1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:03,440 We just have a wonderful crowd here this morning and we are so 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:07,120 very thankful that all of you are here with us today. 3 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:10,920 We have quite a few visitors that are in our audience and we 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,200 want to say that you are our honored guest and we welcome you 5 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,040 back every time we have an opportunity to assemble. 6 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,320 Welcome everyone. It is my privilege and my honor 7 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,800 to speak concerning the Word of God, and especially to speak 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,360 words that the Master taught so long ago, and that's Jesus 9 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,960 Christ, the greatest preacher of the world ever knew. 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,280 We're continuing our series in Matthew chapter 8, and now we 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,880 come down to verses 18 through 22 where Jesus is going to teach 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:45,720 a very, very valuable lesson about the cost of discipleship. 13 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:49,200 I appreciate it so very much, Wade's comments and the song we 14 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,680 just sung. Because being a Christian and 15 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,880 following Jesus is the greatest decision you will ever make. 16 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,280 There are no greater blessings in the world than being in 17 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:01,240 Christ and having Jesus in your life. 18 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,760 He's the answer to everything. If you're having problems in 19 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,400 your life and you're having hard times in your life, the answer 20 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,920 is Jesus. But Jesus is going to teach us 21 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,320 there is a cost. I think there's a lot of people 22 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:19,920 today in our society, really in the world, that would follow 23 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:24,520 Jesus only if they can do it on their own terms and they can do 24 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,200 it on their own way. Let's talk about what Jesus said 25 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,440 so long ago. Let's hear the words of Jesus. 26 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:36,640 He begins in verse #18 when Jesus saw great multitudes about 27 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,960 him, He commanded to depart to the other side. 28 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:46,520 If you back up by way of context in verses 16 and 17, Jesus just 29 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,560 healed many. And if you look at all the 30 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,040 gospel narratives, for example, if you look in Mark's gospel and 31 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,640 Mark's account of the very same things here, we find that there 32 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:59,360 are some things that happened after verse 17 and before verse 33 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,320 18, before these multitudes gathered around Jesus. 34 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,360 So really, scholars say that probably several days had 35 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:12,800 transpired before verse 17 in Matthew and verse 18 in Matthew 36 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:17,160 of chapter 8, because Mark says that he went out and he traveled 37 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:21,320 and he preached to a number of surrounding towns before this 38 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,040 happened. They were on the western shore 39 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,120 of the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd was massive. 40 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:32,520 Jesus knew that and he gave the order to depart to the other 41 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,600 side where the crowd was not so massive. 42 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,880 It was really a less populated area. 43 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:39,480 And I think there's three reasons for that. 44 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,080 Number one, and the obvious reason, Jesus had just been 45 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:46,320 performing miracles. Jesus had just fed them. 46 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,840 He just had healed them. So number one, I think the human 47 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:51,520 side of Jesus, and please get that. 48 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:53,640 We're going to talk about the humanity of Jesus in just a 49 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:56,280 moment. And I am so thankful for the 50 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:01,040 humanity part of our Messiah. We're going to talk about why 51 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:02,320 that's important in just a minute. 52 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:05,600 But from the humanity standpoint, Jesus was tired. 53 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,760 He needed respite. I think that's the first reason 54 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:10,640 that he said let's depart to the other side. 55 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,880 Let's get in a boat and go to the eastern side of the shore of 56 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:20,400 Galilee, of the Sea of Galilee. Number two, reason I think Jesus 57 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,400 wanted to separate himself from all the people that were only 58 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,800 interested in the physical benefits of following Jesus. 59 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,280 For example, like I just said, he just fed them and he just 60 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,240 performed miracles and he healed them. 61 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:39,360 But following Jesus is more than that reason #3 that I think he 62 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,640 decided to go to the other side. I think it was an opportunity 63 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:46,240 for Jesus to spend some private time with the closest people 64 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,640 that he had in his life and that were his followers, his 65 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,800 disciples. He decides to get in a boat and 66 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,160 go to the other side. Now, Mark's account says this, 67 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,000 Mark's account says that other little boats followed. 68 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,160 And I think that's a mouthful because really, when you talk 69 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,680 about following Jesus, everybody has a choice to make. 70 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,400 And so did they on that day when Jesus told his disciples, we're 71 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,160 going to the other side, everybody that was there had to 72 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,120 make a choice, had to make a decision. 73 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,880 Am I going to get in my boat and follow Jesus, or am I going to 74 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:20,320 stay on the shore and let all things be as they've always been 75 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:22,760 and do nothing? Everybody has to make that 76 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,840 choice. Am I going to follow Jesus or am 77 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:29,960 I going to stay in the current condition in my life that I am? 78 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:32,880 Jesus is going to encounter three men. 79 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:37,120 All three men expressed an interest in following him. 80 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,760 Matthew only mentions 2 and Luke mentions 1/3. 81 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,600 Let's notice the first one, Matthew chapter 8, verse 19. 82 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,360 The Bible says there was a scribe. 83 00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:51,520 You know, I preached a sermon 7 years ago right here. 84 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:54,920 In fact, if you've heard the podcast, you've probably heard 85 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:56,840 the sermon. I've preached it throughout the 86 00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:59,880 country. But it's in Luke's account of 87 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,640 these passages. And really, when you look at 88 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,240 Luke's account in these passages, it appears that Jesus 89 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,480 went across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and then met 90 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,200 three men. And I used to preach it that 91 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,120 way. But in studying Matthew's 92 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,680 account, it appears that at least this guy and perhaps all 93 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,240 three, he met before he ever left. 94 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,360 And that makes a lot more sense by way of context. 