The Components of Christianity, Part 3

So we ask Lord that on this day we would understand truly what you are saying and realize our responsibility to follow all that you say. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. I would invite you to turn with me in your Bible once again to Luke chapter 9.

Luke chapter 9 and as you're turning I want to remind you that the destiny of every soul lies in the pathway of the cross and the ministry of every saint lives in the promise of the cross. Folks that's so important. Unfortunately though we we don't hear that much today because of the consumer mentality that has has swept the church. One author has so eloquently put it this way. He says the first role of successful merchandising is to give consumers what they want.

If they want bigger burgers make their burgers bigger. Designer bottled water and six fruit flavors done. Minivans with 10 cup holders give them 20. You've got to keep the consumer satisfied. You've got to modify your product and your message to meet their needs. If you want to build a market and get ahead in the competition. Today the same consumer mindset has invaded Christianity. The church service is too long you say. We'll shorten it. Too formal. Wear your sweatsuit. Too boring. Wait till you hear our band.

And if the message is too confrontational or too judgmental or too exclusive, scary, unbelievable, hard to understand or too much anything else for your taste. Churches everywhere are eager to adjust that message to make you more comfortable. This new version of Christianity makes you a partner on the team. A design consultant on church life and does away with old fashioned authority, guilt trips, accountability and moral absolutes. It's Christianity for consumers. Christianity light. The redirection watering down and misinterpretation of the biblical gospel in an attempt to make it more palatable and popular.

It tastes great going down and settles light. It seems to solve your feelings and scratch your itch. It's custom tailored to your preferences. But the lightness will never fill you up with the true saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Because it is designed by man and not God. And it is hollow and worthless. In fact it's worse than worthless. Because people who hear the message of Christianity light think they are hearing the gospel. Think they're being rescued from eternal judgment. When in fact they are being tragically misled.

That's so true. That is so true. And so Jesus says, very simple, if any man comes after me let him deny himself.

Take up his cross and follow me. That one statement is the central core of the teaching of Jesus Christ. We have already showed you over and over again throughout the gospels that that same message is emphasized time and time again. It is the essence of Christianity. If you want forgiveness, if you want to follow Christ, if you want to be a disciple of His, if you want forgiveness of your sins, if you want to be a part of the kingdom of God, if you want to understand true genuine Christianity, the answer is yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.

That is the essence of Christianity. Those are the components that make up the Christian life. And the Bible tells us exactly what Jesus says.

The word Christian means little Christs, followers of Christ. And if you want to be a follower of Christ, then you must do exactly what Jesus says in His word.

Having already looked at the components of Christianity, self-denial, cross bearing, and following Him in Luke 9.23, I want to go back and look at that verse one more time and sum it up as a unit, as a whole, to help you understand exactly what Jesus Christ is saying when He says, if any man comes after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Because those words are in direct opposition of today's culture. Those words will not fly in today's society. Why? Because the Bible also tells us exactly the characteristic of today's culture. It says these words. Realize this, then the last days, difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious, gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God.

That is a description of today's culture. Men are lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God. And so we go to that culture and say, to be a Christian, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. We can't even talk about following Him because to get to that, you've got to talk about cross-bearing. And you can't talk about cross-bearing because you've got to talk about self-denial. And you can't talk about self-denial in today's culture because today's culture is about fulfilling yourself.

It's about lovers of self. And Paul says that is the description of today's society. In the last days, the days between the ascension of Christ, really the time Christ came, until He comes again, these are the characteristics of the age. Men will be completely in love with themselves. And so you go to them with the Gospel, it says, you've got to hate yourself. And you've got to take up your cross and follow Christ. It goes against what everybody in the world believes to be true. And yet that's the Gospel that Jesus preached.

He wanted them to understand the truth. And Jesus is all about truth. And so even in Luke's account, Luke chapter 14, when there was a multitude of people following Him, Jesus turned around and said to them, virtually the same thing. If any man come after Me, and hate not his father, mother, brother, sister, he's not worthy of Me. And if any man come after Me, and does not deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me, he's not worthy of Me. Because He didn't want to send the wrong message. He didn't want them to get the wrong view of the Kingdom.

He didn't want them to miss the essence of what Christianity is all about. And so He told them the truth. In this day and age where people are completely in love with themselves, who are completely absorbed with who they are, and their achievements, and their awards, and their desires, and their ambitions. It's all about them. In today's day and age, we go and tell them, no, it has nothing to do with you. It's all about Christ and His glory. And that confronts today's culture. Even Martin Luther, when he would post those 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, said in that fourth thesis of the 95, that men be haters of themselves.

