Following Jesus Will Cost You | Mark S4E1 — The Suffering Servant

If you have your Bibles and I hope you do, open up to Mark chapter 8.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

Mark chapter 8 is where we'll be this morning.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

And I wanted to start with a question today.

And the question is this Does anyone know a Navy SEAL in your life?

You do.

Oh, we got some hands.

Yes, I've had the privilege to meet some Navy SEALs, maybe some like Army Rangers, Special Forces, Marines, like any of those would like fall into the category.

But man, I am so intrigued by the Navy SEALs.

They live a different life.

Like you meet a Navy SEAL and you're like, dude, they're just built different.

Right?

I feel a little intimidated being in their presence and inspired at the same time.

They have a different regimen, a different training.

Man, they have been basically tested to be a POW and everything else that they could possibly experience in battle and war.

And I tell my wife, like, in another life, if God didn't call me into ministry, man, I would want to be a Navy SEAL.

Like that to me is the coolest job in the world.

The sacrifice, the the costliness, everything it takes to get there, but also the reward of getting to lay down your life for your country.

Like I think that is so admirable.

So much so that when we watch, we choose to like watch, when we have a time to watch like Netflix or or Amazon Prime, try to find something to watch just together.

My wife is like going to the rom com.

It's like she'll, if it's her choice, we're watching something romantic.

If I get the choice, and maybe some husbands in the room, some guys in the room, like it's like CIA, it's like Reacher, you know, it's like saving the world.

Like maybe like throwing the law, like I'm I am the law, you know, I'm gonna kind of kind of like come and bring justice to an area that needs justice.

Like that's my type of movie.

When it comes to like the Christian life, though, and I would say even the American church, I think somewhere in the Western church, we sort of applied that logic to Christianity.

Like there's Navy SEALs, and then there's normal people.

Are you guys tracking with me?

There's some followers of Jesus who are just built different.

Like we look at them, we look at their passion, or we look at what they're doing for Jesus or their boldness.

We're like, man, they're just different.

They're like CrossFitters for Jesus.

You guys have met a CrossFitter, like they tell you about it, they evangelize about CrossFit, like they're on a different level.

Now it's High Rocks.

Any High Rocks people in here?

Anybody?

No.

Man, we need some high rocksers.

Okay, but they're like Navy SEALs for Jesus.

That's how we we kind of treat them.

Like they're the radical ones, we're the normal ones.

And then there's normal Christianity, where Jesus doesn't really ask too much of me.

Jesus, like I have my Christian routine, and Jesus is never gonna inconvenience my Christian routine.

I'm just a normal Christian.

You know, the disciples we see in the New Testament who started the early church, who were martyrs for Jesus, those were radical people.

But man, I'm just like a normal Christian.

I'm a normal disciple of Jesus.

And today, this is gonna be one of the most challenging messages I've probably preached so far in our church.

It's one of the most challenging teachings of Jesus.

But we actually see no dichotomy between those two things in Christianity, not in the teachings of Jesus.

And so here's the main idea we're gonna unpack today.

And again, this is gonna be a little bit of an intense message.

But normal Christianity is radical devotion to Jesus.

There's not like some radical followers of Jesus and some normal, like, if we really understand the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, the life of Jesus, what it means to follow him as a disciple, man, it is all in radical devotion to Jesus.

If you guys are just joining us today, we are at the halfway point in the Gospel of Mark.

It's also a huge turning point in his writing.

And so up until this point, Mark was not a disciple of Jesus, but he was close, he was like on the fringe with the disciples, so he's actually writing through the eyes of Peter.

Peter is dictating the Gospel of Mark.

Mark is the one writing it down.

And as we get to this turning point in the Gospel of Mark, what we've seen so far, the first eight chapters, is Mark is telling us who Jesus is.

Chapter one, we saw God the Father, like at the baptism of Jesus, declared his divine approval over Jesus.

This is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased.

