Follow the Lord

Good morning, everyone.

It is great to be back after some annual leave,

particularly great to be back with the full team compliment back as well

after annual leave, and the Freestones are back after long service leave

since sometime in December, a while ago now.

And also summer camp last week was fantastic.

So thanks, Ash, for the update on that.

It was a huge time.

And if you were at summer camp last week,

then you'll notice that this passage was one of the passages that I preached on.

So that helped me as my preparation for this week.

But hopefully it'll remind you of a few things.

I want to launch in by praying because this is Vision Series.

Every year I'm excited about Vision Series.

I buy a new shirt for Vision Series every year.

I've been doing it for 13 years.

So I'm ready to kick off and look at where God's taking us in the next five years.

So let's pray and we'll launch into that.

Gracious God, we thank you for this opportunity for us as a church

to think about the things of where you might be leading us

because we're looking in the past and what you have commanded us to do.

Lord, we pray that throughout this term and even this day,

that you would captivate each one of our lives

so that we are more dusty from the dust of Jesus' feet.

And we ask it for your glory.

Amen.

So as I've indicated, this is a very important term for us at St. Paul's.

After closing out 11 years of Vision 2020,

at the end of last year,

we're launching into this new stage of ministry and life together

here at St. Paul's with Follow 25.

You've got a copy on your seats of Follow 25 in our strategic plan.

It's a shift in our ministry culture to the deliberate development of disciples,

all of life disciples of Jesus by the end of 2025.

And if one of the pages, you'll notice what is the big, hairy, audacious goal.

And that is for 65%, it's towards the back of it,

65% of St. Paul's identifying much growth in faith through this church.

It is my understanding that no church can do that

or has done that or is currently doing that.

So that's why it's a big, hairy, audacious goal.

And if there are a very small number of churches

that are deliberately developing disciples in that kind of way,

certainly in the Western world,

that's our big, hairy, audacious goal,

which means this plan is not just,

well, let's just work a bit harder what we're already doing.

Every vision, every ministry strategy means there must be some form of change

in the way we behave.

And so this one here is no different.

Whatever stage of the journey you are on with Jesus right now,

whether you are a not yet follower of Jesus

through to someone who has been a lifelong follower of Jesus,

our goal here is for the vast majority of us

being able to self-identify

that I am moving forward and grasping more of Jesus

as he's grasping more of me.

So in our preaching this term,

we're taking a sweeping look at Christian discipleship.

Things like it's the foundation of it,

the resources for it,

and what it looks like in practice.

We're going to refine the strategic plan

and commit to it by the end of the term.

We're going to pledge our resources to seeing it realized.

There's a raise a bunch of money

by the end of the term to see discipleship

amongst our next generation flourish

and just a range of other stuff.

So today we're looking at the key foundation

of Christian discipleship.

And if you've got the St. Paul's app in front of you,

I want to encourage you to open that up

and follow along with the outline.

There's really two main points here

for us to see that being a Christian,

being a disciple,

means that we are following the Lord

and secondly,

we are following the crucified Lord.

So following the Lord first of all.

The word disciple

used in Christian circles nowadays mainly

is a word that was not coined by Jesus himself.

It's not a uniquely Christian term.

John the Baptist had disciples,

Pharisees had the disciples,

Greek philosophers had their disciples,

Jewish rabbis had their disciples.

It was common word in Greek and Roman empires.

And the word disciple literally means

to be a student,

to be a learner.

That's its core meaning.

In the Jewish context,

a disciple would take the posture

of sitting and learning from their teacher,

sitting at the feet of their teacher

and learning from them,

not just a set of doctrines,

but all of life.

But also,

that disciple would follow closely

as they watched their teacher

live all of life.

And so the saying

that a disciple should become dusty

with the dust of their rabbi

was a Jewish saying

in the first century.

That is,

they are to follow them so closely

in all of life

that they would be covered in the dust

stirred up from the feet of their teacher

as they walked.

