The Call to Discipleship

Thank you so much for having me and our friends from Atlanta here.

Been really enjoying your hospitality from Keith and James and the members here.

It's only been three days since we've been in Edinburgh now.

Been enjoying the city a lot, especially just the amount of walking that you have to do here,

which is healthy. It's a good thing.

My Apple Watch has been giving me shout-outs that I didn't know existed.

I got all kinds of medals yesterday for walking.

I got a gold coin or some kind for walking 81 minutes straight,

which in Atlanta, Georgia, is an eternity.

So I think another few more days here, I'm definitely going to be going home with more medals.

I'm going to, and as you can tell, yes, I am from the States,

so I don't have the beautiful accent that James has.

And I don't know if you knew this, but in the States,

if you're somebody with a British accent or a Scottish accent,

your credibility skyrockets.

So I don't know if the reverse is true,

where if you lack such an accent here, your credibility goes down.

I hope that's not the case.

But either way, you know, the good news is God's word is true,

whatever accent it's spoken in.

So I do want to go into God's word with you and read with you one verse.

And I just happen to have a ESV Bible.

So I'm going to read you that one verse from the ESV Bible.

I think the NIV that you use is a fine translation.

I just happen to have the ESV.

So let me read that for us,

and I think it will be also up on the screen as well in the ESV,

Luke chapter 9, verse 23.

Luke 9:23

So as I read this, let's give it our attentive hearing,

because this is God's word.

And he said to all,

if anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

May God bless the reading and preaching of his word.

The gospel of Luke is structured in a way where

the first nine chapters are about revealing who Jesus is.

So you get to see Jesus is the calm in your storm.

Jesus is the source of your blessedness,

or that's a biblical word for your happiness.

He is the true Lord of the Sabbath.

He's the giver of true rest.

These wonderful revelations of who Jesus is,

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

chapters 1 through 9.

Here is the transition point that Luke is making now,

in the middle of chapter 9.

And it's a transition that he's, in a way,

inviting you and me to consider making.

And it's this.

Having learned these things about Jesus,

what will you do with him?

Maybe more pointedly,

for those of you who grew up learning about Jesus

and kind of living in the chapters 1 through 9,

and having been revealed to you, right,

who Jesus is,

the question Luke is asking now is,

will you go beyond knowing about him

to actually following him?

And what does that mean?

What does it mean to follow him as his disciple?

I think Jesus explains it all so simply and yet so thoroughly in this single verse,

chapter 9, verse 23.

Every phrase in this verse is important,

so I would like to chew on this slowly with you.

And I think we can break this down into three parts

and consider how Jesus' call to discipleship is,

one, it's a call to go after something.

Two, it's a call to deny.

And three, it's a call to daily carry.

These three.

It's a call to go after.

It's a call to deny.

And a call to daily carry.

Let's go through these one at a time.

Point number one,

the call to discipleship is a call to go after something.

The NIV says,

whoever wants to be my disciples,

and I think that's a fine translation

of what it says in the Greek,

that is,

if anyone will come after me,

or go after me,

because that's essentially what a disciple is.

A disciple is somebody who goes after someone.

And if you're going after someone,

you're a disciple.

But I think it's interesting that Jesus says,

if anyone would come after me,

because before that tells you,

you ought to go after Jesus,

I think it tells you something even more basic

about yourself and me.

And that is,

you are someone who goes after things.

Everybody in this world,

even if you're not going after Jesus,

is going after something.

We're creatures that go after stuff.

We latch on to things.

We get hooked on things.

We commit ourselves to things.

And we get consumed by things.

We must.

Why?

I think,

I think C.S. Lewis is a popular author around here,

so I may quote him.

I think he explains this really well

in his little book,

The Weight of Glory.

There's an excerpt that goes like this.

God has given us the morning star already.

You can go and enjoy the gift on many fine mornings

if you get up early enough.

What more, you may ask,

do we want?

Ah, but we want so much more.

The poets and the mythologies know all about it.

We do not want merely to see beauty,

though God knows even that is bounty enough.

We want something else,

which can hardly be put into words,

to be united with the beauty we see,

to pass into it,

to receive it into ourselves,

to bathe in it,

to become part of it.