It marked the start of his ministry.

But who is this Jesus?

Like that the clouds would open up and this voice from heaven, the Father, would speak divine approval over Jesus.

And then we see the authority of Jesus when he teaches.

He speaks to storms, he speaks to demons, he silences them both, he walks on water.

We've seen the miracles, the wonders, the signs of Jesus revealing his divine power.

Mark is like to this point.

Do you see it yet?

Do you see who Jesus is?

And then he gets to Mark chapter 8, right in the middle of chapter 8, and there's this segue to shifting to answer this question.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

What did Jesus come to do?

If that's who he is, the Son of God, then what did he come to do?

And so we're jumping into season four of this series.

Kind of been breaking this down into seasons and episodes, and so we're calling season four the suffering servants.

Jesus came not to be the Messiah that they thought and expected and thought they needed, but he actually came to suffer and to die.

And so the suffering servant is season four.

If you guys have your Bibles, we're going to be in Mark chapter 8, beginning in verse 27.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

If you guys need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand.

We have some seating crew that would love to bring one to your seat.

And we say this every week.

If you don't own a Bible, that's our gift to you.

So raise it, raise your hand.

If you don't have one at home, even like you can take that one with you.

But if you need one just for today, raise your hand, they'll bring it to your seat.

Mark chapter 8, verse 27 is where we'll begin.

Mark 8:27

And it says this And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi.

And on the way, they're walking like there's no Ubers, right?

They're walking from town to town.

Lots of like there's no windshield time, but man, they have lots of time to just talk and chat.

Jesus asked his disciples, Who do people say that I am?

And they told him John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others one of the prophets.

And he asked them, But who do you say that I am?

And Peter answered him, You are the Christ.

And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

He doesn't want the messianic secret out quite yet.

Verse 31, and he began to teach them about the Son of Man that must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, the scribes, and be killed.

And after three days rise again.

And he said this plainly.

I love when Jesus just speaks plainly, like he has his parables, but in this moment he pulls all the parables aside and he just speaks plainly to the disciples.

He wants them to understand what's about to happen.

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Can you guys imagine rebuking Jesus?

Peter just had like this really incredible moment, and then we see him have this kind of moment.

And verse 33, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and he said, Get behind me, Satan.

Pretty strong language from Jesus.

Get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it.

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

For what can a man give in return for his soul?

For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Normal Christianity is radical devotion to Jesus.

Today we're gonna see three elements of that radical devotion.

What does it look like to be radically devoted to Jesus?

And again, this is not Casey's words, these are right from Jesus.

Number one is this there's a personal confession of faith.

Did you know every single person has to decide what they're gonna do with Jesus?

And to follow him as a devoted disciple, there must be a personal confession of faith.

From this moment on in Mark, we see Jesus get hyper-focused on preparing his disciples for what's ahead.

Like they they've kind of seen glimpses.

I mean, they've seen him feed 5,000 people with five fish and two loaves.

They saw him feed 4,000 people with seven loaves, they saw him walk on water, they've seen him cast out demons, they've seen him do a lot of things, and that there's still some wavering in their faith.

They still don't understand completely what the Messiah is here to do.

And Jesus speaks plainly to them.

So he knows he's headed to Jerusalem.

He wants his disciples to know what's to come, not just for Jesus, but also for his disciples.

And he starts with a question.

They're on a road trip with Jesus, and he asks, hey guys, who do people say that I am?

Like what you guys are with the people, like what have you been hearing?

Who do people say that I am?

And they're like John the Baptist, some are like Elijah, some are like one of the prophets.

Here's the thing John the Baptist has been dead for a couple chapters.

He was beheaded by Herod.

So some people apparently think he's back from the dead.

We also have Elijah who grew who was on earth 900 years before Jesus.

So that's a that would be another crazy miracle.

Like Elijah's back.

He did never die, he went to heaven in the chariot.