Where did he get that from? How did he understand that? The man who started the Protestant Reformation. The man who began to understand that we need to break away from the traditions of Catholicism and move toward the reality of the gospel. Where did he come up with that? Luke 9, 23. Luke chapter 14. Luke chapter 17. Matthew chapter 10. John chapter 12. He received it from the Scriptures, from what the Bible says concerning the essence of Christianity.

We have to understand that to come into the kingdom, there needs to be an absence of self. The Bible says in Matthew 5, verse number 3, very simple, that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are poor in spirit.

Those who have nothing in and of themselves to please God. Those who have nothing in and of themselves to prove any value to God, any worth to God. They come completely bankrupt to God. Paul would say in Philippians chapter 3, everything that I thought that I had done, all my achievements, all my awards, all my assessments, everything that I have done is nothing but dung, excrement, scubalon in the Greek text, to describe all the things that I've tried to accomplish in this world. And believe me, he says, I've done it all.

If anybody has a chance to boast, it's me because I've accomplished it all. But all that in comparison to knowing Christ and coming to Him means absolutely nothing. We live in a day that is saturated with awards and achievements. Have you ever noticed that? I mean, we give awards to people, not because they win, but just because they participate in an event. What is that? You get an award for participation because we are so enamored with self that we have to keep building up self. And parents play into this by always accentuating the achievements of their children and the awards of their children and putting them on display for all to see because, look what my child has done.

And emphasizing once again in the minds of their children that temporal awards are extremely valuable. When in reality, they're nothing but temporal. They never last. But it feeds into that narcissistic culture of self-love, where we love ourselves so much so that we must continually affirm and award the achievements of those who do certain things. And so we hear the words of Jesus and realize that sin is pervasive in the heart of man. Sin is dominant in the heart of man. And those who enter the kingdom of God have an overwhelming sense of their sin and its sinfulness.

That's why Job, the most righteous man on the face of the earth, said in Job chapter 42, having seen his God, he said these words, I abhor myself. I hate myself. I loathe myself. And I repent in dust and ashes. That's why it was the Apostle Paul who said this is a trustworthy statement, worthy of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And by the way, I am the chief of all sinners. I am the foremost of all sinners. Because he knew of his sinfulness. He knew of his wretchedness.

But in today's society, where people want to see themselves as valuable, worthy of honor, where people want to see themselves as good, even great, worthy of respect. And you go to them and preach the gospel and says, if any man come up to Christ, he must learn to hate himself. He must deny himself. He must abhor himself and repent in dust and ashes and give his life to Christ. Well, now you understand why the gospel was so, so readily rejected when Jesus gave it. And when the apostles gave it. And then ask yourself this question, why is the gospel today not so readily rejected?

Because it's not the same gospel being preached that Jesus preached. That's the problem. It was Isaiah, who was a great prophet of God. Used of God in a mighty way. But when he saw his God, he pronounced a curse upon himself. Woe is me. I am a man with dirty lips, unclean lips. And I dwell amidst a people with unclean lips. So why did he say lips? Because the lips are the truest indicator of the spiritual condition of man. Because out of the heart, the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And so what is the quickest way to determine the character of a person?

On the words that he says. And Isaiah, a great prophet of God, a spokesperson for God, said, you know what? I have seen my God. And I, woe is me. Curse me. Because I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell amidst a people with unclean lips. People who enter God's kingdom see themselves as God sees them. They don't see themselves as they themselves see them. They see themselves from God's perspective. That's why in Luke chapter 5, Jesus said these words in verse number 32. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus doesn't save the righteous. He only saves the sinner. Because you see, the sinner loathes his condition. The sinner knows there needs to be a change. The sinner knows he can't do anything in and of himself to produce salvation. The self-righteous person believes that he can attain salvation through his own means, through his own ways. And that's why Jesus said in Luke 13 verse number 3, in Luke 13 verse number 5, unless you repent, you will perish. Says it twice. Unless you repent, you will perish.

And what Jesus is describing for us in Luke 9 23 is the whole element of repentance. And remember, we've told you that context is so important. Because in Luke 9, we already understand the identity of the Messiah. He is Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. And we also understand the work and the activity of the Messiah, that he will come, he will die, and rise again. Well, once you understand who he is, and what he's done for you, then whatever he asks, you're willing to do, because of the greatness of his love for you.

