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Guest Speakers

The Cost of Being a Disciple

Jeremiah Canfield

July 11, 2016 | Mark 8:27-38

Topic:

Sermon Transcript

Good morning! It is an honor and a privilege to be back, and to be able to stand here. I look forward to it every year. I think this is five or six years in a row that Trent has allowed me to come and preach on Sunday, in your church. It’s hard to believe that about three years ago you sent me out to Pittsburgh. We’re coming up on our three-year anniversary this September. We’re excited about what God is doing in Pittsburgh, and the church that He is building, He is leading, and He is in control of.

About a week-and-a-half ago we signed for our first building! We’re really excited about that as a church! Thank you. We will be moving out of the school we’ve been in, and—Lord willing—as we raise money in the next seven to eight months, we’ll be able to move into it. It’s an old church, built in the 50’s; it needs some renovations, needs some work. It has about twenty-thousand square feet, sitting on five acres, right off the highway where everybody will see it. We’re just excited about the opportunity God has given us, what He is doing and what He is going to continue to do. Please pray for us in that.

We’re so grateful for your pastor. Trent is a huge blessing to my life. I don’t think a month goes by that I don’t text him or email him, or call him and ask him some question. God has given you an incredible pastor. I hope you realize that. I hope you know that. He is a godly man and his desire is to see the gospel—not just here, but continuing to penetrate other areas. I’m so appreciative of his life and what he means to me and our church out there in Pittsburgh.

If you have your Bibles, we’re going to jump into what we’ve come this morning to do, and that’s to open up God’s Word. So open your Bibles to Mark chapter 8. I’ve been walking through the gospel of Mark with my church, and God has just radically changed me in so many ways. I feel like what I teach to my church is only about a third of what God teaches me throughout the week. I want to look at a passage here in Mark chapter 8.

There’s a question that I have been asking my church, as we have walked through this gospel for about a year now (since this past fall), and that is, “What will you do with Jesus?” You see, as you walk through the Gospels, you really have to ask this question, because you’re going to see Jesus and who He is—and the miracles that He does, and who He says He is, and what He proclaims. You have to really ask yourself, “What will I do with Jesus?” When you come face-to-face with this truth—what are you going to do with Him?

I think there are three responses that you can have. One: You can reject Him. You can say “no.” You can say, “I’m not going believe it; I’m not going to listen to it; I’m not going to walk that way.” Two: You can religionize Him. (You say, “Jeremiah, is that really a word?” No, I made it up, but I like it.) It means this: to exalt Him in my religion, but not in my life. And we do that a lot. There are a lot of people—we’ll exalt Him on Sunday morning and we’ll sing and we’ll praise Him, but when we walk out the doors, He really has nothing to do with our lives and has not changed us. Three: Or you can embrace Him: That is to submit and obey the truths that He is teaching us and that we know about Him.

            I want to look at a passage this morning, and I hope—by God’s grace—that you do embrace this truth and embrace Him this morning—and listen to and obey Him. I want to talk about what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

If you come to Harvest for any time, and you look at the mission statement or you talk to people, you hear this phrase, “being a disciple of Christ”—that we are here to make disciples. What does that mean? What does it mean to make a disciple? What does it mean that I am a disciple of Christ?

Let me give you this illustration. Let’s say after church, you went to the grocery store, and you got one of those shopping carts. We have five kids, and anytime we go to the grocery store, it’s an event. I mean, it’s a big deal! Some ladies like to go to the grocery store by themselves—it’s kind of their get-away. My wife likes it when we all go together. It’s a family activity! Everybody goes to the grocery store and we have a great time there.

When you go to the grocery store, though, and you’re pushing around that cart, and you take some product off the shelf and you put it in your cart and you start filling up your cart – let me ask you a question. When it goes in your cart, it yours? No! It’s not yours yet until you go up to the cash register, to the checkout line, and you pay for it. You know, I always thought it would be kind of interesting as you’re walking around with your cart, if it was just kind of normal in America that—if you saw something in someone else’s cart that you wanted—you could take it. You know, if you couldn’t find the Cocoa Puffs, but someone else had them in their cart, you could just kind of grab them out. We don’t do that.