So maybe that's part of their reasoning there.

Like maybe it's Elijah, maybe it's one of the prophets.

But basically, his disciples are like, you know, Jesus, everybody generally thinks you're a good guy.

They think you're a great teacher.

They think you're like one of the prophets, you're respected, you're this miracle worker, but generally a nice good a nice good guy.

And then Jesus asked them the most important question.

I want to just look across the room at every single person in this room.

The most important question that every single one of us has to answer.

But who do you say that I am?

And Peter, the spokesman for the apostles, gets him in trouble sometimes, but he gets this one right.

He says, You are the Christ.

I think we need to tip our cap to Peter in this moment.

Our boy did it.

Like if all the times he fails, like, man, he steps up and succeeds in this moment.

Come on, Peter.

Disciples are probably giving some chest bumps.

They're like, Peter, you did this one.

Come on.

You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

And this is the most important question that we all have to answer.

Your mom can't answer this for you, your dad can't answer this for you, your grandparent, your grandma, like bless her heart, who drug you to church when you were little, who had the faith, you know, you don't ride in on the coattails of people's faith.

No one can answer this question except for you.

It's the most personal question in your entire lifetime.

The person who brought you to church can't answer this question for you.

But one day we will stand before God and have to say what we did with Jesus.

Now, just like there were some popular opinions about Jesus when he walked the earth, these opinions haven't gone away.

And so I want to like maybe you have some of these conversations with friends and family.

I want to give you a couple reasons why Jesus wasn't just a nice guy.

That can't ever be our descriptor of who he was.

So who do people say that Jesus is in our day?

You've probably had some of these conversations before, but here are some trending opinions in our day and age.

I'll have them on the screen.

Number one is he was a good teacher or philosopher.

He had some good moral things to say.

And man, if you live your life by the ways of Jesus, like you will have a positive impact in your life.

He has some wise principles, some good morals, like love people, forgive people, like do a lot of good, right?

Those are good things.

But nothing more, they would say.

Like he was just a moral teacher.

Some people say he was a spiritual guide.

And so he's one of many ways to get to God, but some people find their way up the mountain of God through the path of Jesus.

But there's probably many spiritual guides.

And here's the problem with that is unlike every other religion in the world where we are in our works trying to work our way up this mountain to a holy God, Christianity actually says, you can't.

Like you are unworthy because of your sin.

And so in our unworthiness, God came down the mountain.

He ascended or descended from heaven to earth through the person of Jesus to live the perfect life that we could never live, to die on the cross for our sin, to raise from the dead and offer eternal life.

It's the only religion that says you can't get to God, so God came down to you.

So he wasn't just a spirit, like Jesus said, I am the way, the life, and the truth.

So to say that would even be against the very words of Jesus.

Some people also say that he was a social activist, that he did a lot of good for society.

He brought justice to the oppressed and marginalized and was that was why he was killed.

Some people say he was a political revolutionary.

And the Jews were hoping for this with the Messiah that someone would come and free them from this Roman occupation, the suppression they had, their political adversary.

And so some people point to that as the reason why he was killed.

Some people just say he was a nice guy.

Man, Jesus, my Jesus.

Anyone, anytime someone says, Well, my Jesus, like, they're already off track.

What does Jesus say about himself?

Like, you don't have your version of Jesus, and you have your version of Jesus.

But some people are like, My Jesus, he was full of grace, he accepted everyone, he's tolerant of everything, he didn't step on any toes, he never said anything controversial.

I would say, Man, you have not read the Bible.

Like he was not some harmless dude.

And then some people say he was just a myth.

That he either never existed, or his life and his claims and his teachings have been so exaggerated 2,000 years later to what we have today to become this religious figure he was never meant to be.

But yet historicity would show us there's more written about Jesus, there's more proof about Jesus than anyone who's walked this planet.

So he's not just a myth.

You have to do something with the claims of Jesus.