So Luke 9 23 is strategically placed to understand what takes place with the identity of the Messiah, in terms of who he is, and what he then will do, and what it is you are to tell people based on who he is. And so salvation comes because you understand who Christ is, and what he did for you. Therefore, whatever he asks is okay with you, because of the overwhelming magnitude of his work on your behalf, that he came to die for your sins and rise again. You want eternal life? You want forgiveness of your sins?

You want to be a part of the kingdom of God? You want to understand Christianity? You want to be a disciple of Christ? Then you deny yourself, you take up your cross, and you follow him. Because that's what Christianity is. And that's the essence of what repentance is. And that message doesn't sell well in our society. And we told you last week, so what do people do? They reinvent the gospel message. They rewrite the gospel message, so that it's not offensive to people, so they can receive a gospel light, and thus think they're on their way to heaven.

When in reality, they have no idea about the saving grace of God, because they've never come to an end of themselves. Folks, there is no salvation for those who do not come to an end of themselves. There is none. Why? Because they still live in that self-satisfied state. And the believer comes to a point where he realizes that there's absolutely nothing in himself that's worthy of acceptance. There's nothing in him that's of any value whatsoever. But Jesus Christ saves that kind of soul. Did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

You ever turn on TV or turn on the radio, and you hear the guy say, you know, if you're empty, Jesus will fill you. If you are lonely, Jesus will come by you and be your friend. If you need assistance in anything, Jesus is there for you. If your marriage is in shambles, come to Jesus. If things aren't working out for you, come to Jesus, and they'll all work out. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And they go on and on, and people just sit back and say, that's what I need. I need the love of Jesus.

I need someone to come along and be my friend. I need filling up. I am lonely. So I'm going to give my life to Jesus. But that's not the gospel. Because the gospel is not getting what you want. The gospel is about giving your life away to the one who gave his life for you. He gave his life away for you, and you come to realize that the least you can do is to give your life away for him. So you give it all to him. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him. Remember over in Luke chapter 24, the words that Jesus gave?

This is so unique. Jesus tells us what to say to people when we go and preach the gospel. In Luke chapter 24, verse number 47, Christ says, Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations beginning from Jerusalem.

Did you get that? He says, look, you don't begin in Jerusalem and tell people in Jerusalem to repent, but then go to another country and not give them that same message. In other words, repentance for the remission of sins is to be preached in every single country, in every single language, across every single culture. But today, we want to present the gospel in context of its culture. No, you don't do that. The gospel changes the culture. You don't change the gospel because of the culture. And Jesus says, you preach this message in Jerusalem and to the rest of the world.

The same message. In order to receive the forgiveness of sins, you must repent of your sins. And that's exactly what Jesus is saying in Luke chapter 9, verse number 23. Across the globe, you preach the exact same message because it's the core of Christianity. It's central to the gospel message. And people will repent when they are ashamed of who they are and what they have done. They have sinned against the Holy God and they need to repent of their sins. Now, some will say, well, if you go and tell people you need to change your life in order to receive the forgiveness of sins, then what you have done is you've added a work to the gospel.

I have heard that so many times, I begin to wonder if the people asking that question, if they even know the gospel. Because the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2, 24 and 25, Acts 11, verse number 18, and Acts 5, 31, that repentance is a work of God, not a work of man.

And when somebody asks me that question, I doubt sincerely whether or not they understand true repentance. Because it is a work of God, not a work of man. Put it this way. If repentance is a work of God, we know that from those three verses I just gave you, it's a complete work of God. God causes man to repent. You just can't muster up enough energy to repent. God works in the heart. He turns the heart. He changes the heart. He causes a man to repent. Just like faith is a gift. Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, right?

And we also know Philippians 1, 29 tells us that believing in Christ is a gift. The whole work of salvation is a complete work of God. It's a complete gift of God. So for a man to believe, for a man to have faith, for a man to receive, for a man to repent, it all comes because God did a work in his life and caused that to happen. Not because man did something so that God now would forgive him. It's a complete work of God. God does it all. Because He is at work in people. That's why you have to preach the gospel.

Why? Because God works in conjunction with His Word. And the Spirit of God, who convicts us of sin, convicts based on what the Word of God has to say. And so you preach the Word of God which says that repentance for the remission of sins must be preached not only in Jerusalem but across the globe. You go out and preach that gospel. You tell people they've got to turn from their sins to follow God and those who are truly convicted by the Spirit will respond. Those who aren't will reject. They won't respond.

