to invite that into my life. 666 00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:26,100 And Jesus says, well, consider that it's coming from this kind 667 00:46:26,100 --> 00:46:31,260 of people. But also consider that when I 668 00:46:31,260 --> 00:46:35,060 come in my glory, I will acknowledge you. 669 00:46:38,980 --> 00:46:44,660 I will acknowledge you. There's a striking verse in John 670 00:46:44,660 --> 00:46:49,620 1242. Nevertheless, many even of the 671 00:46:49,620 --> 00:46:54,990 authorities believed in him. But for fear of the Pharisees, 672 00:46:54,990 --> 00:47:00,150 they did not confess it so that they would not be put out of the 673 00:47:00,150 --> 00:47:04,190 synagogue. For they loved the glory that 674 00:47:04,190 --> 00:47:08,830 comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. 675 00:47:11,470 --> 00:47:15,350 There were people in Jesus's day that were more interested in 676 00:47:15,350 --> 00:47:18,230 keeping their membership in the synagogue than having their 677 00:47:18,230 --> 00:47:20,110 names written in the Lambs book of life. 678 00:47:23,250 --> 00:47:27,770 And perhaps there's some people today who want to keep their 679 00:47:27,770 --> 00:47:29,850 job. They know that with what's 680 00:47:29,850 --> 00:47:31,930 happening in the culture, there's going to be a choice you 681 00:47:31,930 --> 00:47:33,690 have to make to confess your faith. 682 00:47:34,250 --> 00:47:35,730 I'm not. I'm not sure if I want to do 683 00:47:35,730 --> 00:47:37,290 that. I need job security, especially 684 00:47:37,290 --> 00:47:40,410 with all the crazy inflation going on and I just started a 685 00:47:40,410 --> 00:47:45,170 family. But take up your cross, Deny 686 00:47:45,170 --> 00:47:49,690 yourself. Let your life be an adventure 687 00:47:50,310 --> 00:47:54,070 for the glory of Jesus Christ. OK, Let them take it. 688 00:47:54,070 --> 00:47:55,470 Let them. Let them give you the boot. 689 00:47:55,990 --> 00:47:57,590 All right, Lord. Now what? 690 00:48:01,430 --> 00:48:02,830 Who wants to play it safe anyway? 691 00:48:05,110 --> 00:48:07,030 The safest thing you can do is put your life in the hands of 692 00:48:07,030 --> 00:48:12,030 him. Have you done this? 693 00:48:15,150 --> 00:48:16,750 Jesus didn't say if anyone would come after me. 694 00:48:16,750 --> 00:48:18,910 Let him make sure he wakes up early on Sunday morning and not 695 00:48:18,910 --> 00:48:22,520 skip church. Jesus didn't even say that. 696 00:48:22,520 --> 00:48:24,360 If anyone would come after me, let him make sure that he 697 00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:27,000 disciplines off to at least get 15 minutes in my word and I'm 698 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:33,520 counting every minute of it. Jesus didn't say if anyone would 699 00:48:33,520 --> 00:48:38,120 come after me. Let him sing some songs and do 700 00:48:38,120 --> 00:48:43,160 some community service. Have some pastors they can 701 00:48:43,160 --> 00:48:45,160 identify in their lives and surround yourself with more 702 00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:53,020 Christians and less sinners. Jesus said if anyone would come 703 00:48:53,020 --> 00:48:59,060 after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. 704 00:49:01,180 --> 00:49:04,380 Have you done that? You can do that today. 705 00:49:05,740 --> 00:49:08,140 You don't have to be like the rich man who realized it too 706 00:49:08,140 --> 00:49:20,120 late. You can be like Jesus, that as 707 00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:26,070 you even in suffering feel the turmoil, the price it is to 708 00:49:26,070 --> 00:49:30,390 honor him in this hostile world. You can still feel full, 709 00:49:30,790 --> 00:49:33,430 satisfied and obeying the will of God, walking in the will of 710 00:49:33,430 --> 00:49:35,310 God. And even more than that, say, 711 00:49:35,310 --> 00:49:38,830 Father, glorify your name to know life now, lest you be 712 00:49:38,830 --> 00:49:40,790 someone who is living but is really dead. 713 00:49:43,950 --> 00:49:48,150 And now only will you know a paradox of a life filled with 714 00:49:48,150 --> 00:49:53,600 promises and pleasures, even if your lot in life is like that 715 00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:57,360 man who wanted crumbs. Oh, what an entrance he 716 00:49:57,360 --> 00:49:59,840 received. An entrance unlike what that 717 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:03,880 rich man would have ever experienced in his world. 