Again, I want to ask you, who do you say that Jesus is?

What does your life show that Jesus means to you?

You see, the problem with the whole idea that Jesus was just a good guy or a moral teacher, but not God, and certainly not a person of authority for how you should orient all of your life, the problem with that is that argument falls apart really quick.

And I'm just gonna borrow some of C.S.

Lewis's language for this.

But he says Jesus is either one of three categories, and this write this down, because this would be great for some conversation that you guys are probably having with some friends.

But he's if Jesus knew he wasn't God but he claimed to be, then he was deliberately deceiving people.

And so C.S.

Lewis says, category one, if that's who Jesus was, he's a liar.

So he's either a liar, number one, second category, if Jesus genuinely believed he was God but he wasn't, then he was he wasn't just mistaken, he was a crazy person.

Like he's a lunatic.

Like why would you follow that?

Like he's not God, but he thinks he is.

So he's either a liar, or number two, a lunatic, or third category.

But if Jesus wasn't lying and wasn't mistaken, then his claims were true, and he really is God, which makes him Lord.

So Jesus can only be a liar, a lunatic, or Lord.

But he can't just be some nice guy who claimed to be God, have moral teachings, because we would say that guy was crazy, or that guy was a liar.

Christianity is of no importance, or it's of all importance.

The only thing Christianity can't be is of moderate importance.

Because the claims of Jesus is I am the Son of God, I am the only way, truth, and life.

Now, Mark pretty much gives us the bullet points of the story.

I want to flip over to Matthew really quick to give Jesus' answer to Simon's confession, his personal confession of faith.

We see this in Matthew 16, verse 16.

Matthew 16:16

Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjonah, for flesh and blood hasn't revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven.

And I tell you, don't miss this, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

What is the rock that Jesus is talking about in this?

Some people have taken this to mean like Peter is the rock.

And so he is like the first saint, and we're gonna, you know, the church was built on Peter, and that's not what Jesus is saying.

He's saying, on the confession you just made, that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is king, that Jesus is Lord, that he is the good news and the only way back to God.

On that confession I will build my church.

That's why every single week we preach the gospel, we preach the Bible, we announce the good news of the kingdom.

It's what he's called us to do as disciples of Jesus.

That our confession isn't just between us and God, but our confession is for the rest of the world around us.

But don't miss what happens in this story.

They're headed to a town called Caesarea Philippi, which I don't expect you to know a lot about.

I have been there, I've seen it.

It's a very pagan area in this day and age.

And there was a rock formation that had water spewing out of this hole.

And they believed, the pagans believe that it was a bottomless pit to hell, to the gates of hell.

In Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus is taking his disciples.

And there was pagan worship done there, there's pagan sacrifices made into that pit.

Like you can imagine.

And on the way to this town, where the gates of hell were believed to be, Jesus is saying, On the confession of me as Lord and Savior, the gates of hell cannot prevail.

Like I will build my church.

And if that is true about this confession, the greatest decision you can make in your life is to follow Jesus.

That the gates of hell can't even prevail against this confession.

Radical devotion to Jesus requires a personal confession of faith.

Have you had that moment in your life?

Number two is a total submission of the will.

A total submission of the will.

We see this in verse 31.

It says, And he began to teach that the Son of Man must suffer many things.

Don't miss that word must, by the way.

Jesus says, I must suffer.

We'll come back to that.

Many things be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

And he said this plainly.

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

He's like, uh, Jesus, like you being killed wasn't on my bingo card.

Like, I don't know about this.

But turning and seeing his disciples, Jesus actually looks at his disciples because of the example of Peter, they are wavering a little bit in their faith.

And so Jesus turns back to Peter and his disciples, and he looks at Peter and says, Get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.

And then calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he says to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

How does Peter go from such a successful moment where Jesus is like, Blessed are you, Simon?

Like, this isn't like you understand this, like heaven has revealed this to you.