95 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:23,760 In other words, he's about to get on a boat. 96 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:25,520 He's about to go to the other side. 97 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,480 And before he does, before he can even get on the boat, here 98 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,520 comes the scribe. And the scribe's going to say, 99 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,840 wait a minute, I'm going to follow you anywhere you go. 100 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:36,600 Who was the scribe? Who were they? 101 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:39,760 Historically? They were the authorities of 102 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,080 Jewish law. They had their roots in the 103 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,920 Jewish priesthood, and by the 1st century, they had become an 104 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,800 honored class of professional lawyers. 105 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:54,080 They were the ones, by the way, that fiercely defended the old 106 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,040 Law of Moses. Big stuff. 107 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:00,000 Also, we find these were the guys that usually oppose Jesus. 108 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,000 Now I'm going to tell you, I don't know. 109 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,200 I don't know what it's like to have the mind of Christ in the 110 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,480 regards that he actually had it specifically. 111 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,600 I know that we have to put that mind in US and follow what the 112 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:13,440 Word says and all of that. We can apply that kind of aspect 113 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:14,840 of the mind of Christ. That's true. 114 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:20,400 But Jesus is deity and Jesus could do what I can't do. 115 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,720 If I was there that day and I was one of the inner circle of 116 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:26,360 Jesus, I might say, man, we got a good one. 117 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,800 We got somebody that was in opposition to Jesus, somebody 118 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:33,240 that Jesus described in Matthew chapter 23. 119 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,800 You know what he calls them? He calls them hypocrites. 120 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:43,200 He calls them pretenders, He calls them fakes, He calls them 121 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:46,880 egoists. But you know, there's something 122 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,120 different about this guy. All those things that Jesus 123 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:51,760 described in Matthew 23 don't seem to fit this man. 124 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,160 This man seems to be different. And maybe if I'm in the inner 125 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,800 circle with Jesus, I'm thinking Jesus got a good one. 126 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,560 We got one from the other side, the other team, and that's a 127 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,120 good thing. But Jesus knew so much more. 128 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:09,000 He makes a bold assertion. He said, teacher, I will follow 129 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,480 you wherever you go. First of all, let's talk about 130 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:16,360 the word teacher. The word teacher comes from a 131 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:21,520 word in its origins called de de scalos, and D descalos is a word 132 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,000 that is translated in three different English words. 133 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:25,640 You may have heard me say this before. 134 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:30,200 It's translated as teacher, it's translated as master, and it's 135 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,320 translated as Lord. In the new King James, This 136 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,800 passage is translated teacher in the old King James, it's 137 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,760 translated Master and in the old in the new King James, In Luke's 138 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:44,480 account, he calls him Lord. What's he saying? 139 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,000 He wasn't necessarily calling him Lord and Savior. 140 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:52,280 He was calling him D Descalos, teacher, master, Lord, a term of 141 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:56,720 respect. OK, he offers him a term of 142 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:02,720 respect. That's who he says teacher. 143 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:08,000 But the implications of this statement are huge because when 144 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,000 you say you're going to follow Jesus, you are saying I'm going 145 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,960 to submit to your authority. I'm going to submit to your 146 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,640 direction and I'm going to honor everything about you, and I'm 147 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:20,920 going to honor what your will is. 148 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:22,080 I'm going to say this by the way. 149 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:27,880 She's going to throw it out. When you pray to God and you 150 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:33,520 pray if it be God's will, are you really meaning if it is your 151 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,840 will, or are you really trying to get God to do what you want 152 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,640 Him to do? Because submitting to Jesus and 153 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,360 submitting to God is submitting to their will. 154 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,640 That's not my will. That's not a matter of bending 155 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:50,400 my will. That's not a matter of bending 156 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:52,520 God's will toward me. That's a matter of me bending my 157 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,600 will toward God. That means this. 158 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,720 If I pray to God and he says no, I need to accept that. 159 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:00,760 If I really mean if it is your will. 160 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:04,920 So if you pray with the provision, if it be your will 161 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:10,560 and you don't get it, understand whatever God's will was is 162 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:14,560 exactly what happened. And sometimes the answer is no. 163 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:18,000 And that's God's will. This man says, I will follow you 164 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,240 wherever you go. The implications are huge. 165 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,720 You're saying I will follow you, meaning I will submit to your 166 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,000 authority, your direction, your will. 167 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,920 That's what it means. And you know what this man 168 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,960 didn't understand that. He didn't understand the rigors 169 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:39,680 by the way of daily sacrifice. He didn't understand either that 170 00:09:39,680 --> 00:09:43,400 the message or the path that Jesus was on was going to end up 171 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,240 at the cross. And yet he says, I'll follow you 172 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,000 anywhere you go. He just didn't understand. 173 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:55,440 Amazing how Jesus responds. He warns this disciple, this 174 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:00,840 potential disciple, the true discipleship requires sacrifice 175 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,680 and that's why he says this. And Jesus said to him, foxes 176 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:08,480 have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man 177 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,880 has nowhere to lay his head. What an amazing response to a 178 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,240 guy that says I'll follow you anywhere you go. 179 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,880 Now many people do this. Many people interpret this 180 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:23,920 passage to mean this, that Jesus Christ was homeless. 181 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,400 Some people say, well this passage means that Jesus Christ 182 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,720 had nowhere to go. That's not what this means at 183 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,640 all. Jesus was not homeless. 