Matthew pt. 23

Built up now, 'cause I missed so today we're gonna go twice as

long. No, we're gonna.

We'll be out at our regular time.

Turn to Matthew, Chapter 8. And Dylan.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

You can bring the the background down all the way now.

Thank you, brother. Oh, that's the TV doing it.

That's weird. So we're in Matthew chapter 8.

Matthew 8 · chapter mention

We are now getting to verse 18. A lot of your Bible.

What kind of headings do you have right over that?

Verse 18? Tell me what they say there.

The cost of following Jesus. Anybody have something different

from that? That's the heading in My Bible

has as well. The cost of following Jesus.

So let's give Let's give the refresher.

Now, we've been going from chapter one, verse one, all the

way to here. Where have we been?

Through the genealogy. We've come all the way through

Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon ever preached,

and the teaching of what it looks like to be in the Kingdom.

The teaching to show what What does a disciple of Jesus really

look like? What does the Kingdom really do?

That sermon begins, He tells us, blessed are the poor in spirit.

He gives us the beatitudes, talks about the humility in the

way that you would come to Christ, but over and over and

over. Jesus, he's, he's preached

repentance. He says repent, for the Kingdom

of heaven is at hand. And then he's healing, and he's

casting out demons. And then he's healing and he's

casting out demons. And then he might teach again.

And then he's healing again and casting out demons.

And then all these people are coming.

That's what we've seen over and over and over.

It gives us some specific details.

Look at the leper. Look at the centurion.

Look at the different ways that Jesus heals.

It's not always the same every time.

We have an example throughout the Gospels, we never see it

repeated. Now, it's likely in the

thousands and thousands and thousands of people that Jesus

healed. It's likely that he probably

repeated his method. But we talked about how

important it is that we don't get stuck on a method, but we

get stuck on the person of Jesus, that we actually put our

faith and confidence in Him. And then we can be led and

directed by the Holy Spirit, because the Lord will accomplish

His will in many different ways. He heals by His word, so He does

many different things, continues to heal.

And when you're when you're healing thousands of people,

that's going to draw a crowd, isn't it, man?

He teaches like no one's ever taught before.

I love this guy's teaching. It's so good.

And he healed me and my sister and my son and my neighbor.

So we're all following. We're all following.

The crowds are massive. The the word is spread

throughout the region. Now let's read verse 18 through

22. Now when Jesus saw a crowd

around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

So this is a large lake, the other side being a different

region entirely. And a scribe came up to him, and

said, teacher, I'll follow you wherever you go.

And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, birds of the air

have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Another of his disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and

bury my father. And Jesus said to him, follow me

and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

Heavenly Father, bring us light and revelation this morning as

we look at the words of Jesus and as we look at the moment of

what was taking place. And then, as you would apply it

to our hearts and our lives today, God help us to not just

feel conviction, but to have that conviction lead us all the

way through to obedience. Make us an obedient, loving,

following disciple. Help us to not just be in the

crowd, but bring us close to being to the flock.

In Jesus name we thank you. Amen.

Now, when Jesus saw a crowd around him, It's funny when I

point this out to you. You're not going to be able to

Unsee it ever again as you read the gospels.

If you will read your gospels, you'll notice over and over

again whenever there was a large crowd around him.

The very next thing that's going to happen is he's going to sift

the crowd. A large crowd gathered around

him. And then Jesus says something

ridiculous to offend people. A large crowd gathers around him

and then Jesus puts a test for the crowd.

He doesn't. He doesn't deliberately run

anyone off, but he allows them to test engage themselves.

He just puts the thing out there and he says this will reveal,

this will clarify, this will make a distinction.

So he's been healing everybody. He's been driving out demons.

You can't imagine how many people who were already

profoundly changed and blessed by him.

The whole region is talking about it.

Everybody knew somebody who had been to him, who was sick.

So people are coming from far and wide.

His teaching is powerful. It's unlike anything that anyone

has ever heard. The disciples are excited.

The close disciples are excited because their master is gaining

a massive following. I was here at the beginning.

He he called me personally early on, and now people are coming.

Now people are coming. I'm part of his entourage.