Incredible moment, to this like crash out moment for Peter where he's rebuking Jesus because Peter thought he knew better than God.

And how many times have we been in this place where God's like, Man, I'm calling you to do this.

This is what the road ahead looks like.

This is the sacrifice I'm asking you to make.

And we're like, God, I have a different, I have a better idea.

So Peter's not submitting his will to God's will.

You know, what Jesus just described, didn't it sound very safe or comfortable?

Like a king who dies?

Peter's like, Jesus, that's not what we need.

We don't need a king that dies.

Like man, like we have momentum.

Jesus, you don't have to go through all of that.

Like, people are gonna know you're the Messiah soon enough.

And so, in doing so, what is Peter tempting Jesus to do?

Think back to Mark chapter 1.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Right after the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be what?

Tempted by the devil.

And what does Satan tempt Jesus to do?

To take a shortcut to the crown that doesn't involve the cross.

And so Peter does the same exact thing.

He tempts Jesus with a shortcut to the crown that doesn't involve the cross, and Peter looks at him and says, Get behind me, Satan.

He's setting his mind on the things of man rather than living in total submission to the will of God.

Here's what Peter didn't understand.

If Jesus never went to the cross, you and I are stuck in our sin.

Your sin is unpaid for, and one day you will pay for that in all of eternity.

Eternally separated from God, living in this life, stuck in your sin, no forgiveness, no peace, no hope, on a road to hell.

But because Jesus went to the cross, because Jesus came to die, we actually have hope and forgiveness.

That is the Gospel, it's only through the suffering of Jesus.

There's no shortcut to that.

And so even though Peter doesn't understand the will of God, and even though we don't sometimes understand the will of God, we can always trust the will of God because he knows what is best.

Radical devotion to Jesus requires total submission of the will.

God isn't looking for partial submission to him, he wants all of you.

Later today, I get the opportunity to do a wedding in Rocky Mountain National Park.

I'm excited.

It's gonna be a beautiful venue.

It's an elopement.

So we'll be meeting some people there this afternoon.

And I guarantee you that I will not hear from either one of them these words.

Beloved, on this holy day, I give you my pledge that I am 99% in to be your husband or wife.

Man, thank you so much.

Yes, that's what I was praying for, right?

That's what I was hoping to hear on my wedding day.

No, I mean, if you hear that and you're engaged, I mean, run.

Like run force, run.

Please.

Because that is not gonna set you up for success.

Marriage is this picture of the gospel because it is nothing short of total submission to each other in the context of a divine covenant.

What does Paul say in Ephesians 5?

This is called the marriage chapter.

I'm gonna read parts of this today at this wedding.

But right before we get to the wives and the husbands part, it says this about both wives and husbands in verse 21: Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

In the same way you live in total submission to Christ, this is what it's saying.

Submit your lives totally to each other.

So the secret to radical devotion in your marriage is total submission to each other.

Right?

We hate the word submit in our culture, but actually the Bible says that we both should submit to each other.

And yes, there's still leadership and headship, and there should be trust there.

But man, we are called to submit to each other, and that opens the door for this beauty and this radical devotion to flourish inside the covenant of marriage.

How much more so in your relationship with Jesus?

We already have total submission of Jesus to the Father who went to the cross on your behalf.

The same applies to how we follow Jesus.

He's not calling you to be 99% in.

He's not calling you to be 99.9% in.

The call to follow Jesus is to be 100% in.

All in.

I don't want to ask you, have you made that decision?

And is that a decision every single day you're coming back to with even more eagerness and more love and more passion to be 100% in?

Total submission to his will, to his ways, to his word.

It means that there are things you can no longer do as a follower of Jesus.

There's probably places you should no longer go as a follower of Jesus.

There's probably thoughts you should no longer have or entertain or meditate on as a follower of Jesus.

You should flee from some of those things.

There's probably things you should shouldn't watch.

It changes everything about you.