You tell people they must deny themselves, take up the cross and follow Him. Look folks, if Jesus Christ is going to do the work, does it really make a difference what we say about what that work is? No. If Jesus Christ is going to save a soul, if Jesus Christ gives us the message to preach and Jesus Christ does the work to save a man, it does not depend upon me to convince that man. I don't have to do that. All I have to do is speak the truth and God will do all the work. Just speak the truth of God's Holy Word.

The Bible says in Romans 10 14, how shall they hear without a preacher? Right? That's why in our prayer time today we said that a mother of God is going to speak for God because how will they hear without a preacher? Who's going to tell them mom if you don't tell them? Who's going to tell them dad if you don't tell them? So you continually tell them the same message because God will speak through His Word. It's not about you and your power of persuasion to convince someone they need to be saved. It's about you being faithful to presenting the truth of the gospel and the Spirit of God working on the heart of a sinful man to convict him of a sin that he might repent and turn and follow Christ.

It's the Lord who does the work. We just are the preachers, the vehicle by which the message is given. And so it's important to understand that repentance deals, is essential, is the core of coming to Christ. And Luke 9 23 is about what repentance is. It's about self-denial. It's about cross-bearing. It's about following Christ. It's about turning from sin to follow Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Now people say to me, well, repentance is just a change of mind about how one views God. Really? That's not what the Bible says.

And the Bible uses three different words for repentance to describe how it affects your mind, your emotions, and your will. It's more than just your thinking about who God is. It truly is an effect on your thinking about who you are in light of who God is. And that's the word metanoia. It deals intellectually in the mind about how one views himself in light of who God is. And that word is used over in Luke 11 32 and Luke 15 verses 7 and verse number 10. You change your mind about who you are and how you view yourself based on who God is.

The other word is metameloni, which deals with the will of a man. And that word is used over in Matthew 21 verses 29 to 32. And it emphasizes what happens when the mind of a man is convinced that he is utterly worthless before a holy God. And is so ashamed about how he feels and how he truly is before God, it causes a lamentation over his iniquity. The first one is a recognition of my depravity, that's metanoia.

And the other one is a lamentation over my iniquity. When man recognizes who he is, he begins to grieve over his sin. Not the consequences of his sin and not because he got caught in his sin. That's just remorse. That's not repentance. 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verses 9 and 10 speak about a godly sorrow that leadeth to repentance. There truly is a lamentation over my iniquity that I have sinned against the holy God. So metanoia deals with a recognition of my depravity before God. Metameloni is a word that deals with my lamentation of my iniquity toward God.

And then there's a third word used for repentance and that's epistrophemi. Which deals with my, not my mind or my will or my emotions, but my will. My volition. Which causes me to change direction. So there's a redirection in my life. There's a redirection from iniquity toward deity. Everything begins to change. You see repentance doesn't deal with one aspect of a person. It deals with the whole person. And that's what the Bible tries to convey. That word is used over in Luke 17 verse number 4, Luke 22 verse number 32.

To speak of the fact that repentance deals with the whole of a man. His mind, his will and his emotions. Because salvation is a conversion of the soul of a man. It's a transformation of a person. Both will, both will, mind and emotions. All things. You see that? And that's why Jesus says when you go into all the world, when you go across the globe.

You begin in Jerusalem and you tell them that if they want to receive the forgiveness for their sins. Then you must tell them they need to repent of their sins. They repent of their sins based on who I am and what I have done. And that's what Jesus is conveying. Dr. Morton Lord Jones said it this way. He says repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty person. Vile, a sinner in the presence of God. That you deserve the wrath and punishment of God. That you are hell bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you.

That you long to get rid of it. That you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world, whatever the cost. The world in its mind and outlook as well as its practice. And you deny yourself and take up your cross and go after Christ. Your nearest and dearest. And the whole world may call you a fool. Or say you have religious mania. You may have to suffer financially but it makes no difference. For that is true repentance. And folks that's the gospel. And that's the message that Jesus is giving.

That's the component of Christianity that seems to be the missing component in the gospel presentation. That you need to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Christ. Which is the essence of what true repentance is all about. And Jesus was concerned that people hear the truth. That they understand what salvation is. What discipleship is. How to receive the forgiveness of sins. What it means to follow Christ. What it means to be a part of the kingdom of God. He wants you to understand that.