184 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,280 He lived in Capernaum. In fact, if you look at Mark 185 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,520 chapter 2 and verse one, it indicates he had a regular place 186 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,680 to go. He was not homeless and he did 187 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:48,200 have places to go. You know where else he could go. 188 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,040 How about dear friends? How about Mary, Martha and 189 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,240 Lazarus, dear friends? There were times when he went 190 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,320 and stayed with them. There were times when he stayed 191 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,080 with Peter. There were times when he stayed 192 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,840 other places. But there's more about the 193 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,840 aspect of not having anywhere to lay his head and what that 194 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:07,640 actually means. It didn't mean he had nowhere to 195 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,880 go because I'm going to tell you, you remember, we studied 196 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:16,480 this in the past, that Oriental culture of the time demanded 197 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,000 that if somebody was passing through town, even a stranger, 198 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,560 and they had nowhere to go because by the way, they didn't 199 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:24,720 have Motel 6 where they keep the light on for you. 200 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,360 They didn't have that back then. What they had is they had 201 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,440 people. They had God's people. 202 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:33,960 And at the time it was Jewish people. 203 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:36,960 They were God's people. And you know what, you know what 204 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,040 the plan was? The culture was this of the day 205 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,360 when you traveled through town, somebody took you in. 206 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:49,760 Hospitality was huge. Maybe we can learn a little bit 207 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,240 about hospitality from some of these ancient cultures. 208 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:56,320 Sometimes we don't want to be bothered. 209 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,080 I'm just saying we in general, sometimes we don't want to go 210 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,600 out of our way and be bothered, but we can learn a little bit 211 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,640 about some ancient cultures. Historically, in fact, the 212 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:08,840 culture was this. You bring somebody in, even if 213 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,040 it was a stranger, and you feed him, you clothe him if need be, 214 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,720 you give him respite, let him clean up. 215 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:21,400 Oh, Jesus had a place to go. What Jesus was saying by these 216 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:24,560 words, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head after he 217 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,720 said foxes have holds and birds of the air has have nests. 218 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,840 He was exaggerating his case in order to impress upon them, 219 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,800 impressed upon the scribe the spiritual nature of the Kingdom 220 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:42,160 and the spiritual nature of his ministry. 221 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:48,160 Why would he do that? You know what the scribes were 222 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,760 all about? I think we could all relate to 223 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,320 this. The scribes were all about 224 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,360 lifestyle. They were all about security. 225 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:02,440 Now I get the fact that we need to be good stewards of what we 226 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:03,360 have. I get it. 227 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,720 I get when the Lord has blessed us with. 228 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,600 And by the way, when you have something and you have money, I 229 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,160 don't know how much money you have and I really don't care. 230 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,680 Whatever you got, good for you. If you got a lot, great. 231 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:19,160 You know why God's blessed you. That's the point. 232 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:22,400 The point I'm getting at is this. 233 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:30,160 When you put too much stock in lifestyle and no stock in 234 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:34,280 service to God, be very careful that your priorities are not 235 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,800 backwards. Be very, very careful. 236 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,440 This was a man that was all about lifestyle. 237 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,840 He was about security, and he was all about a permanence on 238 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:45,960 the earth. Please get that. 239 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:47,880 He was about a permanence on the earth. 240 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,360 In other words, Jesus is saying to a man that was all about 241 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,760 permanence on the earth and security and lifestyle that even 242 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,320 the animals, what they have, the basic comforts of animals, I 243 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:07,680 don't have. In other words, I don't even 244 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:11,360 have a place of permanence on the earth. 245 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:13,400 More on that in just a moment. Let's talk about this phrase, 246 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,280 Son of man. Now you've heard me say this 247 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,720 before, the difference between son of man and son of God, but I 248 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:22,120 want to add something to it. That's why I'm talking about it 249 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:26,920 now. The phrase Son of man is found 250 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:28,920 more than 80 times in the Gospels. 251 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:33,520 We know that. We've talked about that every 252 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,960 time it's used. It's talking about the humanity. 253 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,000 And I said I was getting back to humanity, the humanity aspect of 254 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,280 our Messiah. When the Bible talks about Jesus 255 00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:49,320 being the Son of God, it talks about the deity or divine part 256 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,760 of the Messiah. Our Messiah was both fully human 257 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:59,760 Son of man, and he was both also fully divine Son of God. 258 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,400 What Jesus is saying here is he's talking about this aspect 259 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,440 of being fully human. Sometimes though, those terms 260 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:10,960 are used interchangeably, and sometimes they're used 261 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:12,960 interchangeably in the same passages. 262 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:17,760 Notice Luke 2269 and 70. Hereafter the Son of man will 263 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:19,680 sit on the right hand of the power of God. 264 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,120 Then they all said, Are you the Son of God? 265 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,440 So we said to them, You are rightly say that I am. 266 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,040 In other words, Jesus says the Son of Man referring to himself, 267 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:32,480 the Messiah, the human part. They said, are you the Son of 268 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,360 God, the Messiah, the divine part. 269 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:37,760 And he says, you rightly said that that is so. 270 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,680 It's both. What he's saying is this. 271 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:51,480 When Jesus said the Son of Man, he's saying that even the 272 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:59,920 Messiah is not removed from the physical discomforts of life. 273 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:09,600 Even the Messiah, wow, let that soak in like pain, suffering, 274 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:16,120 heartache, all the trouble we go through in our life, all the 275 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:21,760 hardships, all the loss. Here was a man that was about 276 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,720 lifestyle. And Jesus says even the Messiah, 277 00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,440 you say you want to follow me. Even the Messiah is not exempt 278 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,600 from the physical discomforts in life. 279 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,440 I got him too, he said. In other words, you're not going 280 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,800 to get any comfort following me in that regard. 