Now,

one notable thing

about the disciple-teacher relationship

in Jewish tradition

is that the disciples chose their teacher.

Disciples chose their rabbis.

The Christian, however,

is chosen and called by Jesus.

From the moment his public ministry commenced,

Jesus called disciples

to leave everything,

your family,

your fishing nets,

and follow me.

And from those early,

early disciples,

those fishermen,

tax collectors,

he has changed the world.

And he continues

to call people

from every tribe,

language,

nation,

and people

to follow him today.

So who is it

that has the authority

to call people

to leave everything

and fully align themselves

to him?

Who is it

that the Christian follows?

That's the question.

That's the question

posed in front of us

in Mark 8.

Who do you say I am

is the question

that Jesus asked

his closest followers.

But before he asked

that question,

he asked them another question.

Who do

others

say I am?

What's the general consensus

out there

about who I am?

Jesus of Nazareth,

Jesus the Christ,

is undoubtedly

the most popular,

the most recognized,

the most quoted,

the most admired,

and the most controversial figure

in all of the history

of humanity

and human society.

No other person

has been more scrutinized,

more studied

than Jesus of Nazareth,

ever.

No one.

Entire philosophies

and religions

have been founded

on his teaching.

More books

have been written

about him

than any other person

who has ever lived.

Every day,

his name

is spoken

more than any other name

from affectionate

admiration

to absent-minded

curses

and denouncements.

The large figures

of history

have had to

acknowledge him.

John Lennon

couldn't think

of anything

bigger

when he said

at the height

of their fame

that the Beatles

were bigger than Jesus.

He couldn't think

of anything else

to name.

President George W. Bush

cited Jesus

as his favorite philosopher.

The French Emperor

Napoleon Bonaparte

said,

Alexander,

Caesar,

Charlemagne

and myself

founded empires,

but on what foundation

did they rest

the creations

of our genius?

Upon force,

Jesus Christ

founded an empire

upon love

and this hour

millions of men

would die for him.

The Cuban

communist dictator

Fidel Castro

said,

I never saw

a contradiction

between the ideas

that sustain me

and the ideas

that symbol

of that

extraordinary figure

Jesus Christ.

No message

has been more

used

and exploited

than Jesus Christ.

Politicians

grab from him

quotable quotes

to prop up

their political platform.

Every religion

in the world

too,

Christian or not,

has to factor

to some degree

an appraisal

of Jesus himself.

It might be

to honor him

as one of God's

great prophets

or an enlightened man

or to reject him

as a fraud

or to hail him

as the king of kings

and the savior

of the world.

No person

is more misunderstood,

marginalized

and commercialized

than Jesus Christ.

He's been fictionalized

by the last temptation

of Christ,

humanized by the passion

of the Christ

and he's been

satirized by the Simpsons

and South Park.

Even the Christian church

is guilty

of marketing Jesus

as we have put

our own spit

on him.

He is viewed

as either a stern

taskmaster

or as a moral jellyfish

willing to hand

our forgiveness

and turn a blind eye

to anyone

who prays a shallow

prayer of confession

only to live lives

devoid of his presence.

Get Jesus wrong,

you get discipleship wrong.

It is incomprehensible

to me

that Fidel Castro

saw no contradiction

between his life

and the life of Jesus

except

that he has put

a spin on Jesus

that is not true.

He has not engaged

to the true Jesus Christ.

Who is Jesus?

What did he do

and what does it mean

to follow him?

How do we live

as committed disciples

of Jesus today?

Those are the sorts

of questions

we're delving into

over this term.

Now Mark

does not want us

to be vague

about the Christian faith.

He longs

that we get

an accurate picture

of who Jesus is

and what he came

to do

and chapter 8

is the pivotal chapter

in this gospel.

The disciples

finally begin

to see

who Jesus

actually is

and in verse 25

Peter answers

the big question

of the identity

of Jesus.