The temptation to be like one foot in the world and one foot in the church.

Like that's not all in submission to Jesus.

That's not what he's asking us to do.

This is no longer about you, this is no longer about your safety, this is no longer about your comfort.

Like this is radical devotion to Jesus, total submission of your will.

It's a sacrificial calling to lay down your life, to lay down your time, to lay down your talents, to lay down your treasure, all for his glory and for the good of people around you.

Have you given total submission of your will over to the will of God?

This guys, this might mean your weekends look a little different.

What?

Ski season?

Why?

Because you have a priority to spend Sundays in the house of God, with God's people, the church he died for, worshiping him, like serving others, making a way for those who don't know God to encounter him.

Like it becomes like your mission, your priority.

It's why we're here, left on earth.

The question is, have you you submitted your will to God's will, to God's ways and to God's word?

And what, if anything, is getting in the way of total submission to Him?

Some of you might ask the question, how do I know what God's will is?

How can I know that?

We give you Romans 12, 1 and 2.

Romans 12, 1 and 2 says this.

It's the words of Paul.

He says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Come back to that in a second, but you are called to be a living sacrifice.

I think there's there's a lot of cost in that, right?

And then he goes on do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

That's that's your will.

How does your will get transformed?

That by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

As we get into God's word, our will gets transformed to become more like his will.

And what does it say about the will of God?

It says the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect.

So even if you don't know it fully, which most of the time that's how it happens, that's why he asks us to trust him in faith.

But even if you don't know his will fully, even if you don't understand it, you can trust that it is good, acceptable, and perfect.

Total submission of your will to his will.

I think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He knows the will of the Father, but he's like, God, if there's any other way, take this cup from me.

But not my will, but your will be done.

Man, radical devotion Jesus will cost you.

What does it cost you to follow Jesus?

What is it costing me to follow Jesus?

And if the answer is nothing, then I would submit to you like maybe you're not a follower of Jesus.

And again, that's not Casey's definition, that's the definition that we see from Jesus.

That they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.

The third thing we see here is a daily decision to die.

Number three, a daily decision to die.

If anyone come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, which is an instrument for death in this Roman world of occupation.

Take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it.

But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it.

What's he saying?

He's like, man, a lot of us try to fix what's broken inside of us by doing all these things by holding on to this life.

And he's actually saying, You've got to surrender this whole life to hold on to the life to come, which is only through Jesus.

You try to save your life by doing more stuff in this life, you're gonna lose it.

But man, if you trust in faith that Jesus is enough, you gain everything.

For what can a man give in return for his soul?

For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

This is the picture of the gospel.

That following Jesus means you are called to die every single day.

By the way, this is this works in marriage, this works in relationships, this works in the church, where the more you die to yourself, the more fully alive you become, but man, the greater impact and joy you get to live with.

We picture this in baptism, right?

When somebody goes under the water, what are we saying?

That they are dying to themselves in their old ways?

Like the old me is buried?

And what am I raised to newness of life in?

To walk in Jesus.

I'm raised to life in Jesus.

I died to Casey in my selfish ways and my comfort and my safety, and I'm raised to walk in newness of life, following after the way of Jesus.

His example.

So now my life is called to be a living sacrifice, as it says in Matthew 12, or Romans 12, 1.

What's the problem with living sacrifices?

You put the living sacrifice on the altar, what's the problem?

They crawl off the altar.

And so every single day, you gotta put yourself back on the altar.

Every single day.

It's a daily decision to lay down your life.

It's a daily decision to die.

Can I ask you this?

What gets in your way of your decision to die daily?

Right now, just think about your week.

Think about your pain points this week, the frustration in relationships or conversations.

Man, what is it that's getting in the way of your daily decision to die?

What are you tempted to believe is more valuable than your soul or the souls of others?

Because, man, we would all say, like, if we are eternal beings, then the only thing that lasts is God's word and souls.