281 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:44,960 We talk about our Messiah, Hebrews 415 for we do not have a 282 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,400 high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, 283 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,280 but was at all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 284 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,120 Let me say this, don't ever think in your life that Jesus 285 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,480 doesn't know. Don't ever think that there's 286 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,200 someone that does not know everything you're going through. 287 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,000 But you know what? My whole life I've heard people 288 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,359 say this. You just can't know. 289 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,000 Nobody knows. I'm telling you, somebody does 290 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:15,800 and sometimes people know, but the Lord always knows. 291 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:23,560 Jesus is our high priest. Therefore Jesus is the one that 292 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,240 pleads our case. Jesus is the one fitting to be 293 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:32,440 that why He can sympathize with our weaknesses, why he was 294 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,600 tempted in all points like as we are. 295 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:36,440 Here's the difference. He was yet without sin. 296 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,200 Now because of that grace blessing, here comes the 297 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:40,280 benefit. Love it. 298 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,320 Verse 16. As a result, then let us 299 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,080 therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we might 300 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,880 obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 301 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:56,920 Isn't that great? Go to the throne of God, pray to 302 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,240 God. Our high priest previous verse 303 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:05,240 is our go between and he pleads our case. 304 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:08,520 You got somebody on your side. I'm going to tell you what right 305 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:10,520 now, if you got Jesus on your side, you got everything. 306 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:16,800 You got everything. And you know what? 307 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:21,080 If you got Jesus, you got God. If you don't have Jesus, you 308 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,520 can't have God. Jesus said that. 309 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:26,680 But if you have Jesus, you have everything. 310 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:31,720 So the point is, the Messiah doesn't even have the basic 311 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:33,720 comforts that the animals have. He doesn't have a place of 312 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:35,880 permanence. Now, I like what Fowler said. 313 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:40,240 Fowler said this before we feel too much pity for Jesus, who had 314 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,440 no comfortable permanent home on earth, we must ask ourselves, 315 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,840 who's really to be pity? Him who knew how to detach 316 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,480 himself from home so as to be free to prepare himself and men 317 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,320 for God's eternity or us who are so attached to the loved and 318 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:59,400 known to home and family that we cannot respond to Jesus call to 319 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,680 service as we ought. That's powerful. 320 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:11,840 OK, Jesus knew something because he can read the heart and he 321 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:13,000 knew when the man said I'll follow. 322 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,680 You know what he knew. He knew this and here comes the 323 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,720 Frankism. I say time to time he knew the 324 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,600 man was really saying this man, I love my life. 325 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:29,760 I love it just the way it is. I don't want to change really 326 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,240 anything. Here's the Frankie ISM you've 327 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,360 heard me say a million times. I just want to add a little 328 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:39,440 Jesus to it. Isn't that a lot of people 329 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,640 today? I don't really want to serve God 330 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:47,480 with everything I got. I love my life. 331 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,160 I just want to conveniently on my terms at a little Jesus. 332 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,920 That's what this man was so long ago. 333 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:05,520 The scribe perhaps sees the crowd, Maybe he sees the 334 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:07,480 miracles. He gets caught up and wrapped up 335 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,360 in the excitement. He's totally fascinated. 336 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:14,320 You know why the foundation of his faith was based upon emotion 337 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:20,440 and not conviction. Let me just say this if the 338 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:25,120 basis of your faith. Is founded or the foundation is 339 00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,240 emotion, you'll have problems with commitment. 340 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,840 But if the foundation or the basis of your foundation of your 341 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:42,400 faith is founded upon conviction, you won't have a 342 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:46,400 problem with commitment. Conviction and commitment go 343 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:49,000 hand in hand. OK, here's the problem. 344 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,560 When emotion is all that drives us religiously, when that's 345 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:57,080 removed or the excitement wanes, then all of a sudden, oh, it 346 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,080 kind of goes away, right? But when it's based on 347 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,320 conviction, by the way, we got to have the emotion part. 348 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:07,320 Don't, don't misunderstand me. God does not want us to be 349 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,080 robotic and just robotically go through with no emotion 350 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,080 whatsoever. That is not what serving God is 351 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,960 all about. He wants everything you got 352 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,680 based on conviction that he wants every aspect of your 353 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:19,800 emotion and excitement behind it too. 354 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,480 It just can't be the emotion and excitement, the foundation of 355 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,240 your faith. It's got to be more than that. 356 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,880 This man didn't understand the principles of discipleship and 357 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:37,040 that's this self denial, self sacrifice, and even suffering. 358 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,640 He didn't want to deny himself, He didn't want to sacrifice 359 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:42,920 himself, and he certainly didn't want to suffer. 360 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,560 He was about comforts. How do we know that this is what 361 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:48,640 the Lord meant? And how do we know the Lord was 362 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:49,680 right? Well, first of all, we know the 363 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:51,160 Lord's right because the Lord's always right. 364 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:55,600 But the narrative speaks to exactly that. 365 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:56,840 The Lord knew what he was talking about. 366 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:57,800 You know what happened to the guy? 367 00:21:58,000 --> 00:21:59,480 Nothing. He's gone. 368 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,880 He didn't weigh the cost. He didn't pay the price. 369 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:07,360 He just wanted to add a little Jesus. 370 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,440 And now he's gone. Here's the second example. 