Also, you know if you meet somebody in a store that you know…what is the first thing you do? You look in their cart, don’t you? You want to see what they’ve bought. Everybody does it. Here’s the thing: let’s say you’re walking through the store and you have your cart, and you have all your stuff. . .and even though we kind of think that it’s ours because it’s in our cart, it really does not become ours until we check out.

Let me tell you how most of the church thinks today. Most of the church thinks that because it’s in our carts, it’s ours. We walk through and we put discipleship in our carts. “Oh yeah, I’m going to be a follower of Christ,”—we put that in our carts. We walk around the store, and if we meet someone—“Oh, yeah, see—it’s in my cart. I’m a disciple of Christ; I’m a follower of Christ.” But really, it is not ours until we go through the checkout line and we pay for it. And I believe that this passage right here shows us what it means—and what it costs—to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Because you can have it “in your cart,” but until you have paid the price for it, it’s really not yours.

I love things that are clear. When I drove from Pittsburgh to here, I wanted to know exactly where I’m going—which road to take. I like things that are clear. I don’t think you’re going to find a more clear passage on what it means to be a disciple and a follower of Jesus Christ. So, here I’ll even be clear about what my message is this morning.

Here’s the bottom line:

 

It cost Him (Christ) His life, so that I could have life, but in order to have life, I must lose my life.

 

This is what we want to look at, and I hope—as we walk through this passage—that you’re going to understand this statement right here in a greater way.

So, let’s start reading, Mark 8:27 [from ESV]: “And Jesus went on [his way] with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi…” Now, here’s a map of where Jesus was—the red arrow kind of pointing to where Caesarea Philippi is. Right after this, we see Jesus go up to the transfiguration on Mt. Hermon—most scholars believe—which is right above that. Moses and Elijah come, and Jesus is transfigured, and Peter, James and John see that. . .and they come down from the mountain.

And it’s really, from that point, that Jesus starts to make His way to Jerusalem to be crucified. He spends a little bit of time in Galilee, doing some ministry there, but this is really at the end of His ministry, and He is walking toward Jerusalem to be crucified. So the disciples, they had been with Jesus—probably for over two years at this point—walking and listening to His teaching, seeing His miracles. And Jesus, being a great teacher, never misses a moment.

Here, they’re walking to Philippi. Scripture says, “And on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’” He’s planning on getting to this place of what it costs to be a disciple, but He starts up here, and gets the general question out: “Who do people say that I am?”

            “And they told him, ‘John the Baptist…’”  Even though John the Baptist was beheaded earlier, some may not have heard that he was beheaded, or some may have thought that he came back to life. “…And others say, Elijah…” Remember, in the Old Testament, Elijah never faced death, physically. He was taken up in a chariot of fire. So, some thought that he had come back and this was him, teaching. “…And others, one of the [good] prophets.”

            You know, what would people say today—who Jesus Christ is? If you were to walk the streets of South Bend or Mishawaka today, and you asked someone, “Who is Jesus,” what would they say? You know, if you were to talk to a Buddhist, they might say, “He’s a historical figure.” “He’s a good teacher.” Even somebody who is not a believer.

If you go back and look at the history books, people who were not followers of Christ during that time frame (people like Josephus) – they said that there was a figure named Jesus who walked the face of the earth, who lived during that time. So, was he a real person? Yes. 99.9% of people would say that he was a real person who walked during that time. But who, really, was he? If you talked to a Mormon or a Muslim, they would say he was a good prophet.

When we first moved out to Pittsburgh, we had some friends—our neighbors—and they were Mormon. They were great people. We had a lot of conversations with them. We talked about religion, and what we believed. And they would believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but they would not believe he was God. They would say, yes, he was God’s Son, but when we came to that question of really asking them, “Was he God in flesh?” they would say “No.” So, Jesus is asking His disciples, “Who do people say I am?”

And then, verse 29, he turns the question and goes right at their hearts: “And he asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” “This is what everybody else says, but let me ask you. You’ve walked with me for two years now. Who do you say that I am?”

Old Peter, he always has an answer, right? He jumps up, he speaks up and he says this, “You are the Christ.” The word there means “Messiah.” Peter gets it right! He says, “Jesus, You’re the Christ, You’re the Messiah.” He’s saying, “You’re the one who is going to come and set up your kingdom, and you’re going to rule and reign. That’s who you are! You are the Messiah, the one that we’ve been longing for, the one who we’ve been looking for!” Let me ask you, though. Who do you say Christ is? Who is he to you? Because, listen, if you don’t get this, you won’t get the rest.