In other words,

you're wired in such a way,

human beings are wired in such a way,

as to not just chase after something

we consider to be ultimately beautiful

and glorious,

but we're wired to go after it

until we enter into it,

until we're one with it.

We're wired to receive it into us,

as Lewis says,

to bathe in it and become a part of it,

if you believe it to be

a beautiful and glorious thing.

And one way people manifest this

is by putting on maybe a certain

football team jersey,

or hang a certain work of art in your home.

All these ways we go after something in life

we consider to be beautiful, glorious,

until we are in some sense

one with it.

Our team was

having a team meeting

and just talking about

the sites we should visit

and see while we're here.

And at one point,

one of our team members, Ross,

he pulled up his phone

and he showed us

a photo image of Arthur's seat.

And he said,

guys,

I need,

need,

to enter

this.

He even went as far as to say,

I need,

pointing at Arthur's seat,

I need to be one

with whatever this is.

And I said,

Ross, calm down.

We're going to go there.

We'll visit.

Don't worry.

As in,

he didn't just want to see

a photo of it.

He didn't want to hear

someone else

talking about their

experience of it.

He wanted to enter into it.

He wanted to be

one with it.

And that's the meaning

of going after something.

Go after you means

you're not satisfied

until you're one with it somehow.

A similar word

the Bible uses for that,

I think,

is the word communion.

Just think about

what that word sounds like.

The word common

and the word union

put together.

It's to have something

in common through union.

That's why Paul,

when he describes

the sacrament of communion

in 1 Corinthians,

he describes it

not as a mere

observance

of Christ,

but as a

participation

in Christ.

it's our receiving

of Christ

into ourselves,

being united

to him spiritually.

But do you know

where we first

see this communion

in the Bible?

It's in Genesis,

in the Trinity.

The triune God

who created all things

and said,

let us make mankind

in our own image.

We see God being

communal

from all eternity,

perfectly satisfied

in their union

with each other,

Father,

Son,

Holy Spirit,

in their beauty,

perfection,

and glory.

And in creating,

in creation,

God was extending

that joy,

that communal joy,

to the creatures

who are made

in his image

so that they would

join in that fellowship

and have communion

with God as well.

And because we're made

in that image,

in the image

of this triune God,

that's why we cannot

help but long

for communion

with a beauty

and glory

that is perfectly

satisfying.

We will not

stop

going after

things

until we find

this beautiful

and glorious thing.

It's how we're made.

It's how we're wired.

Now,

Jesus' point is,

of course,

come after me,

right?

Because I'm here

to restore to you

this communion

with God

that was once lost

because of sin's wages.

But here's the thing

I hope you also understand.

That is,

even if you don't,

okay,

even if you don't

go after Jesus

and have communion

with him,

because you were made

in his image,

you will have

communion

with something.

You will chase after

and latch on

to something

you consider to be

glorious,

beautiful,

ultimately,

and you will end up

uniting yourself

to it.

You'll be discipled

into it,

even if you're not

being discipled

into Christ.

It's how you're made.

It's how you're wired.

You can't help it.

So the question,

the bigger question,

is not whether

you're a disciple.

You are.

The real question is,

what are you

discipled by?

What are you

uniting yourself

to?

We're all doing it.

The only question is,

what is it?

What do you identify

yourself with

most closely?

Whose jersey

are you wearing?

Which picture

do you want to

enter into

and be one with?

We must.

What is it?

The trouble

we fall into

as a result

of our human

fallenness,

our sinful nature,

is that we latch

onto things that are

never completely

satisfying.

Never permanent

enough,

never true enough,

never secure enough,

never loving us

enough,

therefore never

satisfying enough.

And it's not

satisfying enough

because we were

not made for

these things.

We were made

for God

as Augustine

put it.

Until

we are

finding our

rest in him,

our hearts

will be restless

because he made

us for himself.

That's why Jesus

says,

come after

me.

Don't just

hear about me,

learn about me,

listen to

teachings about

me.

Come after

me

until you're

one with me,

until you're

entered into

me,

I've entered

into you,

until we have

communion,

come after

me.

He even

says,

eat me

and drink

me

and be

fully

satisfied.