And there's nothing more valuable in this life.

But man, we fall for that lie that there is every single day, every single week.

David Platt says this.

He's a pastor.

He wrote a book called Radical, fitting for this message.

But he says this we American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with.

A nice middle-class American Jesus.

A Jesus who doesn't mind materialism would never call us to give everything away that we have.

A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts.

A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, right?

We love that word today.

I don't see that in following Jesus.

It says late on your life, right?

He says a Jesus who wants to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether.

A Jesus who brings comfort and prosperity to us as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.

That has no place in Mark chapter 8, in what Jesus is saying to his disciples.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

Whoever would come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

When you truly understand the gospel, there is no risk too great to sacrifice.

When we're doing that in our marriage, like keeping score, like that's not out of love, right?

That's out of self-preservation.

That's not out of dying to self.

And so when you truly understand the gospel and the love that you've received, the generosity of heaven, there's no grist, there's no risk too great to sacrifice.

C.T.

Studd, another pastor, has this quote.

And he said, We will dare to trust our God, talking about living a life of risk.

We will dare to trust our God and we will do it with his joy unspeakable, singing aloud in our hearts.

We will a thousand times sooner die trusting only in our God than live trusting in man.

I think so much we hold on to this life because, man, we are trusting in this world, this life.

And he says, if we understand the gospel, man, I would rather a thousand times more die trusting in God than holding on to this life.

Philippians 1.21, Paul writing from prison, not knowing if death awaits him in this moment, says these words, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Man, what would your life look like this week going to work in your home?

In your neighborhood?

Well you're like, to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.

You have no fear of losing your life, no fear of man.

Man, if I get to live another day, man, I get to walk with Christ on this earth.

And if he takes me home, man, that is what our life is pointing to, right?

We're not like on the losing end of the deal, like we're gaining everything.

Following Jesus will cost you everything.

Here's the big takeaway.

Following Jesus costs you everything, but it gives you everything and more.

And so I ask you, what has it cost you to follow Jesus?

Right now, what is it costing you to follow Jesus?

And where is he asking you to risk your life more for his sake, for his glory, and for the good of people around you?

I was thinking about our church, and I've read some articles from like the underground church around the world, and they're like, man, pray for the American church.

I mean, they're being persecuted.

You guys can see like bodies in mass graves, whole villages wiped out of Christians, and just like unspeakable things being done to children and women who claim Christ.

We get to show up here, worship Jesus in comfort.

And in these articles, they're like, man, pray for the American church.

Because we have it so easy, we've actually fallen asleep.

And this week, as I've studied this, I've just been asking God that He would not let our church be a church that is asleep, that is comfortable, that is okay with nominal Christianity or normal Christianity.

But man, all of us would lead the way in radical devotion to Jesus.

I think back to some conversations me and Hannah had when we were engaged.

And I had this fire in me.

I can remember telling her, like, I don't know how to explain this, but I think, like, at some point in my life, I could die as a martyr for the gospel.

Literally told her that.

I'm like, and if you don't want to marry me, I don't, God could send me anywhere in the world, but that's what I'm signing up for.

I remember my father-in-law's in the room, and I remember calling to ask him to date his daughter, and he asked me two questions, and I was like, I have a question for you.

I was like, I'm surrendered to ministry.

I'm 20 years old, 23 at this point.

It's like, God can send me anywhere anywhere in the world.

Are you okay with your daughter being sent?

Your only daughter, your only child.

And he said, We prayed for nine years for a kid.

And our prayer was, man, God, if you will give us a child, we will give that child back to you.

It's like, so nothing would make us more proud than for her to go around the world risking her life for the gospel.

And have I come from a place where that's no longer my prayer?

I hope not.

I hope every single day I would be like, man, this is a gospel worth dying for.

Like whatever God wants to ask of me, like, God, here I am.

Send me, use me.

I want to be this kind of disciple, this kind of follower of Jesus.