371 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:21,040 Here's man #2 Then another disciple said to him, Lord, let 372 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:24,280 me first go and bury my father. Now Luke's account says it this 373 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,480 way. Luke's account says that Jesus 374 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:33,720 called the man to follow him. He said, follow me. 375 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:37,080 And then the man said, Lord, I'll follow you first, but I'll 376 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:38,440 follow you. But first let me go bury my 377 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,040 father. Now some assume, and probably 378 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,560 rightfully so, that Jesus was actually calling this man to be 379 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,240 part of his inner circle, perhaps part of the 70 that he 380 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,560 was going to send out. Because in Luke's account, it 381 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,000 happened in Luke Chapter 9. In Luke chapter 10, this is what 382 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,760 happened. Luke 10 and one, after these 383 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,000 things, the Lord appointed 70 also, and he sent them two by 384 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,880 two before His face into every city and place where He himself 385 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:09,760 was about to go. OK, it's entirely possible that 386 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,720 Jesus was calling this man to be part of that inner circle and to 387 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,960 be part of the 70 he was going to send out ahead of him. 388 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,920 OK, what was the difference? Here's the two men. 389 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:27,120 The scribe had excitement without caution. 390 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,880 This man had all caution and no excitement. 391 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:35,680 And they were both equally wrong. 392 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,560 It was both very selfish. They were both equally wrong. 393 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,920 It was an attitude that kept both of them from the Lord. 394 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:47,600 Notice this phrase here. Let me first go and bury my 395 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:49,200 father. Now I'm going to tell you, you 396 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,560 can look up commentators and they're going to have all manner 397 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,400 of interpretations as to what this means. 398 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,280 I'm going to tell you there's only one interpretation of this 399 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:01,000 passage that makes what the Lord has to say in the very next 400 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,720 verse in response not insensitive. 401 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:10,200 OK, here is interpretation #1 Some commentators say, well, 402 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,280 here was the deal. The man's father had just died. 403 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:19,240 He had just passed away. And all he was doing is he was 404 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:24,200 asking, can I just bury my father 1st and then I will 405 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:28,320 follow you and give him proper respect first. 406 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:32,600 Can I just do that? OK, well the reason for that is 407 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,360 the Jews held it very sacred to ensure a decent burial for 408 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:39,120 family members. Going back to Genesis chapter 50 409 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:43,600 and verse 5, my father made me swear saying behold, I am dying 410 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:47,360 in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan. 411 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:49,600 There you shall bury me. Now. 412 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,920 Therefore, please let me go and bury my father and I will come 413 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,400 back. Because of passages like this, 414 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,000 some commentators interpret this passage. 415 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:02,000 The man's father had just died and that's all he was asking to 416 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,760 do is to go back and the man was a Jewish man. 417 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:08,520 I just want to go back and do what Genesis chapter 15, verse 5 418 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,240 outlines. I want to bury my father. 419 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:19,560 That's all I want to do. Furthermore, a Jewish boy was 420 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:26,160 required to not only bury his parents and care for his parents 421 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,080 when they were older, but even after they died. 422 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:34,960 A Jewish family was required to mourn between 7 and 30 days. 423 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:38,800 In fact, they even brought in professional mourners. 424 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:40,960 I don't have time to go into it, but remember when Jesus raised 425 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:45,320 Lazarus from the dead? Do you remember when the word 426 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:50,600 gets to Jesus? Jesus waits behind Lazarus was 427 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:54,560 very sick. Lazarus dies and then Jesus 428 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,040 shows up. Do you remember when he gets to 429 00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:01,280 the House of Mary and Martha? The Bible says Mary and Martha 430 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:07,200 were weeping, and then Jesus said he saw the Jews also 431 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:08,480 weeping. You know what they were? 432 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:13,120 They were professional mourners. They actually called in 433 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:14,880 professional mourners. And what they would do is they 434 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,520 would wail and make loud noises and go through the process. 435 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,720 Why? Because the mission are required 436 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,880 by the way that when a relative died you had to mourn 7 days, 437 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:29,080 when AI don't know some dignitary or some special guy 438 00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:34,040 died you had to mourn 7 public and 37 private and 30 public 439 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,920 days. So it was part of their culture. 440 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:40,720 That's why by the way I love this. 441 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:43,840 I got to slip this in. When Jesus saw the Jews mourning 442 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:46,120 and the hypocrisy of the going through the motions. 443 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,960 The Bible says he groaned in his spirit and the word groan means 444 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:53,520 to be filled with indignation. Jesus was disgusted and angry at 445 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:55,160 their hypocrisy. Why? 446 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:56,960 Because they were just going through the motions. 447 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,600 So he departs and they go to the grave and he raises Lazarus from 448 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,520 the dead. And it's then when Jesus wept 449 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,440 different word. You know what the word means? 450 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,520 Silent tears. That's the friend we have that 451 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,840 knows our infirmities and knows our weaknesses. 452 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:18,800 That's Jesus. As opposed to somebody that's 453 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:24,240 not legit. So here's something else. 454 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:30,480 If the Father then going back had already died, then the words 455 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:35,440 that Jesus is about to say are very, very insensitive #1 and #2 456 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,800 it makes it be something that really is unnecessary because 457 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,720 guess what happened when you died back then, When you died 458 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,800 back in those days, because they didn't embalm the body, you were 459 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,160 buried the very same day. So he wouldn't have to wait very 460 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,200 long at all. Can you imagine in Palestine 461 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,080 where it's hot and decomposition? 462 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,760 Remember when four days after Lazarus died and he was buried, 463 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,160 Jesus says, rollback the stone or take away the stone. 