You're the Christ.

Peter is using

a word

that literally means

you are

the anointed one.

The anointed one,

the Messiah,

the king

to end

all kings,

the king

who will put

everything right

in this world

that has gone wrong

and when Peter

says that

Jesus accepts

the title.

That is

Jesus does not

call people

to be curious

onlookers.

Can I say

that he doesn't

even call people

to be converts?

He calls them

to be disciples.

He calls them

to be fully

committed followers

and the name

gives it away

Christian.

The term

was first used

in the city

of Antioch

in Acts chapter 11.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

It's part Greek

part Latin.

It means

followers

of the Christ.

Christ.

For the early

Christians

Christ was so

much on the

lips of these

believers

and they lived

so like Christ

that the pagan

city of Antioch

said

there's no

other name

but to call

them

of the name

Christ.

No other name

would do.

Christian,

disciple,

follower,

they're all

interchangeable words

to describe

a relationship

with Jesus

Christ

in such

a way

that he

is your

Lord

and he

shapes

and impacts

every

corner

of your

existence.

And so

discipleship

speaks of a

lifelong journey

of following

Jesus,

100%

dedication

to him

where he

shapes

every

aspect of

you

into

his

image.

However,

the one

thing that

comes out

of Jesus'

mouth

that Peter

and he's

a spokesman

for the

disciples

that they

find appalling

and shocking.

Take a look

at it with

me.

Mark 8

Mark 8:31

verse 31.

He then

began to

teach them

that the

Son of

Man must

suffer many

things

and be

rejected by

the elders,

the chief

priests and

the teacher

of the law

and that

he must

be killed

and after

three days

rise again.

He spoke

plainly about

this and

Peter took

him aside

and began

to rebuke

him.

Jesus says

here,

the Son of

Man must

suffer.

He picks

up the

title,

the Son of

Man,

from Daniel

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

in the Old

Testament.

The Son of

Man is a

divine

Messiah figure

who comes

with the

angels to

put everything

right that

is wrong

in this

world.

The

Messiah

suffering,

however,

to the

disciples

makes no

sense at

all.

The

Messiah was

supposed to

defeat

evil,

was supposed

to beat

injustice and

make everything

right in the

world.

How could a

Messiah

defeat evil

by suffering,

by dying?

How could

he do that?

Jesus

is explicit.

he is

planning to

die,

not merely

predicting that

he would

die.

This is a

voluntary act

on his

behalf.

Peter is

offended at

this.

It is one

thing for

Jesus to

say,

I'm going

to take

up and

I'm going

to fight

this fight,

the good

fight,

but I

will be

defeated

and die.

And it's

a total

another thing

to say that

in fact the

very reason I

came is to

die.

And the

moment he

says that,

Peter begins

to condemn

Jesus in

the strongest

possible terms.

You see,

ever since

Peter was a

wee lad in

nappies,

he was told

that the

Messiah would

come,

he would

defeat evil

and injustice

and ascend the

throne in

Jerusalem and

to restore the

nation of

Israel to

its heights.

hearts.

And here we

have Jesus

saying that I

am that one,

I am the

Messiah,

I am the

king to

end all

kings,

but I

have not

come to

live and

rule and

reign,

but I've

come to

die.

I have not

come to

take power,

but to

lose it.

I've not

come to

rule,

but to

serve.

And that

is how I'm

going to

defeat evil

and put

everything

right.

Jesus

says he

must

suffer.

Not that

he would

suffer.

And the

word must

there controls

the entire

sentence in

such a way

that everything

in that list

must happen.

Jesus must

suffer.

He must be

rejected.

He must be

killed.

He must be

resurrected.

And all of

those must

must happen

if people

are to be

saved and

the world

is to be

renewed.

Let me

give you

two reasons.

If you're

looking on

your outline,

there's a

personal reason

and there's a

legal reason,

legal necessity

and a personal

necessity as to

why Jesus

must die.