This is

Jesus'

call

to

discipleship,

to go

after him

and to be

satisfied

in him

ultimately.

And I think

this is

something we

have to

as saints

and believers

understand.

To be a

Christian does

not mean we

see Jesus

for who he

is.

But to be a

Christian means

we go after

Jesus because

we see him

for who he

is.

Until we're

one with him,

until we're

bathed in

him,

he's

that

beautiful

and glorious

and worthwhile.

Have you

gone after

him this

way?

Are you

going after

him this

way as

if you

must be

absolutely

identified

with him

until his

beauty,

his glory,

his life,

his character,

all that

reflects him

is reflected

in your

life,

reflected in

your character

too.

So the

first thing

this phrase

tells,

come after

me,

tells us

is this

is what

you're

wired to

do,

everyone is

doing it,

the only

question is

what are

you going

after?

And the

other thing

this tells

us is you

must go

after Christ

if you

want to be

satisfied.

Only through

Christ will

you restore

your fellowship

and communion

with your

maker,

with the

triune God

and he

will,

he will

satisfy you.

The next

thing he

reveals to

his followers

is this,

as soon

as you

take that

first step

to go

after him,

as you

put your

left foot

forward to

go after

him,

here's what

your right

foot does

immediately as

a follow

through,

you deny

yourself.

The call

to discipleship

is a call

to deny

yourself,

that's the

second point.

And I

think it's

interesting

that Jesus

says,

let him,

let him

deny

himself,

as if

he'll do

this willingly

and voluntarily,

let him,

allow him,

no need to

coerce him,

drag him

to church

against his

will,

let him

gladly,

freely,

willingly do

this,

do what?

Deny

himself.

And you

have to

ask at

this point,

why would

anybody do

that?

Why would

anybody

willingly,

voluntarily

deny

themselves

and follow

someone

else?

I mean,

don't we

all want

to affirm

ourselves?

Nobody

wants to

be challenged

and denied

and corrected

and rebuked.

I want to

be champion,

I want to

be heard,

I want to

be approved.

It seems

counterintuitive,

let him

deny himself.

Right?

It's

counterintuitive

until,

until you

realize it's

not so

counterintuitive

if,

if you

have found

something in

your life

that you

actually want

to affirm

more than

you affirm

yourself.

And that's

possible if

and only if

you found

something in

your life

that you

consider to

be more

valuable to

you than

you.

Then it

becomes a

natural movement

in your heart

to say,

hey you,

talking to

yourself,

hey you,

move over.

I want

this in.

I want to

make room

for this.

I want to

let this

beautiful and

glorious thing

into my life

and let it

take control.

Why?

It's just

more beautiful

and glorious

than myself.

I want

to let it

happen.

I want to

deny myself

so I can

affirm this.

When we

find something

more lovely

than our

own selves,

self-denial

becomes

natural.

Yielding

to it

becomes

natural.

For the

sake of

that thing

we'll turn

to even

our own

thoughts

and say,

hey,

hey thoughts,

move over.

For the

thoughts of

my beloved,

for the

knowledge of

my beloved,

the will

of my

beloved,

the desires

of my

beloved,

the one I

value and

love more

than I value

and love

myself.

if you

think about

it,

I mean,

do you

not do

this even

in your

horizontal

relationships

with one

another?

Do we

not do

this for

our

friends,

spouse,

children,

neighbors?

And it's

when you

do that,

that's when

you really

realize,

okay,

I'm doing

this.

I'm

actually

caring

about

and

valuing

the

people

around

me

because

I'm

telling

myself

to move

aside

and give

them

room,

affirm

them

and deny

myself.

I'm trying

to show

them that I

do love

them,

and at

times I

do love

them more

than I

love

myself.

And again,

I want to

reiterate here

what I

reiterated

earlier,

and that

is you

do this

whether you

do this

with God

or not.

Whatever

you consider

to be most

beautiful,

glorious,

valuable,

worthwhile

in your

life,

you will

deny

yourself

to let

it in.

And

question again

is not

whether you

do this,

but what

you do

this with.