I'm part of the inner circle. It's very, very exciting times.

Well, this, this is the Messiah. It's happening.

This is it. It's building.

He's just going to keep building it, maybe until he builds his

army. And then finally, we're going to

take over the Romans and the Son of Man, as Daniel calls him in

Chapter 7, and as Jesus calls himself here in this passage,

then maybe finally it'll all be happening.

So if Jesus was really a great church leader, and if he's

reading all the church growth magazines, and if he's listening

to the right church growth podcasts, he's going to realize

that this is the moment to capture the moment, the

momentum. This is it.

Don't blow it. Jesus.

The crowd's starting to gather, right.

This is the moment that you really got to capitalize on.

This is the moment when you really got to make the most.

They're here, they're here, they're here.

Now you really have to capitalize on it.

Don't waste all the excitement. Don't waste all the hype, Jesus.

We've got to make the most of it and keep this thing growing.

So of course Jesus says there's a lot of people here.

Let's go to the other side of the lake and leave the region

entirely. We'll see who comes.

We'll see who makes it. We'll see who sorts themselves

out. Jesus isn't concerned with

keeping the crowd. Jesus is making disciples.

So Jesus does what he's going to do over and over and over again.

The Lord is testing the people. He gives the command, and the

people decide for themselves what they will do.

Because there's a difference between the crowd and the flock.

There's a difference between the crowd and the flock.

It was true then, and it's true now.

Well, who are you to judge? Nobody.

The tests will reveal themselves like a pastor.

You know, especially the larger a church is like, you know that

there's a difference between the crowd and the flock.

Well, who's who? What's what?

Time will tell. I don't have to sort all that

out. I'm going to love everybody.

I'm going to shepherd well. But.

But life itself will reveal time itself will reveal things and

whenever thing whenever we're actually leading like Jesus.

Everything's just not easy, right.

That's part of this. The DNA of salt from day one.

The the one of our purposes here is that you would be equipped to

do the work of the ministry. That you wouldn't just go.

What you got for me today, preacher man?

Hope you got a good sermon to make me feel convicted.

That I might do nothing about. But at least I'll feel good in

my conviction. I'm comforted by the fact that I

feel conviction. I don't.

I'm not moved to obedience, but I like conviction.

I'll keep coming back week after week to get that conviction to

go. Oh, that was a good word.

Oh, that was a good word again. Well, the word is always good,

but are we really a disciple or are we in the crowd?

This is a challenge to us. Anyone can be in the crowd.

Enemies are in the crowd. Friends are in the crowd.

The curious are in the crowd. The nosy are in the crowd.

The jealous, The traitor is in the crowd.

The board is in the crowd. The my wife made me come is in

the crowd. The it's good for my kids.

So we're so we we try to go is in the crowd and each are

welcomed with warmth and with love and everybody say and and

there will be a test to determine the crowd from the

flock. So what are we?

Are we cynical towards all those people?

Not at all. But everybody gets to cast their

own vote on whether or not they're actually crowd or flock.

Everybody gets to cast their own vote.

Now how do you cast your vote? Obedience.

Obedience is how the vote is cast.

Are we talking about perfection here?

Not at all. Not at all.

But we're talking about faithfulness.

Jesus knows what he's worth, but he's going to find out if the

crowd knows what he's worth. Jesus always knows what he's

worth, but he's going to find out if you know what he's worth.

What do you believe about his worth?

Oh, he's worthy of it all. It's an easy song to sing and I

love the song. One of my favourites.

He is in fact worthy of it all. It's easy for me to sing it for

four or five minutes. But what about Monday Morning

Joe? Michael, How's it going to look

for you there? Because if he's worthy, it will.

It'll mean that your life looks entirely different than it did

before. The good news about the tests

that come from the Lord are His tests meet you wherever you are.

They travel with you and they meet your need for where you're

at. The tests from God are maturity

appropriate. So wherever you are in the Lord,

the Lord knows that He loves you and he and He knows how to

father each of his children, individually and personally.

Can you follow him for Sunday worship each week?

Can you pray for that Co worker? Can you forgive that person who

lied about you? Can you tithe?