464 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:03,280 And Martha says, oh, but it's been 4 days. 465 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,520 The King James says 4 Behold, he already stinketh. 466 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:13,040 They buried him the day they died, so there must be a 467 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:18,120 different explanation. Explanation #2 Some commentators 468 00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:22,960 believe this. The father was not dead yet, but 469 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:30,960 he was gravely ill, and he was pending death, near death, and 470 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:34,160 all this man wanted to do is be with his father, which, by the 471 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,320 way, you can't show anybody any more respect than to be by their 472 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,240 bedside when it's time for them to go. 473 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,240 I don't know what it's going to be someday. 474 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:49,440 I hope it's a long time from now, because I have a lot of 475 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,960 work to do. Not that I don't want to be with 476 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:55,600 the Lord, but I have a lot of work to do. 477 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,400 I got a lot of work left, but someday, when it comes time for 478 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,400 me to pass away, when it comes time for my life to end, I would 479 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:05,960 love it if my loved ones were with me. 480 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,160 You can't show anyone any more honor and respect than that. 481 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:17,760 So commentators, because of that, say that that's all he was 482 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,120 asking. In other words, my father, for 483 00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:24,000 another week or two or month or whatever, is going to die, and I 484 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,360 just want to be with him. And it would seem reasonable, a 485 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:27,920 reasonable request, would it not? 486 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:34,320 And while these two scenarios actually are arguable, I do 487 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:35,920 think there's a better explanation. 488 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,120 And here it comes, Here it comes #1 here we go. 489 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:47,600 Father didn't die. Wasn't dead #2 The father wasn't 490 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:51,280 even sick. Stay with me now. 491 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:59,840 The father wasn't even sick. The phrase I must first bury my 492 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:04,840 father was a Jewish colloquial phrase that dates all the way 493 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:09,040 back many years ago, all the way back into the Middle East and by 494 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,160 the way, still continues in contemporary times. 495 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,600 I must first bury my father. What's it mean Phrase means 496 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,200 this. I must first fulfill my 497 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:26,920 responsibility to my father and the family business until my 498 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,520 father dies, and then I can receive my inheritance. 499 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:39,320 In other words, the man was saying, I will follow you as 500 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,360 soon as I've secured my financial future. 501 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:46,880 Give you an example of contemporary times. 502 00:30:48,680 --> 00:30:51,320 If you remember my sermon from 7 years ago when I preached on 503 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:52,960 Luke's account, I gave this illustration. 504 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,520 If you remember it, then all I can say is it's a great 505 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,080 illustration. Then if you still remember it, 506 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,480 if you don't remember it, it really is a good illustration 507 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:01,680 because it proves my point. Here we go. 508 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:07,160 Not long ago there was a missionary that goes out into 509 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:11,600 the Middle East doing mission work and it comes across the 510 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,760 Young Turk. And he really got to liken this 511 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:16,120 young man. And he said, you know what you 512 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:17,560 do? I would love it if you would 513 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:19,280 travel with me all across Europe. 514 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:27,760 The Turks said, oh, I would love to, but I first must bury my 515 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:33,640 father. The missionary said, oh, son, I 516 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:36,560 am so sorry. I didn't even know your dad 517 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:38,160 died. I didn't even know your dad was 518 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:41,960 sick. And the young man said, oh, wait 519 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:44,440 a minute, my father hasn't died. He's very much alive. 520 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,360 He's not even sick. That is a term that we use 521 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:51,240 meaning this I must fulfill my responsibility to my father in 522 00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:55,160 my family business until he dies and then I can receive my 523 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,840 inheritance. Oh, see what the Lord knew. 524 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,400 Jesus speaks to a man just like that. 525 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,640 And that's why Jesus responded like this. 526 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:13,840 Jesus said follow me then he said, and let the dead bury 527 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:17,560 their own dead. I've had people say this my 528 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:18,680 whole life. Man, that wasn't that 529 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,920 insensitive. Oh, they missed the point 530 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,640 though, didn't they? OK, we just understood what he 531 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:28,440 was talking about in the context behind it. 532 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,520 This man had a superficial desire to follow Jesus, but like 533 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:36,080 the scribe, his interest was rooted in personal gain and 534 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:41,760 comfort. Jesus said this, Follow me and 535 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:44,000 let secular matters take care of themselves. 536 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,680 Matthew 6 and 33 and the great Sermon on the Mount. 537 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,400 Jesus said, But seek first the Kingdom of God and his 538 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,520 righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. 539 00:32:52,800 --> 00:33:00,440 Put the Lord first, follow the Lord 1st and He will take care 540 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:09,440 of the things that you need. That's what the Lord said so I 541 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,960 wasn't saying neglect your parents one saying don't bury 542 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:16,080 him. He was simply saying this the 543 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:20,040 coming and going of people the passing of fortunes from 1:00 to 544 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:23,720 another is part of get this please a dead system. 545 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:29,000 So let us that are spiritually, let those that are spiritually 546 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,880 dead worry about the dead system. 547 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:36,960 In other words, secular matters are for secular people and 548 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:40,480 secular simply meaning that that of no religious value. 549 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,960 That's what that means. Let the people that are not 550 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:52,680 proclaiming any religious value deal with the things that have 551 00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:57,040 no religious value. Let that stuff take care of 552 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:00,080 itself. But you follow me. 553 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,360 In fact, Luke's account, you know what Jesus says. 554 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:06,280 And Luke's count Luke adds this. But you come and preach the 555 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:10,239 Kingdom. You come and preach the Kingdom. 