I wonder if many don’t understand what discipleship is because they don’t understand who Christ is. They might think he’s a good person, they might think he’s a good teacher. But let me ask you, “Is he the Messiah? Is he the Savior?” You see, we’ve made him a religious icon, but we’ve missed, really who he is. And let me tell you, the cost of discipleship starts with a confession. This is a confession, realizing that he is Christ, the Messiah.

Jesus turns, in verse 30,And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.” “Yes, you’re right Peter, but don’t tell anybody about this.” Why is he saying that? He realizes that, first, he’s going to have to suffer. Look at Mark 8:31: “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must…” Now, stop right there, just for a second, because that title, “Son of Man,” is very important as you study through the gospel of Mark. As you walk through the gospel of Mark, and if you ever just read through it, just circle and underline every time it says, “the Son of Man.”

Now, if Jesus would have looked at Peter and said, “Peter, the Son of Man must do…what?” What do you think Peter would have said? I think Peter would have gone back to Daniel chapter 7. A good Jew would have known about the Son of Man. If they had been taught at all, they would have known about “the Son of Man.”

Daniel 7 prophesied about him. Let me read to you what these verses say (Daniel 7:13): “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven [and] there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days [that’s speaking of God] and was presented before him.” So, the Son of Man was presented before the Ancient of Days. “And to him [to the Son of Man] 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.”

You see, if Jesus would have come to Peter and said, “Peter, the Son of Man must do…what?”—Peter would have said, “The Son of Man—man, he is going to have all dominion and all power—and God is going to give him all authority. And he’s going to rule and reign, and all tongues and nations are going to bow before him! That is what the Son of Man must do!” But that’s not what Jesus says.

Jesus says (Mark 8:31), “The son of man must suffer many things. . .”  I can just imagine the disciples going, “(Gasp!) What? That’s not what we were taught!” “…The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes…” Those three groups make up the Sanhedrin, and we see later on in this gospel that they bring him, and they falsely accuse him, and they’re the ones that kind of get the crowd going to crucify Jesus. “’…And be killed, and after three days rise again.’”

            Jesus says, “Listen. The Son of Man – this is what’s going to happen to him. He’s going to suffer, he’s going to be killed. He’s going to be rejected. He’s going to rise again, though!” You know, we’re talking about the cost of discipleship. In order for me to be a disciple, it cost Christ his life; what Christ went through at the cross. How he was beaten and tortured. He suffered. He was rejected by the very beings He created! And not only rejected by man, but God Himself turned his back upon him! So, he was rejected by man, and God turned His back upon Him, and He died on a cross for you!

Now, Peter doesn’t like that very much. What does Peter do? Scripture says in verse 32, “And he [Jesus] said this plainly…” That means “frankly.” He’s saying, “I’m not saying this in any parables. This is true.” And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.”

            I can just imagine Peter. Jesus says this, and Peter goes, “Jesus, can you come over here for a second? Jesus, you’re not quite getting this right. Do you know what Daniel 7 says? Daniel 7 says that the Son of Man is going to have all power and authority and dominion. That is what is supposed to happen to the Son of Man! Jesus, you’re kind of missing this!” What does Jesus do?

            (Verse 33) “But turning and seeing his disciples [so He turns His back to Peter], he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’” Now, was Jesus saying that Peter was Satan? No. But, listen to me, church! We are never more like Satan than when we set our plans and our agendas above God. Do you hear me? That’s what’s taking place here. Church, be careful not to set your minds on earthly things, and take away from the things that are God’s!

Are there plans in your life, right now, that you think are better than God’s plans? You know, God is telling you to go this direction, and you’re saying, “No, I think I’ll go this direction!” God’s saying, “This is what you need to do with your life,” and you’re saying, “No, I think I’m going to do this!” We are never more like Satan than when we try to set our plans and our agendas above God’s – when we sit there and say, “No, God, I think I’ve got this under control. I have a better way!”

Just like Peter. That’s what he was saying, “Jesus, I have a better way! This is what should happen! You’re wrong!” How often do we do that same thing? We can look at this and kind of laugh at Peter: “Peter, you don’t really get this!” We do the same thing.