And so he gives that message. And that's why we camp out here. Because we need to understand exactly what Jesus is saying. Because we are to preach that same message to a lost world. We are to explain to them the truth of what Jesus himself has said. Jesus says very simply.

If any man. Not just some man. Every single man who wants to be a follower of me. He must deny himself and take up his cross daily. That's just the way it is. There is no other way. You turn from the way you are going and you follow him. It begins with an assessment. That you learn to realize how unworthy you are. And you refuse to associate with yourself any longer. You don't want to associate with yourself. Because you don't like where you are going. You don't like who you are. You don't like what you are doing.

You are literally sick of yourself. And you need as the publican would beat upon his breast. And not even look to heaven. And cry out Lord be merciful unto me a sinner. Because he had nowhere else to go. But to the Lord God himself. You see yourself as worthless. And you need a savior. And you cry out to God. And for that matter cross bearing seems rather good. Because in cross bearing if you die. At least you rigged yourself of this life. And you are able to go home to be with the Lord. That's why Paul said for me to live is Christ.

And to die is what gain. It's all gain to me. And a true Christian perspective of life. Understands that death is the ultimate gain. It's the ultimate gain. And Christ says very simply.

Are you sick of yourself yet? Because if you are not. You are not going to cry out for a savior. Now many people say to me. What about the fact that. I gave my life. To Christ as a child. I was five. I was six. I was seven. And when I heard the gospel. And I prayed to receive Christ. And I began to follow Christ. I didn't know about self denial. Cross bearing. Repentance. I didn't know all that stuff. This is all new to me. So how is it as a young child. Whether I'm six or seven. Eight, nine, ten, eleven.

And I hear this message today. And I'm hearing it maybe for the very first time. How is it that I know. That my conversion was real back then. How do I know? How do you know? You know because you love this message. That's how you know. If you hate this message. Then you know your conversion wasn't real. That's how you know. Because you hear this message. You say you know what. That's right. I loathe myself. There's nothing good in me. There's nothing about me. It's not about me. It's about Christ.

It's about following Christ. And doing whatever he asks. Following him. And following him. Taking him across daily. And saying God whatever you want me to do. I will do. I will bear the reproach of Christ. I will suffer for his sake. Whatever it costs. I will do. Because I love him more than I love my family. I love him more than I love my husband. My wife. My son. My daughter. I love him more than my job. I love Christ more than everything else. He's everything to me. And so you hear this message.

And you love this message. As compared to the religious Pharisees. Who when they heard this message. They hated this message. That's why they crucified Christ by the way. They crucified Christ because they hated everything he said. Not only the fact that he claimed to be God. And he was. But the things he said. Put such demands upon their self righteous lifestyle. That would cause them to have to forget about all those things. And deny themselves they weren't about to do that. And they couldn't stand the message of the Messiah.

They hated him because of that message. And Jesus said these words to them. Listen to the words Jesus said to them. Over in Luke. Chapter 5. I'm sorry. Matthew 21. Jesus said to them. Truly I say to you. That the tax gatherers. And harlots. Will get into the kingdom of God. Before. You. Now if you're a religious person. And you think yourself pretty good. And Jesus comes and says you know. I know you are the religious elite. The Pharisees. The scribes. The person that everybody thought was. Was just so wonderful.

Jesus says. The tax gatherers. And the harlots. Are going to make it into the kingdom. Before you guys ever will. Why? He didn't come to call the righteous. He came to call the sinners to repentance. That's why. And those are the ones who recognize. They are what? Worthless. They have nothing. They're of no value. They're at the lowest of the low. And they cry out to God. So Christ comes and says. Listen.

I couldn't preach the gospel to the poor. To the blind. To the oppressed. To the downcast. To those who realize they have nothing. I've come to preach the gospel to them. And they didn't like to hear that message. So much so. That even in his hometown. They dragged him out of the synagogue. And wanted to kill him. Throw him off a cliff. Because they didn't like that message. It did not appeal to their culture. It did not appeal to their self righteous lifestyle. They wanted nothing to do with that.

It was against everything. They had believed. And so. We come to realize. That you've got to preach people the truth. You've got to tell them the truth. People can't get saved without the gospel. And yet we have all these people writing books. And doing stuff like saying. Well you know. If you believe. In some far off land. That there is a higher being. Some creator of the world. You don't know his name. You don't know who he is. You don't know anything about him. But there's some greater being out there.