Can you contribute your life to your brothers and sisters in

Christ? Can you say no to that substance

that you've been dependent on? Can you hold your tongue instead

of retaliating? The Lord's going to give us

opportunities to grow, to follow and walk in obedience.

So like I said, don't be confused here.

The disciple does not get straight A's in class.

Look at the 12. Did they get straight A's?

No. But were they faithful?

Yes, Peter Man, even on the very last night.

Lord, I'll follow you to death. Only two hours later, say, I

swear I'll call them curses from heaven.

I don't know the man, only to be restored again.

Why? Because he stayed close.

So the disciple isn't marked by a straight A report card.

But the disciple does keep showing up for class, and that's

the distinction. And that's what the crowd

wouldn't do. Jesus says we're going across to

the other side. And I was like, that'd be like

miles to get around. Like, all right, this is this is

where I'm out. Thanks for healing me.

It's been good. Like, I really appreciate the

blessings. I like that guy.

Really, really like that guy. Good dude.

Jesus goes. The test is working.

The test is doing what the test is supposed to do.

The disciple doesn't get straight A's, but the disciple

keeps showing up and sits at the master's feet, and that is your

ultimate protection because you're with him.

And when you're with him, he corrects and you repent, and he

forgives all your sin and he cleanses you from all

unrighteousness. That's the protection that Peter

had. Peter Peter went and wept

bitterly after he did what he did.

And then he gets restored because he still loves the Lord.

So he didn't get straight A's all the way through.

You're not going to get straight A's all the way through.

But will you keep showing up? Will you keep following Jesus?

Will you keep following Jesus Or will he say, hey, come here and

you go, that's too far. You ask too much.

Lord, you demand too much of me. And he goes, I understand many

feel that way. But he keeps on moving, he keeps

on walking. And we see that in this passage

people make some what seem to be very reasonable requests, very

reasonable requests. And Jesus says I'm worth it.

I know I'm worth it. You need to know that I'm worth

it. He knew that everyone would

follow when he was the one doing everything.

He knew that healing, casting out demons, giving the best

teaching that the world has ever heard.

And now he wanted to see who would follow when they had to do

something, who would follow when it would actually cost

something. I'll follow you anywhere.

Well, that's because it hasn't cost you anything yet.

Now, maybe you will follow me anywhere, but time will tell,

and this test will reveal it. So that this this scribe figures

out what Jesus is doing. He recognizes what's happening.

He's going, he's testing us. Lord, I'll follow you anywhere,

OK? And then, of course, Jesus

actually just raises the bar for him here.

But he wanted to see what they would do when it cost them

something. Who would follow when it

actually had an expense to go along with it that would reveal

the disciples from the crowd? Jesus knows that everyone will

follow when it costs nothing. Hey, would you like to sign up

for Christianity? You take your clipboard out to

the streets. Oh yeah, What's that entail?

Oh, well. You get love, You get

forgiveness. You get freedom from sin.

You get eternal life. You get healing.

You get power over the devil and crucified.

Wait, wait, What was that last thing you said?

What was that last part? Oh yeah, crucified.

I like all the other stuff, but can we leave out that last part?

No, actually, that's the part that actually comes first.

Technically, it's the You get crucified and then you get those

other things, but you keep getting crucified along the way.

Like what? No, no, no.

I just want the good stuff. Like, all those blessings sound

awesome. Sign me up for that.

But not the other part. No, they all come together.

Actually, you actually have to come through the cross, and then

you have to take up your own cross, and then you keep getting

on the cross. And then you're a living

sacrifice. Like, why would I want to do

this? And I'm like, oh, because he's

worthy. Because he's worth it.

Because he gives you the life that's truly life.

Well, that sounds really expensive.

It seems that way. But that's only because you

don't realize that your life is nothing compared to the life

that you're going to have in Christ.

Your life is so bad that you have to die, and he's going to

make you a new creation. So you win in this deal, just so

you know. And yet, yes, it will also cost

you something. You don't earn it.

You don't deserve it. But it still has a cost.

Isn't that an interesting thing? We don't earn it.