Well, Jesus, having a teachable moment again, in verse 34—“. . .calling the crowd to Him with his disciples he said to them…” There must have been some other people who started to gather. So Jesus gets the crowd and his disciples and says, “Listen, let me teach you something.” “If anyone would come after me…”

            What’s Jesus saying? He’s saying, “I’m going to tell you what it means to be a disciple. I’m going to tell you, if you want to have the things that are in your cart, and you’re going to go through the checkout line—and you’re going to pay the price to be a disciple of me, then I’m going to tell you what it is. I’m going to be as clear as I can. Here’s three things (this is what it’s going to cost you, so it’s not just in your cart and you’re walking around the store, but you’re choosing to walk out and you’re choosing to pay for it). If you’re going to come after me, here’s what it’s going to cost you. You’re going to have to…” “Deny [your]self and take up [your] cross and follow me.”

Let’s look at those three:

 

  • Deny yourself.

 

It means to totally not associate with someone—to cease making self the object of one’s life.

Listen, I’ll be honest with you. I hate to deny myself! I don’t like that very much! My wife, a couple months ago, was going to start a diet called like, “Whole Thirty.” It’s a good cleanse, and a good diet, and I said, “Well, I’ll do it with you. First, tell me what’s in the diet.” She said, “Well, you can have meat.” I said, “That’s fine. As long as I have meat, I’m in!”

So, I tried—foods like meat, vegetables and fruits. So we started, and I suffered. I didn’t eat the sweets and, man, I walked through this diet with her. I didn’t quite last the whole thirty days—I think I lasted about three! After about three days, let me tell you, I needed a sweet tea really bad! So, I tried a little bit more as the months went on, but I really wasn’t that successful at it.

What does it mean, really though, to deny ourselves? What is Jesus really talking about here? Are you willing to let Christ run your life—and not you? Are you ceasing? Are you saying, “Listen, it’s not about me—it is about him. I’m going to let God run my life. It’s not me trying to run it, but it is Christ.”

You see, if we’re going to follow him, that first price that we’re going to have to pay is saying, “no” to ourselves, and we don’t like that very much. We kind of want to have this religion where we have Jesus, but we can still have the reins and do what we want. That’s not it. “If you’re going to come after me—if you’re going to go through the checkout line—then one of the prices you’re going to have to pay is to deny yourself. Say, “It’s not about my life, it’s not about what I want. It’s about Christ; it’s about him; it’s about what he wants for my life.”

I must deny myself and:

 

  • Take up my cross.

 

Now, if someone would have heard “cross,” or read this back then, they would have known that the cross was a symbol of death. It was a symbol of pain of suffering—it was a symbol of a long death.

One commentator said that many people wouldn’t even use that word in that time frame, because of what it represented. They knew the pictures of the people who were tortured and who were beaten and how they hung on the cross. So, when Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going to have to take up our cross. You’re going to have to pick it up and follow me, what does he mean?”

He’s saying, “Listen, you’re going to have to choose to suffer. You’re going to have to voluntarily do it!” It’s a readiness to suffer for Christ; it’s a picture of the willingness to pay any price for Jesus Christ.

I remember studying through this, reading through this, and just thinking, “God, what does that look like for me—in the twenty-first century in America?” Yes, I can look across the world and see my Christian brothers and sisters who are being beaten and tortured and burned for the name of Jesus Christ. But, what’s that look like for me?

For most of us, we think suffering is when we’re in traffic for more than fifteen minutes. Or when we’re called to go change diapers in the nursery, we are suffering for Jesus! So, what’s that really mean for us? When Luke, in his gospel, gives this account, he adds one word – “daily.” Take up his cross daily. I think what Jesus is communicating—what He’s saying—is, I must be willing daily to get up and say and to say, “God, it is totally whatever you want. I’ll pay any price today to follow you. Whatever you have in store for me today, whatever it might be, I’ll pay any price to follow you!”

I know, there are probably some here, you stood up for Christ at work and you have suffered. Maybe you didn’t get that job that you wanted because they knew your ethics are according to this book right here, and they didn’t want that. Or maybe you didn’t get that raise because you stood up for what was right, and your boss didn’t like you very much. So maybe you have walked through that time of suffering for Jesus Christ. But, for whoever it is, it is us daily getting up and saying, “God, it’s not about me! Whatever price you want me to pay, I will pick up my cross and I will follow you.