For

example,

if you

find your

work

identity,

your

career path,

career

identity,

to be the

most

beautiful,

glorious

thing in

your life

worth boasting

about,

you will

deny

yourself

to get

it.

You will

deny

your health,

your diet,

you will

deny

your sleep,

you will

deny

social

interactions

to go

after that.

That will

be a natural

movement for

you if you

consider your

work identity

to be the

most beautiful

and glorious

thing in

your life.

if you

consider

having certain

pleasures

to be the

most beautiful

and glorious

thing in

life,

the most

valuable

thing in

life,

then you

will deny

yourself a

measure of

your character,

your self-control,

your patience,

maybe even your

goodness and

your purity

to go after

it.

You're wired

to go after

what you

believe will

bring beauty

and glory into

your life,

and you'll

deny yourself

to do it.

The only

question is,

what is it?

The thing

about going

after Jesus

is this,

as you go

after him

and deny

yourself for

his sake,

it will never

ruin you.

Latching

onto him,

indulging in

him,

if I may

say that,

it will never

ruin you.

If you latch

onto anything

else,

you'll self-destruct.

latch onto

Christ,

you'll come

alive.

And,

scripture says,

you will be

glorified,

as he is.

Have you

found this

to be

alive

at the

core of

your discipleship,

your going

after Jesus,

that for

his sake

you find

all other

things to

be worth

denying?

have you

found him

to be

more valuable

and worth

affirming

than your

self-affirmation?

Is he

more beautiful

and glorious,

truer,

more freeing,

more life-giving

than anything

else?

Have you

found Jesus

to be that?

Jesus is

presuming,

right,

if you're

going to

come after

me,

you see me

that way

because you

will deny

yourself

as you

come after

me.

You will.

You will

say to

yourself,

move over,

self.

I want

Jesus and

his beauty

and his

glory,

his truth,

his wisdom,

his character,

his love

in my life

more than

I want

you,

self.

Move

over

thoughts

so I

can meditate

on his

words more

than I

meditate

on what

you have

to say.

You can

at times

even say

to your

anxieties,

move over

anxieties,

I've listened

to you

long enough,

let me

tune into

his words

of reassurance,

his words

of control,

his words

of love.

And you

will do

this

willingly

and

voluntarily

because you

love him.

So let

him deny

himself.

As in

this is

what a

disciple

does

willingly

and

voluntarily.

When you

find Jesus

to be

the most

beautiful,

most glorious

thing in

your life,

you will

make room

for him.

Like we

sing in

that carol,

let every

heart

prepare him

room.

Why?

He's

bringing us

joy and

blessings

far as

the curse

is found.

Lastly,

the call

to discipleship

is a

call to

daily

carry.

Jesus

says,

and take

up his

cross

daily and

follow me.

And I

just want

to hone

in on the

word daily

for a

moment.

What's the

implication of

that word

daily?

Every day?

It implies

without ceasing,

continuously,

as in for the

rest of your

life.

every morning

you wake up.

That's daily.

What's he saying?

He's saying,

once you find

me, and you

begin to come

after me, and

you're denying

yourself as you

do it, you

find that's,

this is it.

Your daily

agenda, your

daily mission,

your daily

calling in

life.

This is the

reason you get

out of bed.

This is what

you prescribe

daily for your

body and

soul to come

after me and

get more of

me.

Because, he

says, carry

your cross and

follow me, which

is another way of

saying, imitate

me and become

more and more

like me, your

cross-carrying

savior.

As I carry the

ultimate cross for

you, he's saying

you must carry

your little cross

and follow me.

Imitate me.

Grow in your

likeness to me

daily.

That's your

mission now.

That is your

primary objective

in life.

That's your

ultimate career.

It's your

ultimate vocation.

Your

Christ-likeness.

And this is

why you should

get out of bed

every morning.

To do this

another day and

do it better than

yesterday.

To be more like

Jesus.

Of course, we

get out of bed to

get to work and

I get out of bed to

also get my kids

to school.

Hopefully on

time.

Doesn't always

happen.

To meet our

friends on time.

To make our

appointments.

That's what.

The question is

why.

Why do any of

this?

What's the

ultimate end to

it all?

And of course,

our catechism

tells us it's to

glorify God and

to enjoy him

forever.