We don't deserve it. No one will get to heaven to go.

I carried my cross. Not even close.

Everyone will just be there, going.

He got on the cross. He's worthy.

How'd you make it here? We.

Me. How I make it here.

I put my faith in the sun. I put my faith in the Lamb who

was slain before the foundation of the world.

Same way anybody else got here. There's nothing I did.

There's nothing I earned. Did it cost you?

Well, yeah, it cost me. What did it cost you, will It

cost me friendships. It cost me job opportunities.

It cost me money. It cost me.

You name it like it's limitless. It cost me all kinds of things.

There are many, many ways it'll show up.

That it that it will cost you. It cost me my desires.

It cost me the flesh. The flesh is what it cost me.

Oh, so you didn't really lose anything?

Of course not. 1000 years from now we'll go, Which is why Paul

called, which were very extreme things he was going to compared

to what I've experienced, he said these light momentary

afflictions. These light momentary

afflictions. Paul like you've been scourged

multiple times by Romans. You've been hung upside down and

had your feet beaten with rods. You've been stoned to death, it

would seem, And then resurrected.

Paul goes light, momentary afflictions.

It's all nothing compared to knowing Christ, man.

He had a different perspective. No, he just saw clearly.

That is how it is. Paul didn't just find the silver

lining and everything he just had.

He just had a really positive outlook on things.

No, he had a that he was recognizing reality that's

actually as it is. And he saw that.

So Jesus knows everyone would like the the Christianity

without the cross, but there is no Christianity without the

cross. Later on in Matthew we're going

to see Jesus says if anyone would follow me, he must deny

himself, take up his cross and follow me.

Whoever would save his life will lose it.

But whoever would lose his life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and

loses his soul? And then in Luke, another

example, and there are many, I'm only giving you a couple here.

Luke 1425, large crowds, we're traveling with Jesus.

What do you think he's about to do?

This is our moment. Pull him in.

Pull him in. Pull him in.

Hey guys, you know if you bring a friend next week, we're going

to have a Starbucks coffee and we're doing a new series that's

just going to be like, amazing and super practical teaching for

you and for your family. And like the kid, we're going to

have a dog and pony show out back for the kids afterwards.

Like, please come back next week, right?

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus and turning to them, he

said. If anyone comes to me and does

not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and

sisters, yes, even their own life, Such a person cannot be my

disciple and whoever does not carry their cross and follow me

cannot be my disciple. This is a hard saying.

Who can do this? Another time, of course, Large

crowds gathered and Jesus goes. You have to eat my flesh and

drink my blood. And the crowd sifts again.

And the disciples, like this guy doesn't understand how this how

to do it. Like we got to pull him aside

and teach him. Peter, go talk to him.

Hey Lord, I've been thinking. Oh, you have.

Maybe you should stop. Maybe that's the problem.

Jesus keeps sifting the crowd from the disciple.

And praise God, the disciples kept choosing to follow.

And that's the distinction. Because even when the crowd

leaves, he says, eat my flesh and drink my blood.

And they go, this is a hard saying, who can do this?

He turns to the 12 and even seems to offer them the door and

go, would you like to leave as well?

Like, he's even like, hey, everybody's leaving.

What are you guys doing here? And Peter says almost to say, I

don't know what you're talking about and I don't quite get it

yet, But he goes, you have the words of life.

Where else would we go? And Jesus goes, good for you

because he's willing to go again.

He's willing to go pick another group if he needs to because he

knows what he's worth. Man does.

Does Jesus really love us? Oh yeah, Jesus really loves us.

And he proved it all the way to and through the cross.

God so loved the world that he sacrificed.

But God also is for God. God is for God.

And God is for God's mission. And God is for God's glory.

Doesn't he love me? Oh, he absolutely loves you.

He cares for you deeply and compassionately.

It's both and it's. And let's keep going.

Now y'all are listening. Too slow.

We got to hurry up. Verse 19 and a scribe came up to

him and said, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.

So often time in the Gospels, the scribes are combating him,

right? A lot of times it's scribes and

it's Pharisees and they're trying to trap him and they're

trying to trick him. This guy recognizes who he is.