Firstly,

the personal

necessity,

the personal

must.

Now,

we probably

know by

now the

difference

between,

you don't

have to live

long,

the difference

between fake

love and

authentic

love.

In fake

love,

our aim

is to

show some

kind of

love to

another

person in

order to

extract something

from them.

And ultimately,

it's about our

happiness.

That is,

our love is

conditional.

We only

give it

when the

other person

is affirming

us and

meeting our

needs and

filling us

up on the

inside.

Fake love

never allows

itself to be

vulnerable.

You always

have to hold

something back

in case you

need to cut

your losses

and run.

The aim of

authentic love

is to spend

yourself and

use yourself

for the

happiness of

the other

because your

joy is their

joy.

I would

love to

go on a

great

excursus

now about

how the

definition of

marriage,

and I'm not

talking about

same-sex

marriage,

the definition

of marriage

has shifted

in Western

culture to

one where

love is the

primary issue.

Authentic

love is

unconditional.

You give

it whether

your needs

are being

met or

not.

it is

radically

vulnerable.

You spend

everything.

You hold

nothing back.

You give

it away.

The problem

is if you're

sitting there

now and

allowing these

words to

filter down

to a little

depth,

you will

realize that

you are

incapable of

doing that.

That no one

is actually

fully capable

of giving

true love

love.

All the

time.

We

desperately

need it

and want

it, but

nobody can

give it

to us.

Not that we

can't give

any kind

of authentic

love, but

no one is

fully always

capable of

it.

We need to

be loved as

human beings.

Like we need

oxygen and we

need water.

What every

single one of

us needs is

someone to

love us

who doesn't

need our

love back.

Someone who

loves us

radically,

unconditionally,

vulnerably,

and that

person is

Jesus.

At the

baptism of

Jesus,

earlier in

Mark, we

see that the

very essence

of God is

mutual love

relationship,

a relationship

where the

three persons

of the

Trinity have

forever given

to each

other love.

self-giving,

selfless love.

Within

himself, God

has forever

had all the

love, all

the fulfillment,

all the joy

that he could

possibly ever

want.

Which means

that Jesus

does not need

to extract any

more love

from anyone.

He's filled

up.

He lacks

nothing.

The only

way we get

true love

is from

him.

The security

of Jesus'

love enables

us to

need less

and to

love others

more.

True love

actually creates

more true

love.

Jesus

must die

because

without it,

this world

has nothing

to break the

cycle of

destructive,

manipulative,

conditional,

non-vulnerable

love.

Legally,

secondly,

Jesus must

die.

It's a legal

necessity.

When someone

wrongs you,

a debt

is established.

Happens in

all of life,

not just

financially,

emotionally,

psychologically,

a debt is

established.

So for

instance,

if you

got my

phone and

you broke,

it's alright.

If I have my

phone up here

and I held

it up and I

said,

if you broke

my phone,

there are only

two things

that can

happen.

You take

my phone

and you

break it,

two things

can happen

at this

point.

Either I

say to

you that

will be

$1,000,

whatever it

is, the

cost of it,

or I can

say to

you, I

forgive you.

That's the

only two

options you

got.

Either you

pay for

it,

or I

can say

to you,

I forgive

you.

In the

first case,

you pay

the debt.

You've

created the

wrong, you

pay the

debt.

In the

second

instance,

I pay

the debt.

That is,

the value

of the

phone doesn't

just disappear.

If I

choose to

forgive you,

absorb you

of the

debt,

then I

have to

pay the

debt.

Either I

have to

buy a

new phone,

or I

have to

go back

to pen

and paper

and pigeons.

In one

way or

another, I

absorb the

debt for

your wrong

against me

if I

say I

forgive you.

And that

happens on

all levels

of life.

If someone

robs you

of an

opportunity

or of your

happiness or

of your

reputation or

something else,

it creates a

sense of

debt,

relational

debt.