That put all this together. If you just believe that. You'll go to heaven. No. You won't. You won't. How do we know that? Because there is no other name. Under heaven. Given among men. Whereby you must be saved. If you don't know the name of that creator. You won't get saved. You won't go to heaven. You say well I can't believe. That a loving God would do that. Well believe it. Because that's what the Bible says.

The Bible says. That these things are written. That you may believe. That Jesus is the Messiah. The son of God. And that believing in him. You might have life through his name. If you not only know. Don't know his name. And don't know that he is the Messiah of God. You won't be saved. See that? And so we are commanded to preach the gospel. To preach the true gospel. Around the globe. So people hear the truth. There's only one way to heaven. And that's through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you don't know that that creator is Jesus Christ.

You're not going to get to heaven. It's as simple and as clear as that. So the command. The compelling nature for us. Is to go and to preach the gospel. To preach the truth so people will know. So they'll be without excuse. And the Bible in Romans 1 says. They're already without excuse. Because they suppress the truth. In unrighteousness. So Romans 1 says. They already know the truth. Because eternity has been set in the heart of man. And therefore they suppress that truth. Because men love darkness rather than light.

Because their deeds are evil. Men love their sin. They love the direction they're going anyway. And you go and confront them with the gospel that says. No you got to turn around and go the other way. Because you're going the wrong way. And that's what repentance is all about. It's turning your life around. It's literally God turning your life around. That you might serve and follow him. And be completely committed. Consecrated. To the Christ. So Jesus expounds upon that. And says this. In verse 24.

And this is our text for today. He says. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake. He is the one who will save it. That's a paradox. Jesus explains exactly what he's been saying. You abandon everything. For me. And if you do you gain everything. You don't add Jesus to your life. You abandon everything to follow Christ. And Christ says.

If you want to rescue yourself. You lose. If you want to keep your life. You lose. But if you want to give your life away. You win. You win by losing. You lose by winning. If you want to keep your life in this world. Then you will. Lose your life in the next world. But if you want to give your life away. In this world. Then you gain. My life. And you do it for whose sake. Christ is my sake. Do it for me. See salvation is about Christ. You're doing this for my sake. You're not getting saved for you.

You're saved for Christ's sake. Not for your sake. Now you reap the benefits of eternal life. But you're saved for Christ's sake. You give your life away for Christ's sake. You don't do it for some. Judicial value. You don't do it because some way. Somehow. You want to do it for religious sake. It's not about giving your life up to be a priest. Or to be a nun. No you're giving your life away for Christ's sake. And when Christ asks. Having realized who he is. What he's done. It makes no difference what he asks.

Because you realize. You're nothing. And you're willing to give it all away for him anyway. What have you asked Lord? You say as Paul said on the road to Damascus. What will you have me to do? What do you want me to do? I'll do. Because I realize who you are. And what you've done. And that you've came for me. And you gave your life for me. And I am so unworthy. So undeserving. Therefore Lord I am yours. Take it. Do whatever you want to with my life. You want me to deny myself? No problem. I'm sick of myself.

I'm sick of my sin. I'm sick of the direction of my life. I give it all to you anyway Lord. Take it. Do whatever you want to with me. You want me to take up my cross and follow you? Sure I'll do that. Wherever you lead I will go. I will follow. Because Lord my life means nothing anyway. And whatever you say. I will do. People always say. What about my dreams? What about my ambitions? What about all my aspirations in life? What about all the things I wanted to do? What about. What about. My goals in life?

Jesus knows you'd say that. So he said. He says this. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world. And loses or. Forfeits. His soul. Christ says.

Let me give you a hypothetical. Let's say. You could keep your life. And in keeping your life you gain the whole world. Can you get any bigger than that? Everything the world gives. You have it all. Power. Prestige. Pleasure. Prominence. You name it. You got it. It's all yours. Let's say. You could have the whole world. What does it profit a man. If he gains everything in the world. Yet forfeits his soul. Put in that perspective. Let's say. You could have anything. And everything. You wanted. In this life.

Is it worth it? To lose everything. In the next life. Matthew's account says. For what will a man give. In exchange. For his soul. Salvation is an exchange. It's an exchange of my life. For Christ's life. I give my life away. For his life. What will a man give in exchange. For his soul. So Christ knows what you're thinking. Because people say. I have so many desires. And dreams. Ambitions. And goals. And things I want to do with my life. And now you're saying. I got to deny it all for Christ. And Christ says.