556 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:15,679 I had a preacher said it to me one time about preaching and 557 00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:18,280 about life and money. And he said, you know what? 558 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,440 And I got to say this. I say this almost embarrassingly 559 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,920 because we are so blessed today and I will honestly say I'm 560 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:28,360 thankful and I have a comfortable life. 561 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,880 So I can't really relate to what this old preacher said, but he 562 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:33,400 can relate to it because he lived it. 563 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:41,280 And he said when I decided to preach I realized I may wear of 564 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,120 a ragged coat. In fact, he said I realized I 565 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:48,120 may wear many a ragged coat. But then he said this. 566 00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:52,440 But I always knew the inheritance is out of this 567 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:58,000 world, the retirement is out of this world. 568 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:03,920 Jesus says follow me and let the other matters take care of 569 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:06,280 themselves. OK, one more and we're finished. 570 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:10,960 Matthew omits the third man, but there's another man that comes 571 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,720 to Jesus and Luke records it, who spoke with good intentions. 572 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:18,720 Luke 9 and 61 and another also said, Lord, I will follow you, 573 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:21,120 but let me first go bid them farewell who were at my house. 574 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:23,560 And man, I'm going to tell you, it sounds great. 575 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:25,880 It sounds reasonable. I'll follow you. 576 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:28,120 Jesus. I just want to go and say 577 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:33,480 goodbye. First of all, his family. 578 00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,800 It's not talking about his wife and kids. 579 00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:42,200 Jesus would never encourage anyone to depart from their wife 580 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:47,120 and kids temporarily. I have departed from my wife and 581 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:51,120 kids to go to the Philippines and preach the gospel for three 582 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:52,920 weeks. Did it for 15 straight years. 583 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,560 Actually when I had cancer we had to miss a couple. 584 00:35:55,560 --> 00:36:00,600 But 15 times I went OK, but I came home. 585 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:05,760 Jesus was calling a man for a full time life. 586 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:09,560 He wasn't saying get away from your wife and kids. 587 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,040 Except the Bible even talks about providing for those that 588 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:15,000 are your own and those that don't are worse than an infidel. 589 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:16,960 So we got to provide for our own. 590 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:19,640 So who's he talking about when he says let me bid them 591 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:21,000 farewell? Who are at my house? 592 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:25,360 He's talking about could be parents, could be brothers and 593 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,560 sisters, could be cousins, could be friends that live in my 594 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,480 household. In other words, he says let me 595 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,520 just go and bid them farewell who are at my house. 596 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:37,640 And on the surface it sounds again reasonable. 597 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,800 What the Lord is going to show though is service to Jesus 598 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:45,120 requires looking forward and not looking back. 599 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,360 Looking forward and not looking back. 600 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:54,240 And then Jesus says this. And by the way, this is an 601 00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:57,920 ancient proverb that dates back to 800 BC. 602 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,200 Oh, again, the Lord's brilliant. Here we go. 603 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:04,680 Jesus said to him, no one having put his hand in the plow and 604 00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,240 looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God. 605 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:10,080 You know what that means? It means this. 606 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,960 You can't plow a straight furrow when your eyes are looking back. 607 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:17,960 I love that. I'm going to talk about the 608 00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,520 Philippines for just a minute. We have some folks from the 609 00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:23,200 Philippines here, friends from the Philippines here. 610 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,480 Then you know what it's like if you leave Manila and you get out 611 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:30,080 to the provinces, you see that there are farmers and in the 612 00:37:30,080 --> 00:37:32,200 primitive way now they have tractors and stuff like that. 613 00:37:32,200 --> 00:37:35,040 It's a lot of places. But for a long time, especially, 614 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:37,640 you know, years ago, when I first went to the Philippines, 615 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:40,720 there was really, it was all primitive out in the in the 616 00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:43,400 provinces. And they would have a plow where 617 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:47,000 you have one hand here and one hand here, and you would ride 618 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,720 the carabao, which looked like a water Buffalo, and you ride him 619 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:55,200 into out to the field early in the morning when it was still 620 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,200 dark. And they hook up the Caribou to 621 00:37:57,200 --> 00:37:59,680 a plow. When the Caribou calf was born, 622 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:03,160 which by the way, was very valuable to a farmer, they would 623 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,160 drill a hole through the nose and run a rope. 624 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:06,960 And that was the range that steered the Caribou. 625 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:10,120 They would get on the Caribou, ride it to the field, then 626 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:13,240 they'd get there, hook it up to the plow, and they would walk 627 00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:16,080 behind the plow in the rice fields and they would plow 628 00:38:16,200 --> 00:38:21,760 furrows. What would happen if you tried 629 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:26,280 to plow a furrow and you look back like this, You're going to 630 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:31,120 plow it like this. That's what Jesus was saying. 631 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,800 You can't plow a straight furrow when your eyes are looking back. 632 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:42,120 You can't focus on Jesus in your life and be the servant you need 633 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,360 to be for the Lord. When your eyes are looking back 634 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:48,640 from a spiritual perspective, it means this. 635 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:53,000 Don't look back on your former life with fondness when you 636 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:58,480 decide to follow Jesus. Listen, the Bible is filled with 637 00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,360 examples of it's bad to look back. 638 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:05,880 I bet Lot's wife would have liked one more day. 639 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,000 Don't look back at your former life. 640 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:16,200 I'm talking about any life before Jesus, whether it's a, 641 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:19,320 you know, which is a life of sin, Anything before Jesus is 642 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:26,840 the life of sin, even if you're a good person, OK, And don't 643 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,280 look back on the former life when you decide mentally I'm 644 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:34,880 going to follow Jesus today. The problem is when you look 645 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:38,920 back, it's just a matter of time before you turn back. 646 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:46,920 And Jesus said, don't do that. In conclusion this morning, what 647 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:51,040 have we learned? We learned from these three men. 648 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,080 Jesus taught lessons on counting the cost. 649 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,320 Three things that kept these men from following Jesus here they 650 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:04,400 were #1 personal comforts #2 financial gain or an inheritance 651 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:11,120 #3 even family ties. Now I'm going to tell you 652 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:14,600 something you may not have to. Lose your personal comforts to 653 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:16,920 follow Jesus. And like I said, I think 654 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:19,040 everybody here, we, we live pretty comfortably. 