718 00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:09,920 The call to self denial, my friend, is not a call to a 719 00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:17,760 cloudy, ascetic, miserable, cold, awkward, weird way of 720 00:50:17,760 --> 00:50:20,120 living. It's to really live. 721 00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:27,640 Take off the Fanny pack with all your sins and all your ideas and 722 00:50:27,640 --> 00:50:32,240 all your self righteousness and all your conditions of what it 723 00:50:32,240 --> 00:50:34,480 means to be thrown aside. You're drowning. 724 00:50:36,880 --> 00:50:38,520 Take off the backpack. You're drowning. 725 00:50:39,360 --> 00:50:40,960 You think you're living, but you're drowning. 726 00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:44,040 I know that the gold in there is making you a little bit happy. 727 00:50:44,840 --> 00:50:47,600 I know you think that you can survive by holding on to your 728 00:50:47,600 --> 00:50:51,040 ideas and your philosophies and your sin and your habits, but 729 00:50:51,040 --> 00:50:55,080 you can't take it off. And here's what will happen. 730 00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:58,520 Just like somebody who does remove the hindrance, the very 731 00:50:58,520 --> 00:51:04,760 instrument of his own death, you will spring up and you will know 732 00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:11,280 life, real life, in Jesus Christ. 733 00:51:12,040 --> 00:51:16,600 Believer, if you've made that decision, it's going to be worth 734 00:51:16,600 --> 00:51:19,800 it. And isn't it already worth it? 735 00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:22,080 Amen. Let's pray. 736 00:51:39,140 --> 00:51:43,820 Father, thank you for the unadulterated word of God. 737 00:51:46,660 --> 00:51:50,260 Thank you that Jesus invitation to death is in fact the way to 738 00:51:50,260 --> 00:51:54,260 true life. Thank you that your thoughts are 739 00:51:54,260 --> 00:51:56,740 not like our thoughts. Your ways are not like our ways. 740 00:52:00,540 --> 00:52:05,780 Lord, for the weary believer who's paying a price for 741 00:52:05,780 --> 00:52:09,540 carrying your name and for representing the gospel, may 742 00:52:09,540 --> 00:52:15,420 they know fresh strength. May they have eternities, shore 743 00:52:15,420 --> 00:52:24,500 and view, and may they be encouraged to know that true joy 744 00:52:25,740 --> 00:52:28,020 is in the path that they've decided to walk on. 745 00:52:30,940 --> 00:52:37,690 For the person in here who is at a crossroads, and it's not 746 00:52:37,690 --> 00:52:41,330 certain if they have truly responded to this call to 747 00:52:41,570 --> 00:52:46,210 discipleship, may there be no misunderstanding. 748 00:52:46,210 --> 00:52:49,850 May there be no misinterpretation that to be 749 00:52:49,850 --> 00:52:54,610 saved is to suffer physically or financially or relationally to 750 00:52:54,610 --> 00:52:55,690 win your approval. No. 751 00:52:56,050 --> 00:53:01,690 May they simply understand that by faith in you we should expect 752 00:53:01,690 --> 00:53:05,690 these things even before we confess faith in you. 753 00:53:05,850 --> 00:53:09,130 We have to be willing to say, If my faith will cost me this, then 754 00:53:09,130 --> 00:53:13,290 so be it. And may they understand that 755 00:53:13,530 --> 00:53:18,570 only when they take up that cross will they know true life. 756 00:53:19,890 --> 00:53:21,890 May your Holy Spirit do what only he can do. 757 00:53:22,690 --> 00:53:26,250 And Lord, may we now stand in your presence, rejoicing, 758 00:53:27,370 --> 00:53:30,840 rejoicing in your truth, because it is for your glory. 759 00:53:31,400 --> 00:53:33,520 But we thank you that it is also for our good. 760 00:53:35,360 --> 00:53:37,200 Receive the honor that you deserve. 761 00:53:38,480 --> 00:53:40,200 In Jesus name. Amen. 762 00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:42,000 Let's stand together, shall we?