Yeah. Let's just say. You get the whole world. You get the whole thing. Everything is yours. It's all yours. Everything you could ever dream of. Is yours. When you get that. To forfeit your own soul. To perish. Eternity. In eternity without me. Is it worth that much to you? Christ gives that great paradox. To drive him to a point. If any man comes after me. Let him deny himself. And take up his cross. And follow me. I love what Paul said. In Romans chapter 8. He said these words. He. Who did not spare his own son.

But delivered him up for us all. How will he not also with him. Freely give us all. Things. Well that's good. Wait a minute. Jesus says.

Give it all away. It's not about your property. Your possessions. All those. It's not about that. It's about giving everything. That you think about yourself away. Because you're nothing. It might have to do with your possessions. But that's not. That's not the real issue. Like with the rich young ruler. It wasn't about selling his property. It was about the fact that he was self-righteous. And was an idolater. He had another God. And God was his money. Money meant everything to him. It wasn't about selling all that he had.

And giving it to the poor. And that would give him interest in the glory. It was about his idolatrous. Self-righteous lifestyle. Because he saw himself better. Than what he really was. He didn't see himself from God's perspective. He saw himself from his perspective. And God says you're a sinner.

You have nothing to offer me. You are absolutely nothing without me. Until you come to that point. You won't cry out to me. And ask for me to be merciful unto you. When you do. Then you'll know that you've denied yourself. You've taken up your cross. And you've followed me. And Paul says. Our Lord God. Spared nothing. By giving you everything. And making us his best. His son. And the one who gave us his son. Who delivered him up for you and for me. Likewise. Will give us freely. All things. And Paul said over in Ephesians chapter 3.

Sorry. Ephesians chapter 1 verse number 3. That he had blessed us. With all spiritual blessings. In the heavenly places. He has blessed us with his great and wonderful love. Romans 5 verse 5 says. The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. Right? He's blessed us with his peace. A peace that the world can't give. John 14 verse 27. But only the peace that Christ himself can give. He's blessed us with. The forgiveness of sins. That there's no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus. Because we've been set free from sin.

We've been set free from our sins. He's blessed us with his great joy. John 15 verse number 4 says. These things have I spoken unto you. That my joy might remain in you. And that your joy might be made full. He's blessed us with his strength. Philippians 4 verse 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Folks the blessings go on and on and on and on. For the child of God. Because he realizes. That his life is only. What Christ himself. Is in him. And so we receive. That great gift.

Of eternal life. The gift that God himself really gives to those. Who come to him. On his terms. See that is so important. You can't come to Christ on your terms. Many people have tried to do that. It just doesn't work. You can only come to Christ on his terms. And if he is doing the work in you. That he will perform that work through you. And he will accomplish it in you. Because he is the great God. Of the universe. And so Jesus says.

To us today. Anybody here? Want to be a Christian? Anybody here want to follow me? Anybody here want to be a part of the kingdom of God? Anybody here want. To receive the forgiveness of sins? Anybody here want to be a disciple of Christ? This is what you do. You come to understand. That you are nothing. And he is everything. You deny yourself. You take up your cross daily. You say yes to Jesus. Whatever he says you will do. You will follow him. Because Christianity is all about. Following Christ.

And what did Christ say to the men? Peter, James, John. Follow me. Follow me. You come. Matthew, Tashkent. You come follow me. You know what I will do? I will make you. Fishers of men. I will make you. A masterpiece of mine. I will make you into something. You have never ever been before. I will make you into something. Something greater than your wildest dreams. I will make you a child of the living God. And you will serve me with all your heart. Soul. Mind. And strength. Is that what you want? If you do.

You come to Jesus. On his terms. Let's pray. Father we thank you for this day. And the glorious truth of the gospel. The opportunity we have to hear the truth. We pray Lord that our hearts and minds. Will be open and receptive to the truth. Of God's holy word. And that father you would take your word. As you only do. And cause it to bring forth fruit. For your kingdom and for your glory. If there be one among us. That truly wants to receive. The forgiveness of sins. And understand. What it means to be a follower of Christ.

May today be that day. They say yes to Christ. They say yes to Jesus. They say yes to him. And no to self. And do whatever you ask them to do. Because you are loved by them. And the only reason we can love you. Is because you first loved us.

We thank you for that Lord Jesus. In your name we pray. Amen.