655 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:23,280 So you don't have to. It's not a requirement to lose 656 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:26,200 your physical or personal comforts to follow Jesus. 657 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:29,440 You may not have to lose your inheritance. 658 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,760 You may not have to lose financial gain to follow Jesus, 659 00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:37,200 and you may not have to separate family ties. 660 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,520 You just have to be willing to give up anything and everything 661 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,480 if need be to follow Jesus. And that was his point. 662 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:49,080 I've never had to do any of that. 663 00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,760 But I'll tell you this, if it comes to it, I have to be 664 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:58,480 willing to do it to follow Jesus. 665 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:05,960 You know, I know an example of a young man who had to turn his 666 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:08,440 back. We all know him. 667 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:14,320 He's a preacher now. He obeyed the gospel, became a 668 00:41:14,320 --> 00:41:20,640 child of God, decided he wanted to preach tremendous resistance 669 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:24,240 from his Father. You know who I'm talking about? 670 00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:32,960 Tremendous resistance. But he chose to follow Jesus 671 00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:36,200 instead. And that's the point. 672 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:41,920 Nothing can stand in our way to our commitment to Jesus. 673 00:41:41,960 --> 00:41:47,720 And by the way, if it's founded upon conviction, we won't have a 674 00:41:47,720 --> 00:41:51,720 problem with the commitment. Is it worth it? 675 00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:56,440 Is it worth it? Martin Luther said it this way. 676 00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:02,440 A religion that gives nothing, cost nothing, and suffers 677 00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:08,560 nothing is worth nothing. Everything in our life has a 678 00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:10,080 cost, and we don't have a problem with that. 679 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:16,040 But we want Christianity to be a be free and nothing's required. 680 00:42:17,440 --> 00:42:20,000 Jesus says no, it cost everything. 681 00:42:21,160 --> 00:42:24,240 It cost putting him first and everything else is secondary. 682 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:27,600 So in closing then, is it worth it? 683 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:29,240 I'm going to tell you right now it's worth it. 684 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:32,720 Living the Christian life is the greatest life in the world. 685 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:35,880 It really is. It's the funnest life in the 686 00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:38,880 world. It's the most fulfilled life in 687 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:41,080 the world. Sometimes we need to remember we 688 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:42,520 have to tell people what they get. 689 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:46,680 When you want to convert somebody to Jesus Christ, you 690 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:50,800 got to tell them what they get. You get the Lord, you get God 691 00:42:50,800 --> 00:42:55,000 his Father, you get spiritual blessings in Christ, and you get 692 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:57,400 salvation. You have the Lord by your side 693 00:42:57,400 --> 00:43:02,000 every step of the way, and even in life that we go through in 694 00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:04,040 this life, we may go through hard times. 695 00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:06,040 And Jesus never promised an easy life. 696 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:08,880 What He promises this. If you faithfully serve me, I'll 697 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,480 give you a better life after this one. 698 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:12,680 And while you're going through this one, I'm never leaving your 699 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:19,680 side. Wow, I'm in, Sign me up. 700 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:23,240 I won't ever bid of that. How about you? 701 00:43:26,160 --> 00:43:29,640 How about you today you have the Lord in your life. 702 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:34,320 We never close the time that we teach from the word of God 703 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:37,880 without extending an invitation steps to become a Christian or 704 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:39,040 simple, you got to hear the word of God. 705 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:42,120 We've done that today Romans 10/17. 706 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:44,560 So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 707 00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:46,120 After you hear the word of God, you know what you got? 708 00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:47,880 You got a choice. That's a big word. 709 00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:50,360 We all say it all the time. You got a choice, you got to 710 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,120 believe with all your heart. Hebrews 11 and 6. 711 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:57,080 Without faith it's impossible to please Him, for he who comes to 712 00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:00,160 God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those 713 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:02,640 who diligently seek Him. After you believe, you got 714 00:44:02,640 --> 00:44:04,280 another choice. You got to do something else 715 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,000 too. You got to change, repent of 716 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:08,640 your sins. Acts 17 and 30. 717 00:44:08,840 --> 00:44:11,680 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands 718 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:15,440 all men everywhere to repent. All that means is, look, I've 719 00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:17,080 been going in that direction. I'm not going to do that 720 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:18,240 anymore. I'm going to go in that 721 00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:21,160 direction and follow the Lord. Then you must be willing to say 722 00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:24,880 the greatest thing you will ever say and confess Jesus Christ as 723 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:27,880 the Son of God. Acts 837 Then Philip said, if 724 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:29,160 you believe with all your heart, you may. 725 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:34,200 And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the 726 00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:35,880 Son of God. Greatest thing you will ever 727 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:38,040 say. But I'm telling you, it's not 728 00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:41,680 the point of salvation. It's required. 729 00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:45,760 You got to do it. But the point of salvation comes 730 00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:50,560 now to be baptized for the remission of your sins. 731 00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:54,680 Mark 1616. He who believes and is baptized 732 00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:58,240 will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. 733 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:02,360 Is baptism necessary? The Bible says that it is first 734 00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:04,640 Peter 321. The like figure where to even 735 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:10,480 baptism does also now save us, not the putting away the filth 736 00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:13,440 of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by 737 00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:15,120 the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 738 00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:18,280 If you've never taken those steps of obedience, we would 739 00:45:18,280 --> 00:45:19,720 love to assist you in that today. 740 00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:23,520 We stand ready, willing and able to assist you in that. 741 00:45:24,360 --> 00:45:26,880 Maybe you have. Maybe there's something in your 742 00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:28,200 life that is not what it should be. 743 00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:29,640 Maybe you've drifted away from the Lord. 744 00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:32,280 What a great time to come back. Be one of either class. 745 00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:34,600 Come forward while we stand and while we see.