That is the chief

end of our

existence.

And that's

wonderful.

How's.

What does that

look like in

all these different

spheres of life?

Scripture tells

us through all

these arenas of

life becoming for

you your school of

Christ-likeness.

To love your

neighbors as

Christ as first

loved you.

Becoming more and

more like Jesus in

those very arenas.

And making that

your daily mission.

That's why you

got sent into

those places to

begin with.

To display Christ

in you.

Your hope of

glory.

To be a

disciple daily

means that your

ultimate calling,

your ultimate

identity, your

ultimate vocation

is this.

You have become

one with Christ

and you are

daily becoming

more and more

like him.

This is the

the dailiness of

Christian discipleship

or the Christian

life.

The radical

ordinary nature

of Christian

discipleship.

And when we

deviate from this

path and fall

into sin we

return and that

is our daily

repentance.

The trouble I

think comes to

us believers

when we complicate

this very simple

faith and start

treating Christianity

more like this

sort of special

program to improve

our lives just a

little bit.

Or like a

fitness program to

sort of enrich

our lives when we

feel kind of weak

and suffering

through trials.

Or some self-help

program to better

certain aspects of

our lives.

Like you can go to

the Barnes and

Noble section and

just find whether it's

a finance section or

a health section and

you flip open the

Bible for a section

that might help

you.

And Jesus, that is

not his call.

He's not talking

about that at all.

He's not saying take

me as a sort of

useful tool to

improve your life.

He's saying I am

your life.

He's not saying let

me show you a

better way.

He's saying I am

the way.

I'm it.

I am the life.

Don't live anything

else.

Live me is what

he's saying.

Come after me

daily.

Rest of your life.

Now that you are

in me, I am in you.

Put more and more

of me on display

through all that

I've given you.

Your relationships,

your situations,

even your trials

and your sufferings.

That's his call

to discipleship.

And to kind of

sum it all up

in an image,

Jesus says this

pathway of daily

becoming more

like Christ,

imitating his

character, his

love and putting

it on display.

It looks like

this.

You carrying

your cross.

And that to

me, before it

sounds difficult,

it does sound

difficult.

It should.

Before it sounds

difficult, it

tells me Jesus

is a realist.

Jesus is not

naive.

The world might

be.

Jesus is not.

The world might

think, yeah, you

just got to love

on people.

All you need

is love.

And love is love.

Love is an

intuition.

It's a passion.

It's a feeling.

It's an instinct.

You don't need an

ancient religion to

tell you how to love

or what love is.

You just got to love.

We all have it in us.

To me, and with all

due respect to those

who believe that, and

maybe some of you

believe that, I think

that's just quite

naive.

Because we cannot

love, at least not

truly, and we don't

know love, I don't

think, until we know

how to put ourselves

to death somehow.

Until we somehow

carry a cross of

self-denial as we

approach our

neighbors.

Until we do that, I

think what we call

love is just self-love,

and it's not

self-giving.

It's a love that

only takes.

It's not sacrificial.

It's a love that

demands.

And that's not true

love.

Jesus is being very

real with us when he

says, here's what you

imitating my love and

putting that on display

looks like.

It looks like you

struggling in carrying

your cross.

Just as I did.

If you want true love,

not the selfish,

self-asserting kind,

but the self-giving,

sacrificial, right, the

truly noble and

virtuous kind, if

you're sure that's

what you want, know

this, this is what it's

going to look like.

You carrying your

cross as I carried

your ultimate cross

for you.

Your sin is upon my

shoulders.

Your sin is nailing

me there until it is

accomplished.

My dying breath

bringing you life,

letting you know that

it is finished as we

sing in our hymn.

If you want to know

true love this way,

this kind of love,

you have to look to my

cross that was for you

and learn from that

and do that for others.

And that's why I say

this idea that anybody

can love anybody.

Love is love.

It's just a passion and

an intuition and an

instinct.

I think it's quite

naive.

I want to just take,

for example,

a scenario

where, imagine,

you had a long day

at work

or in class.

You're back home.

You're ready to unwind

and de-stress.

So you have your

favorite TV show

ready to play

and you also have

your favorite

bucket of ice cream

ready to go.