Justice has

been violated

and a debt

has been

accrued and

there are only

two options

in that

moment.

You can

make them

pay by

destroying

their

opportunities,

ruining their

reputation.

You can hope

that they

suffer or

you can

ensure that

they do.

But there

is always a

personal toll

to that.

When you're

making them

pay off their

personal debt

to you by

suffering,

you are

becoming like

them.

You are

doing what

done to

you.

You become

harder,

you become

older,

colder and

older,

and evil

wins.

The only

alternative is

to forgive,

but it is

really hard

to forgive.

It is

agony to

forgive.

It is

agony to

refrain from

vengeance.

It is

agony because

you choose

to absorb

the cost

of the

debt.

You're not

trying to

get your

reputation

back by

tearing down

their

reputation.

True

forgiveness

always requires

suffering.

Love

requires

suffering.

suffering.

It is

a nonsense

to say,

why does

God not

just go,

just forget

about it.

Debt

never just

vanishes.

Either they

pay or you

pay.

It should

come as no

surprise that

God would

say the

only way

that I

can forgive

the sins

of the

human race

against me

is either

make them

pay or I

pay.

either

humanity

has to

pay for

its debt

of sin

in rejecting

me,

its creator,

or I

will.

The only

way God

can pardon

us and

not judge

us is

to go to

the cross

and absorb

it himself.

And that's

why Jesus

says I

must suffer

because if

I don't,

you do.

If I

don't,

you do.

He is

saying that

He is

the King,

the King,

but not

just like

any King

you've ever

imagined.

He is

the King

who must

die.

He is

the King

who must

suffer in

order for

us to be

loved and

forgiven and

filled up.

But He

doesn't stop

there.

Following

Him means

we die

too.

Let's keep

reading verse

34,

Mark chapter

Mark 8 · chapter mention

8.

Then He

called the

crowd to

Him along

with His

disciples and

said,

whoever wants

to be

my disciple

must deny

themselves and

take up

their cross

and follow

me.

For whoever

wants to

save their

life will

lose it,

but whoever

loses their

life for me

for the

gospel will

save it.

What good

is it for

someone to

gain the

whole world

and yet

forfeit their

soul?

Or what

can anyone

give in

exchange for

their soul?

What does

it mean

for us to

lose our

life for the

gospel in

order to

save it?

The word

that's

translated

life there

in verse

35 is a

word that

means your

identity,

your personality,

your selfhood.

It is the

things that

make you

distinctively

you.

Now Jesus

isn't saying

there that you

need to lose

the things that

make you

distinctively

you.

You just

need to lose

all of who

you are.

That would

make no

sense whatsoever.

What he is

saying is that

you don't build

your identity on

gaining things in

this world.

Verse 36,

what good is it

for someone to

gain the whole

world and yet

forfeit their

soul?

Every single

culture points

to the things

and says that

if you gain

those things,

if you acquire

those things,

if you achieve

those things,

then you will

know that you

are truly valuable,

that you are

truly loved.

You become

lovable to

others.

Traditional

cultures say

that we have

no sense of

self unless you

gain the

respectability and

the legacy of

family and

children.

Individualistic

cultures are

different.

We say that

you are a

nobody unless

you have a

fulfilling career

that brings you

money, reputation

and status.

Either culture

ultimately says

the same thing.

Your identity,

your sense of

self-worth is

based on

performance.

It is based on

your achievements.

If you perform

well enough,

you will find

the love and

the approval that

you crave and

it will fill you

up on the

inside.

And Jesus

says, if you

gain the

entire world,

it won't be

enough.

No matter

what you

achieve,

no matter

what you

gain,

it's never

going to be

enough to

make you

sure that

you know

who you

really are.

If you

build your

identity on

the fact that

someone loves

you or you've

got a good

career, what

happens when

those things

are gone?

gone and

it will

go.

Your whole

sense of

self is

gone.

Speak to

people who

have just

retired.