I will deny myself, I will take up your cross, and:

 

  • I will follow You.

 

Many Christians today want a “no-follow” Christianity. We don’t really like to follow. I have five kids, and they don’t play follow the leader too much. The reason being, no one wants to follow! I have a three-year-old son, and even though his sisters try to get him to follow, he doesn’t want to follow—he wants to lead! He wants to be in charge. We look at them and say, “Oh, it’s kind of funny!”

But listen, we’re just the same way. Who wants to follow? We don’t mind following, but this is how we do it—we say, “God, I’ll follow you, but we’re going this way. I’ll follow you, but I’m going to kind of steer.” Listen, if we’re going to go through the checkout line, and we’re going to make it something more than something that’s just in our cart—but it’s going to become ours—then we’re going to have to say to God, “We are following You! I’m denying myself; I take up his cross and I follow him!” It’s not following what I want, it’s not following my ways—it’s following him!

Listen, when we talk about salvation, a lot of times we talk about the inheritance that we get. We talk about Heaven. We talk about the grace and mercy that comes. Don’t get me wrong—those are all part of salvation—but, please understand—in order to get those, you have to go through the checkout line, and the cost of being a disciple and a follower of Jesus Christ is to deny yourself. To take up his cross and to follow him. We love to talk about the inheritance, and we love to talk about heaven—and those things are wonderful, but we don’t get to those unless we deny our self, take up his cross and follow him.

We live in a society that teaches such an easy-believism. We kind of have our fire insurance—we prayed some prayer, we walked an aisle. But, listen, the Bible is so clear as to what it means to come after Christ! If we’re going to come after him, it is to take deny ourselves, take up his cross and follow him.

Look at verse 35: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” What does it mean to lose my life? This is not losing the individual person that I am. God does not want us to all be robots. He created you how he created you. He wants you to stop gaining your identity through this world, and lose this world and find your identity in Christ.

Listen, you lose your life to this world, but you find it in Christ. Look at verse 36: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul [though]?” What good is it if you have this world, with what this world says is riches or popularity or status? Yes, you can have that all—but what good is it if I have that all, if in 150 years, all I have left is my soul? You have the world, but is it going to be any good in a 150 years? No! But you lose your soul?

“For what can a man give in return for his soul?” Listen, the most important thing is your soul. Why do we spend, why do we live this life, for this world? (Verse 38): “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man [there’s that title again] also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

            What’s he saying here? He’s not saying (and please understand this) that if, one time you’re out and you just felt God told you to go witness to somebody—and you said “no”—and now Christ is going to be ashamed of you – that’s not what he’s talking about here. He’s talking about a settled state of the heart. That you have chosen to say, “I am not going to deny myself; I’m not taking up his cross—I’m not going to follow him!” Then, listen, the Son of Man is coming—like Daniel talks about in Daniel 7. He is going to come like that! And he is going to rule and he is going to reign; he’s going to set up his kingdom and all tongues and nations are going to bow before him. That is going to happen!

He’s going to come with God in His glory and the holy angels. And when he comes, it is sad to think—according to this verse—that he will look at some and be ashamed of how they lived their life. I tell you, that’s a very sobering verse—that there will be some who [had this attitude]: “I’m not going to deny myself; I’m not going to take up his cross; I’m not going to follow him.” And he will look at them and be ashamed at how they lived.

Listen, the Bible is clear on what it means to be a follower and disciple of Jesus Christ. There are not three roads. Either you follow him or you don’t. The Son of Man is coming. And where will you be at in your heart? Who do you say Christ really is?

            A couple months ago, my wife and I were watching something on TV, and we flipped the channel to ESPN. The Invictus Games were on. I don’t know if you follow the Invictus Games or have seen them—I think it’s only been around for about three years. They’re games for fallen soldiers who have lost an arm or a leg. I have nothing against the Invictus games. I think they boost the morale of those fallen soldiers.

But, what kind of stood out to me was their logo. And what they put in yellow there in the middle of the [symbol] of the Invictus Games is “I Am.” As a believer, when I think of that “I Am” statement, I go back to Moses, when he was there in front of the burning bush. God’s telling Moses he’s supposed to go to Egypt and get the people out of Egypt. And Moses is asking, “Who should I tell them sent me?”—and God, out of the burning bush [says], “Just tell them that the I Am sent you.”