He even honors him by saying teacher or rabbi, and he's

recognizing his authority and he sees what Jesus is doing right

away. He recognizes that what the

rabbi is doing, this is a test. He's watching Jesus.

Look all around. And Jesus says to his disciples,

let's go to the other side. The scribe, the scribe speaks

up. Lord, I'll follow you wherever

you go, like I want you. I see what you're doing, master.

I appreciate it. And I'm going to be on the other

side of the lake. And Jesus doesn't go good for

you. I see you.

He goes, Let me raise the bar for you because you might not

know still what it costs. And Jesus is never doing a bait

and switch. He never does that.

Ever. I've done that before,

regretfully, as a pastor in the ministry, done things.

Hey, come to this event. Hey, we're going to trick you

into the gospel because we didn't actually believe the

gospel was good enough for you. We wanted to get you with this

thing. And then would you accept this?

And here's the broccoli. No, no, no.

This is the gold, this is the golden.

This all is all we got to offer, right?

So the scribe is recognizing this in in what Jesus is doing.

But then Jesus seems to raise the standard.

Teacher, I'll follow you wherever you go.

And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes, birds of the air

have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere

to lay his head. Jesus raises the bar and lets

him know. It's going to be more difficult

than you think. So Jesus, for the first time in

Matthew, references himself, if I'm remembering correctly.

I think so as the Son of Man, whether or not it's the first

time is the most important thing.

But the point is, the Son of Man is a reference from Daniel,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

Chapter 7. And the Son of Man is a

reference to the Messiah. And this is a powerful reference

to the Messiah. You and I reading Son of Man.

The the meaning is lost on us if we don't know what's happening

in Daniel Chapter 7. So you know what?

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

Let's go there really quick. I got to find Daniel.

I got to go through my books. Oh, in the Old Testament.

Thank you, Ezekiel. There you are, Daniel.

Oh page 737. In Adam's Bible, Daniel Chapter

Daniel 7:13

7, verse 13, the Son of Man is given dominion is the title I

saw in the night visions. And behold with the clouds of

heaven there came one like a son of man.

And he came to the ancient of days, that is the Father, and

was presented before him. And to him Jesus was given

dominion and glory and a Kingdom that all peoples, nations and

languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting

dominion which shall not pass away, and his Kingdom one that

shall not be destroyed. Read that out loud in the

Gospels every time you see Son of Man, quite a different

import, right? Well, that's what all the That's

what all the listeners to Jesus would have understood it to

mean. So, Son of Man, what's that

mean? No big deal.

Son of man. So he's born from Joseph and

Mary, son of Man. No, no, no, no, no.

A reference to Daniel to all of his might, to all of his

dominion, his everlasting dominion.

And Jesus continually refers to himself that way.

So you're like, oh, he's just downplaying who he is by calling

himself the Son of Man. Just the opposite, in fact.

He constantly says, I'm the one, I'm the Messiah.

I am the greatest. But he makes that reference

here. So it's a strange dichotomy

because he says the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

The one who has all the dominion and all the might and all the

people and all the tribes and all the nations and all the

languages of the world to bow down and to worship him, has

nowhere to lay his head, has nowhere to go.

Now why is that? Some people have made much of

Jesus, as they call it, being homeless, which I've never used

that phrase because I don't think it's appropriate and I

think it's a misrepresentation of what was going on here.

Jesus is on a very particular mission by his father, a very

particular way a man in his 30s would have what a Jewish man in

his 30s, certainly the most responsible man literally, to

ever live and walk the face of the earth, worked hard, was

faithful in all that he did, and could have had a home.

OK, some theologians think he had a home, others think he

didn't. That's not the point some people

made much of like what? What can we learn from a

homeless beggar? And they try and make a point

that the scripture doesn't make. What Jesus is doing is saying

the way I'm living, the way I've chosen to live.

I'm not. I don't have enough money and I

can't find any place to sleep. It's not the message.

Jesus, not a bum on the sidewalk.

OK, And that's so homeless is certainly not a good

representation. Man on a mission who's traveling

as a rabbi is the clear representation.

So he's pointing it out to this scribe.