God's

life.

God's

life.

God's

life.

God's

life.

Jesus did

not come to

convince us to

shift from one

performance-based

identity to

another.

He wants us to

lose the old

self, the old

identity and

base our sense of

worth and value

and self on

him, what he's

achieved for us,

the good news of

the gospel.

Did you notice

that in verse

35?

For whoever

wants to save

their life will

lose it, but

whoever loses

their life for

me and for

the gospel will

save it.

Foundation of

Christian

discipleship is

the good news

of Jesus

Christ.

It's the

gospel.

Christianity

is not

performance-based

except it's

based on the

performance of

Jesus Christ.

True

gospel, sorry,

the gospel is

not something we

do.

It's something

that God has

done for us in

Jesus.

It is God's

grace from the

very time you

begin to the

time you end.

We believe, we

receive, we live

as followers of

Jesus in the

light of the

gospel.

Jesus went to

the cross and

on the cross he

lost his identity

so to speak so

that we can have

one.

Once we see that

the Son of God

doing that for us,

loving us like

that, we begin to

get a strength and

assurance and

identity that sets

us free from our

culture's identities.

But no, Peter

here when he

hears these words

from Jesus is

furious.

He is furious

with Jesus because

Jesus' suffering is

not part of Peter's

agenda.

His agenda led

from strength to

strength and it

did not include

suffering.

suffering.

And that

unfortunately is

one of the major

undercurrents of

discipleship in the

Western world.

We relate to Jesus

in exactly the same

way.

We have our agenda,

we have our goal,

we have our visions

for our lives and we

think that it's good

to have God on our

side.

Jesus' job is to

get me established

well in life,

to give me the

things that are the

desires of my

heart.

What Christian

discipleship says

that if we have an

end and Jesus is

the means by

achieving that

end, then we

are using

him.

It is just

another form of

conditional love

and it will leave us

empty.

if we try to

negotiate with

all will obey

you if we're

not seeing him

as a king.

If Jesus is the

king to end all

kings, then you

cannot come to

hear this king

negotiating your

terms.

We lay down our

weapons at his

feet.

It's essential that

we see Jesus Christ

as king on the

cross.

If we just

simply see him

as king,

then we'll

obey him because

we have to obey

him.

but he's the

king who went

to the cross

for us and

therefore we can

submit to him

our love and

trust.

He's a good

king.

Instead of

negotiating, we

simply say,

Lord, whatever

you ask, I

will do.

And whatever

you send, I

will accept.

If he has

utterly given

himself to us,

how can we

not give

ourselves utterly

to him?

Taking up our

cross means that

we die to

self-determination,

we die to

self-control,

sorry, we

die to control

of ourselves,

over our

lives, and

we die to

using him to

achieve our

agendas in

life.

I love the

way C.S.

Lewis closes

out his book,

Mere

Christianity,

as he

describes the

life of the

disciple.

give up

yourself, and

you will find

your real

self.

Lose your

life, and

you will save

it.

Submit to

death, the

death of your

ambitions and

favorite wishes

every day, and

the death of your

whole body in the

end.

Submit with

every fiber of

your being, and

you will find

eternal life.

Keep back

nothing.

Nothing that

you have not

given away is

in fact really

yours.

Nothing in

you that has

not died will

ever be raised

from the dead.

Look out for

yourself, and

you will find in

the long run

only hatred,

loneliness,

despair, rage,

ruin, and

decay.

But look to

Christ, and

you will find

him, and

with him

everything else

thrown in.

The call of

Jesus on our

lives, if I

might use the

metaphor again,

is that the

dust of Jesus

covers every

single aspect

of our being.

no part is

untouched by

him.

And as we

journey through

this term, I

want to ask

you to ask

him specifically,

Jesus, are

there any

parts in my

life that

are not

covered by

your dust,

and by your

grace, enable

me to surrender

it to you?

Amen.

Amen.