I'm not here to play normal Christianity and to play church, but I want to be radically devoted to you.

And I believe there's some Christians in the room today where God's calling you to risk more.

God's calling you to give up some things that you have stayed cozy in and comfortable in.

Amen to ask, what is it really costing me to follow Jesus?

Like, why do I binge Netflix and instead of like getting in the Bible, which He's preserved for you, to not collect dust, but for the God of heaven to speak to you?

We have one life.

And man, I would gladly burn out for Jesus if that's what he asked me to do.

What's it costing you to follow Jesus?

Can we be that kind of church?

As we launch community groups this week, man, could our devotion as believers just go to another level in these community groups?

Like people are looking at these and they're like, man, what's what's up with CBC?

People look at you on Monday morning coming into work, they're like, man, what happened to you this weekend?

And you're like, man, God is just doing something in my life.

And I want to live for Him.

And maybe today you're in here and you don't know Jesus, you've never understood the gospel in this kind of way.

And it's an intense call.

It's a high call.

It will cost you everything.

You're giving up your whole life to say, I'm no longer Lord and boss of my life.

I want to make Jesus Lord and boss of my life.

You don't get him to be your savior without making him your Lord.

A lot of times in America, we just want to be saved from hell.

We want the forgiveness.

We want the benefits on the fringe of like following Jesus.

But man, we don't want the cost.

We don't want him to be Lord and King of my life.

But you don't get that without asking him to be Lord, without inviting him to change your life.

And so if that's you today, I want to give you a chance to call on King Jesus to become King of your life.

To push the chips in, Texas hold them style, all in for Jesus.

I'm not holding anything back, but 100% in.

I want to follow Jesus because he's been 100% in for me.

If that's you, I'm gonna just ask that the room would close your eyes, would bow your heads.

Because I'm gonna speak to those people in the room for one second.

If that's you today, there's three things you must understand.

So all of us need a savior.

Romans 3.23 says we've all fallen short of the glory of God, and Romans 6.23 says the penalty of our sin is death.

So apart from a miracle, we're hopeless.

We need a savior.

But number two, the savior's been provided through Jesus.

He did all the work, he went to the cross, he lived a perfect life, his innocent life covered your sin in your place on the cross.

And he didn't stay dead, but he rose from the dead, proving he was God and still is God.

And his death in your place is satisfactory as a payment for your sin once and for all.

The Savior has been provided.

But you could know those two things and still miss heaven.

Because number three, the Savior must be accepted.

Everyone has to decide what they want to do with Jesus.

And if you have never gone all in for Jesus, I'm gonna give you that moment right now.

Between you and God, but in a room where, man, this church would celebrate that decision.

Your life is the greatest decision you can make.

I'm just gonna ask, if that's you, would you raise your hand in this room?

So I can see who I'm talking to.

So we could celebrate you today.

But also number three, like if you can't raise your hand for Jesus in here, I promise you you're not gonna stand for him out there.

This won't be the hardest thing you do for Jesus.

So if there's someone here today that wants to go all in for Jesus, ask for forgiveness of sin, ask him to save you.

If that's you, would you just put your hand up right where you're sitting?

Come on.

Anybody else?

Come on.

You can pray this prayer with me.

Between you and God, say, Lord Jesus, I'm not perfect, but I know you are, and I believe in you.

Would you save me?

Change me?

Today I give you my life.

And if you prayed that prayer today, the Bible says, all of heaven is rejoicing.

And so I'm gonna ask our church can we join in with the song of heaven today?

That is rejoicing over what he's doing in your life.

And today, if you gave your life to Jesus, man, I would say first, like keep coming back.

You need a church around you.

It is hard to stand for him out there.

Keep coming back.

But man, we have a gift for you.

We want to celebrate you.

I'll give you some steps at the end of service.

But right now, let's just stand as a church.

We're gonna respond in our four typical ways.