Maybe the scribe is used to luxury.

Maybe Jesus could look at him and see that this man is used to

comfort. And Jesus is saying you think

you want to go to this other region with me.

You think you want to cross the lake, but the foxes have it

better than I do. Foxes at least have a den that

they can go into. The birds at least have a nest.

I'm traveling. Things are going to be difficult

for you. He's raising the standards, and

he's showing him that I'm going to continue to test you.

I'm going to continue to make you uncomfortable because

following Jesus is always going to make things uncomfortable for

us. If you're going to follow Jesus,

you're going to have to get uncomfortable.

You love his healing. You love his teaching.

You love his goodness. You love his grace.

But do you love his cross? Thank you, God, for blessing me.

Thank you, God, for helping me. Thank you for taking care of my

family. Lord.

You're welcome. I love you.

Now I want you to start a Bible study.

Oh, no, no, no. Just go back to the blessing

stuff. No.

I want you to respect your husband.

I want you to be gentle with your wife.

I want you to to. I want to talk to you about your

taxes and how you've been filing them.

No, Lord, that's kind of my thing.

Yeah. I want you to be my savior, not

my Lord. You know, you're not just save

me, but don't, like, rule over me.

You know? I want you to shepherd your

children and read my word to them.

I want you. I want to talk to you about

intoxication and the alcohol or that marijuana.

I want you to have that difficult conversation that you

need to have with love. I want to talk to you about that

TV show that you love so much. I want to talk to you about that

high paying job that you've been in for years and what I've got

for you next and how it's going to look different.

I want you to give away whatever it may be.

Would the Lord ask me to do those things?

Why don't you go ask the rich young ruler?

Why don't you go ask Abraham if he would ever ask you to give

anything away? A good thing or the Lord would

never. The Lord wants me happy.

It's a strange statement. I don't know that I disagree

with it, but it sure sounds youth centered instead of Christ

centered, isn't it? The Lord wants.

Let the Lord say what the Lord wants.

That would be the wise thing to do.

Whatever you want, Lord. I'm all in for it.

That's the difference between the crowd and the disciple.

So what does the scribe do? We don't know.

We don't know what this scribe does.

We'll find out someday. Did he make it?

Is he here? I sure hope so.

But he got to cast his own vote. Jesus said it's going to be

challenging and he doubled down and said I'm there.

Maybe he followed him through and through and through and was

there all the way. Let's keep going, verse 21,

another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and

bury my father so they recognize that the test is happening.

They recognize a sifting is taking place.

Hey, you're changing things up. You were just hanging out,

healing, preaching, teaching. All was good.

Now you're going to put some strain and some stress on us.

We have some stipulations. Let me go and bury my father

first, implying that in the scripture even calls this man a

disciple, so implying that he has been one of the true

followers up until this point. And this man brings what I would

argue feels like a reasonable request, right?

This seems fair enough. And Jesus responds with follow

me and let the dead bury their own dead.

As if to say let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.

Now, most theologians believe that this man's father was not

dead. It's not like Dad died earlier

in the day. He's like, hey, we're wrapping

up some Funeral arrangements and and then and then I'll come

along. No, because if that had

happened, he would have been with the family.

There have been a whole process for mourning and grieving.

And if he's the oldest, if he's the first born, there would have

been a whole traditional system of things that he has to take

care of and manage. What's more likely going on is

he's his father is old and he wants to wait for his father to

die because he wants to be here for most likely his inheritance

or maybe the responsibility of all the things that would come

from that role. Either way, Jesus said no.

It's now or never with me, not hey, let me follow because he

doesn't know how long his dad's going to live.

How far are we into Jesus ministry at this point?

The clock is ticking on Christ and His mission to the cross.

And this man goes, hey, I'll join up with you.

And Dad's sick and old. Maybe four years tops.

You don't have four years. Nobody had four years walking

with the Messiah 3 1/2 at best. And this guy's going, I'm going

to keep doing your thing throughout the region once I get

things straight here. Jesus says follow me.

Let the dead bury their own dead.

Strong words. Because Jesus knows what he's

worth. Do you know what he's worth?