Right?

So whether that's

your favorite Korean

drama,

which I'm sure

you're crazy fans of,

or Ben and Jerry's

ice cream,

whatever it is,

you're good to go,

ready to relax.

And then the phone

rings.

It's your friend.

They had the worst

day.

And they want to tell

you all about it.

What is love

in that moment?

Love would be

turning off the TV,

putting the lid back

on the ice cream,

putting it back in

the freezer,

picking up,

saying to your

friend,

go ahead.

Tell me all about it.

I'm here to listen.

Which is your doing

what?

Putting your evening

of relaxation

to death.

Putting your

unwinding to death

for the next hour

or two or three.

I don't know what

your friends are like.

As long as they

want to

talk to you.

Yeah, I'm here.

I'm here for you.

I'm listening.

Tell me what's going on.

Or let's say you're

having an argument

with your spouse.

I'm sure it doesn't

happen very often

in Scotland.

Happens quite a bit

in Atlanta, Georgia.

I counsel quite a few

couples who run into

this.

You're having an argument

with your spouse,

and it's this classic

back and forth between

what you view as the

right thing and what

your spouse thinks

is the right thing.

It's a conflict.

It's escalating.

What does it mean

to love your spouse

in that moment?

I'm tired.

Let's stop talking

about this.

Let's go to bed.

That's not love.

That's not making

that's a ceasefire.

But the war is

technically still

going on.

That's like North Korea

and South Korea

right now, by the way.

It's a ceasefire.

They're not at peace.

Here's one thing

love could do

in that moment.

Regardless of what

the other person's

speck in their eye is,

you acknowledging

the log in your own eye,

you owning that first,

and you confessing it first.

Honey,

regardless of what you did,

I should not have

spoken to you that way.

That was sinful,

the way I spoke to you.

Please forgive me.

Owning your sin

while not saying anything

about the other person's sin.

What are you doing there?

You're putting your ego

to death.

You're killing your pride.

You're crucifying

your self-righteousness

and your defensiveness.

And that's love.

This is why true love

isn't just a natural thing

that just bubbles up

and wells up in it.

Or love isn't just an instinct.

It's just,

that's not just a passion.

It's cross-carrying.

And this is how we love

like Christ,

and this is Christian

discipleship.

Our carrying

our cross daily

in the very spheres of life

that God has called us

into daily

and to carry our cross

there.

Take up your cross

daily

and follow me.

The only way

any of us

will even begin

to consider

practicing this

is if you

really consider yourself

to be a true

recipient of this.

This beautiful

self-giving love

of Jesus.

If you've received it,

then you probably know

what it means

to give it.

That's when you'll say,

I want to be one

with

a lover

of my soul

and I want to

imitate him

and put him

on display

in my life.

I'm okay

with denying

my ego,

denying my pride

and denying

my comfort

and letting him

show.

Because he is

the one I value

the most.

He is the most

beautiful

and glorious

thing I've ever

encountered.

This cross-carrying

power of Christ.

His love.

His love

is my Arthur's

seat

that I must

enter into

and be one

with.

It's the only

way we'll know

how to do this.

It's if you

really have

received this

yourself.

What does

Jesus say

of the woman

crying at his

feet?

Mercy.

She loves

much because

she knows

she's forgiven

much.

Are you

forgiven

much?

I heard

my seminary

professor say

it very simply

and it still

hits me.

If you think

you're a little

sinner,

tiny little

sinner,

you have a

tiny little

savior.

If you think

you're a great

big sinner,

then you believe

in a great and

big savior.

Have you received

this great

mercy of God

for your

great sins?

grace, then

out of that,

out of that

gratitude,

out of that

rejoicing,

out of that

thankfulness and

your love for

him, you'll

extend that

mercy to those

around you.

It's all because

for you,

Jesus is not

useful,

he's beautiful.

His love for you,

his grace for you,

his mercy,

his kindness

towards you,

is beautiful

and it's

captivated you.

you want

nothing more

than you

putting him

therefore on

display and

that's God's

call for our

discipleship.

May the Lord

help us in

this.

Let's pray.

Our gracious

heavenly father,

we do ask

for you