And then you read through the gospels and you see that Jesus uses that statement to say, “I Am the bread of life; I Am the resurrection; I Am the good shepherd.” So, that statement, “I Am,” for me is kind of sacred, kind of only belongs to Christ.

So, we watched a little bit more, and it was the opening ceremonies, and they sang. They have an anthem for the Invictus Games. Their anthem comes from a poem by William Ernest Henley, written in 1875. Coldplay has put music to it and there’s this song. We listened to the song. What really struck me were the last two lines of the song. I went online and looked up the whole poem and read it—and maybe in high school or college I read the poem before. These were the last two lines of this song, as they were proclaiming as they sung there, written by William Ernest Henley: “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”

I remember just thinking, “I don’t know if you can have a more prideful statement than that right there. “I am the master of my fate. (I’m in charge of my fate.) I’m the captain of my soul.” (“I’m the one who’s in charge; I’m the one who rules; I’m the one who reigns!”) And listen to me, church, I believe every person in here is either singing this anthem with their life, or they’re singing this anthem with their life. There are only two anthems. Either you are saying, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul,” or you’re singing the anthem, “I will deny myself; I will take up my cross, and I will follow Him.”

You say, “No, there’s kind of a middle road, right? I’m not really singing either of those. Isn’t there kind of a middle ground?” You won’t find that in the Scriptures. Either you’re declaring that you’re in charge, that you’re going to run your life, or you’re saying, “God, it’s all about You!” Which song are you singing with your life? Which song are you communicating with your life? What is it going to cost you to go out of the checkout line? It’s going to cost you your life.

That’s where we get back to the fact that it cost him his life so that I could have life. But in order to have life, I must lose my life! Which anthem are you singing with your life? What is coming forth from you? You say, “Jeremiah, I’m a good person. Maybe I’ve never really been saved. Maybe I’ve never really given everything to God. But I’m a pretty good person.” Listen, there are only two roads, church. There are only two roads.

Let me read a quote by C. S. Lewis, as we close here. He says, “Give up yourself and you will find your real self; lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death—the death of your ambitions and favorite wishes, every day—and the death of your whole body is the end. Submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Look for yourself, and you’ll find—in the long run—only hatred,  loneliness, despair, rage, ruin and decay. But look for Christ, and you will find Him—and with Him, everything else is thrown in!”

What song are you singing with your life this morning? You say, “Jeremiah, what do I do with this message?” Listen, if you’re saved, will you remember the path that you chose to walk? Remember how Christ gave His life so that you could have life? A life that you have that is not your own! It is for Christ and the gospel. Have you forgotten what life is really about? Are you daily denying yourself, taking up his cross and following him—or have you taken back the reins of your life? Maybe, like Peter, you know God has told you to do this, and you say, “No, I’m doing this.”

But I believe there are also some here this morning, you’re still pushing your cart around the store. You might have “a follower of Christ” or “be a disciple of Christ” in your cart, but it’s never truly become yours. You’ve never gone through the checkout line and paid the price—true salvation—to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Listen, today can be the day of your salvation! Stop playing the game, stop staying in the store. God has something so much greater for you! Will you check out today, and say, “Yes, I will deny myself—take up his cross—and follow him.” Will you bow your head and close your eyes with me?

With heads bowed and eyes closed, will you go to God right now? I do believe the Spirit is working, he is moving in hearts. Will you be obedient to him? Don’t say “no” to the Spirit if he’s challenging you with something right now. Some of the pastors and the elders are up front. If you need to pray with somebody, you come on up.

Maybe you sit here this morning, and you know that you have never paid the price to be a follower of Christ. Oh, you have it in your cart, but you never have truly sung the anthem that, “I will deny myself, take up my cross and follow him.” If you’re like that today—please—don’t walk out the back. Come and talk to someone now, come and talk to someone after the service. Let today be the day of your salvation.

And if you’re a believer here this morning, listen—is Christ running your life, or have you taken back the rights? Is there something about which you have said, “No, I’m doing what I want!” You can gain the whole world, but it’s not going to be worth it.

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