He doesn't say. I get you like the Super Bowl

commercial convinced me of. He says follow me and leave

something else. If you're not sorry, you're not

following. Jesus, if you haven't left

something, someone or somewhere, follow me and leave.

Follow me and leave. So to follow me is to leave

something. I'm going to follow you.

And no, you're not. You're going to just have the

first thing and you're going to kid yourself, which is super

dangerous. That's that's the danger of

being in the crowd, man. I'm.

I'm all about Jesus. Are you?

What does it cost you? Well, nothing.

He's so good to me. You're missing something, my

friend. The Lord loves you.

He's gracious. And and we can move on from

here. You can become a disciple, but

it will cost you something. You're not following Jesus if

you haven't left something, someone or somewhere to follow

Jesus is to be alive and not dead, and you can't be both.

So when you come to the King in humility, he gives you a new

heart. With your new heart comes new

desires, new loves and new hates.

So the things that I used to hold so dearly, I now go the

Holy Spirit convicts me and he's grieved by those things.

And he goes to Michael no more. And I go, man, is that really a

is that really a an important thing?

He says it matters to me. And now I've got an opportunity

again. Crowd or disciple?

Crowd or disciple. I'm a fan.

I'm a big fan of Jesus. Well, he didn't.

He's not gathering fans, he's gathering a flock.

To leave me or to follow me is to leave that.

To follow me is to leave there. To follow me is to leave them.

And Jesus will bring new desires.

That's the other comfort. None of this is white knuckle.

None of this is all on you. This is what the new birth

actually accomplishes. So when we come to Christ in

humility, when we come through the cross and we say God, my

life is yours. In that moment, the Holy Spirit

brings new desires. So we don't preach the gospel

message and leave out the gospel.

We don't preach a message. It just says it costs a lot and

people go. It just sounds like it's on

them. Well, the good news is the Lord

actually brings the ability and the desire to follow him.

So he first of all gave you the faith.

You didn't get that on your own either.

He sent his word, and with the word of God travels faith to

believe the word of God. So we're all cut to the heart.

And now in this moment, I get to choose.

Faith has been delivered. I've been penetrated by the

sword of the Spirit. And now I can harden up and go

no. Or I go, ow, yes, Lord, remove

the cancer and give me a heart of flesh.

Heal me and restore me Like God tested Abraham with action to

take, Jesus is testing the crowds, and he tests us by

giving us action to take. Will you obey?

There's a difference between movement and progress.

A rocking chair moves, but it never goes anywhere.

There were many in the in the Jesus crowd then, and there are

many in the Jesus crowd now. So do you.

Do you like feeling convicted but you don't obey?

That's incredibly dangerous. It's incredibly dangerous to be

in a solid church when all you get is conviction and nothing

more. Oh, my pastor is so solid and so

faithful with the word. That's great.

He should be. But now what about your

obedience? Or are you just comforted by the

fact that you are convicted? Oh, oh, I'm so convicted.

Get in the car on the way home. Oh, that was so convicting.

Uh huh. And now what?

And I'm convicted by the Lord. Thank.

I'm thankful for his provision and his help there.

And now I can make a move. Now I can do something

different. Now I can walk in obedience or

man. I'm so convicted I can't wait to

go back next week and get convicted again.

If that's the case, then I'm just in the crowd.

But the flock will sense conviction, and the flock will

then obey. A disciple will follow and leave

his current spot. And it's tempting because we got

reasonable excuses. Let me bury my father first.

Come on. It's a good call, right?

What reasonable excuse do you have not to follow?

What reasonable excuse have you been making to say?

I don't know that. I don't know that I've got to

take action on this. I mean, I feel like I have an

exception, right? I've got my father that I need

to go take care of. You guys are going to take care

of communion for us. Thank you.

We're going to receive communion in just a moment.

What reasonable excuse do I have not to follow?

Reasonable Jesus doesn't cut anyone from the team.

We need to make this clear. We cut ourselves.

He loves you and He wants you, and He proved it by dying to

save you. You are the 1 lost sheep that he

left, 99 others to save, and yet you still get to decide.

The tests are not for him. The tests are for you.

And they're they're. The point of the tests is to

bring you closer and closer and closer to Him.

That's the gift of the test. The gift of the test is that the

scribe gets closer to the Lord. The gift of the test is that the

Lord is that the man sees that Jesus is worth more than his

father. Jesus is worth more than

everybody. This is the gift that the Lord

gives us. And if we ever doubt, if we ever

wonder, is he worth it, we keep looking to the cross.

Go look how much he loved me. Look what he gave up.

He's not asking you to do something that he hasn't already

done. He's not asking you to give up

something. This is the leader who goes

first. This isn't the God who sits on

high, makes demands, and doesn't participate in any way.

This is the one. God so loved the world that he

came to take responsibility. God so loved the world that he

came and cleaned up the mess. God so loved the world that he

already rescued. Is he really worth it?

Of course he's worth it. Does he really love me?

Of course he loves you. Look to the bread, Look to the

cup and be reminded and be refreshed.

No one loves you like him. No one ever has.

This is why you love him. It's because he first loved you.

Hebrews 10, verse four. It is impossible for the blood

of bulls and goats to take away sins.

So Hebrews, of course, was written to Hebrews, Jewish

Christians, people who have come all the way through the blood of

Jesus. But now they're still receiving

encouragement, Correction, help, in case they have any temptation

to return to their old ways. To the old, the former covenant,

bulls, goats, lambs, altars. It was all it was, all a

temporary pointing to the Lamb of God who would take away the

sin of the world when Christ came into the world, he said.

Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body

have you prepared for me in burnt offerings and sin

offerings, you have taken no pleasure.

Then I said, behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is

written of me in the scroll of the book.

So all those other offerings, all those things were a

temporary sacrifice, not satisfying to the Lord, only

holding over until the price could truly fully be paid by the

one who is worthy. Jesus loves you.

This is why you should love him. He really cares for you.

This is why you should care for him.

God, we confess our sins together as a body right now.

Our sins of being in the crowd instead of being in the flock.

All those times where we had a a reasonable excuse to walk away

from the the King, the Lord of Glory, or draw us close, help us

by the power of the Holy Spirit to pass your tests.

Tests that aren't designed to expose and shame us, but tests

that are designed to bring us closer to you.

Just seek the Lord in this moment.

Ask him. Well, what have I been holding

on to, Holy Spirit? What is it you've been speaking

about that I've been ignoring that I've forgotten?

Church, don't let him. Don't let him.

Stop asking you. That would be the worst.

What's he been asking you for over and over and over?

God, don't go silent. Don't turn away from me.

What is that next step of obedience that I would walk

faithfully with you? What lake do I need to cross to

stay close to you? What lake do I need to run

around to give back into your presence?

Jesus paid it all. So God, as we confess our sin,

our spiritual laziness, our selfishness, we bring it to the

cross. The only place where we can be

rescued and the only place where we can be cleansed.

The only place where we can be helped.

There's nothing we can do. You are the vine.

We are the branches. Apart from you, we can do

nothing. We come to your blood.

We come to your body now, remembering what you've done to

redeem us and to rescue us. Like Peter, we have not gotten

straight A's on any of our tests, but we want to be

faithful and we want to keep returning.

We still want to get close to you, so forgive us of our sins

and cleanse us from our unrighteousness and Saints.

As you take the Cup, know that you're also receiving the

forgiveness of God. His answer to your repentance.

Is yes and Amen. Let's take the cup in Jesus name

and let's take the bread. Cleansed and forgiven.

Cleansed and forgiven and totally restored.

Fellowship restored. Fellowship strengthened.

Ready to walk again. Not fearing the voice of the

enemy. Not walking with a cynical tone,

but saying like the scribe. Lord, I'll follow you wherever

you go. And also, God help me, help me

to stay close because you are worthy.

I love you and I want to stay in your presence.

God, we thank you for your word today.

We thank you for your test, and we thank you for your sifting

that keeps us close. Strengthen your people now and

bless them as they go. And now the Lord bless you and

keep you. The Lord make his face shine

down upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you great

peace in Jesus name. Amen.