• Last week I issued two cautions. One was that we would not take Jesus’ hard teaching seriously, rationalizing them away. The other is that we turn them into a legalistic to-do list that will get us to heaven or make God love us more.

• Nothing you can do can make God love you more. Nothing you can do can make God love you less.

• What I’m about to share with you has an additional caution—apathy. Jesus’ brother said simply...

• Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. – James 1:22

• It’s easy to hear challenging teachings and nod our head or even compliment the preacher at the end, but what matters is not merely what we know but how we respond. Jesus was not merely a good teacher, He came to be LORD. Action is a natural response to love.

• We have celebrated communion together, remembering all that Jesus has done for us. Anything that we do in obedience to Him is nothing more than a response, a privilege! The amazing thing is that when we obey Jesus, we are blessed. We experience what it means to be fully human. We encounter a depth in our relationship with our Creator that we can discover no other way. We are filled with joy and peace and satisfaction found nowhere else.

• Today I want to invite you to The Radical Experiment. There are five parts to the Radical Experiment and they are just that, an experiment. These are five things that I believe will draw you closer to Jesus. They reflect His heart, His passion, and His commands. These five things are not magic, but I believe they can change your life, our church, and ultimately our world.

• Pray for the entire world

• This week the 7 billionth person entered our world. Billions have never even heard of Jesus. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, Jesus said in Luke 10:2. “Ask the LORD of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.”

• We can join God in His mission on our knees. Our denomination, the Christian & Missionary Alliance, states in its Core Values

• Prayer is the primary work of God’s people. (Philippians 4:6-7)

• OperationWorld.org will be our main tool for praying for the entire world. They have a book, a website, and other resources where you can learn about a different nation each day and pray for them.

• We want God to bless America, but also all of the nations of the world. John 3:16 says that God so loved the...world! The first step in being a blessing to the nations is to pray for them.

• Read through the entire Word

• This relates to another value of the Christian & Missionary Alliance:

• Knowing and obeying God’s Word is fundamental to all true success. (Joshua 1:8)

• We can’t know it if we haven’t read it. Spiritual warfare is real. We need to know the Truth of God’s Word. The purpose, again, is not to perform a task but to know our Father.

• Steve Jobs asked Walter Isaacson to write a biography of his life so that his children could know their dad. That makes me so sad, yet it would be even more tragic if his kids had no interest in reading it!

• Our Father has given us not only information about Himself, but also wisdom for living, exciting stories, history, poetry, prophecy, and so much more. I want to challenge you to read through the Bible in 2012.

• You may be saying, “2012? It’s not even December 2011!” You can use the next several weeks to practice or get a head start. We have a tool for this, too.

• Dr. George Guthrie (www.readthebibleforlife.com) developed the Chronological Bible Reading Plan.

• They were radically committed to fellowship together, in public and in homes.
• They were radically committed to prayer, experiencing miracles.
• They were radically generous, giving to anyone as he had need.
• They were radically committed to one another, meeting together daily.

• This was not a perfect church, but it was a radical one. I cannot imagine a more compelling vision for Scio—a group of normal but radical people, passionately committed to loving Jesus, one another, and their neighbors.

• It doesn’t just happen, though. We can’t wish it into reality. It requires total surrender, but it’s worth it.

• You might ask why we’re talking about 2012 in November of 2011. As I said with the Bible reading, this will give you some time to experiment. I urge you to prayerfully consider the challenge, especially as we head into the crazy holidays.

• Finally, let me say once more that we must avoid legalism, thinking we need to follow man-made rules or even God-given commands in order to earn salvation or approval before God. Nothing you can do can make God love your more/less. God’s favor in your life is not based on your performance but on Jesus Christ and what He did for you. That’s what we celebrated earlier with communion. That’s also why do serve Him. We love and serve Him because He first loved and served us. This is our response.

• You can listen to the podcast here.

Tags: Prayer, serving, Bible, Obedience, sacrifice, surrender

• Big Idea: Jesus abandoned everything in heaven for you and for me. He invites us to radically abandon everything on earth for Him.

• Mark 10:17-31

• If there is one key verse for the series, it is Luke 14:33 where Jesus says,

• …any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

• For those of you looking for a loophole in the Greek, the word for everything—pas—means “all, everything, whole, always.”

• Jesus demands radical abandonment—of everything: our time, talent, treasures, relationships, future, education, work, dreams, spouse, children, family…He wants it all!

• Jesus’ teachings are filled with paradox. They defy conventional wisdom and political correctness. They are the polar opposite of the American Dream that says our highest aim in life should be the pursuit of happiness.

• Look what Jesus said a few chapters earlier in Luke 9:24

• For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

• A few chapters later, He repeats a similar thought

• Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. (Luke 17:33)

• He wants all or nothing.

• Today’s text is found in Mark’s biography of Jesus.

• As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

• “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

• “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” (10:17-20)
  
• Maybe you could say this. You’ve been a good boy or girl. You have lived a good life, never killed anyone, played by the rules, avoided speeding tickets, been a devoted Michigan football fan…!

• Where did Jesus get this list of commandments? From the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Let’s review them together:

• 1. No other Gods (Exodus 20:3)
• 2. No idols (4-6)
• 3. Do not misuse the name of the LORD (7)
• 4. Remember the Sabbath (8-11)
• 5. Honor your father and mother (12)
• 6. Do not murder (13)
• 7. Do not commit adultery (14)
• 8. Do not steal (15)
• 9. Do not lie (16)
• 10. Do not covet (17)

• How did you do? Most people that I’ve met would say they are pretty good—after all, they haven’t killed anyone! To be honest, I struggle daily with the first two. I find myself putting my desires above God’s, longing for health and wealth and happiness and doing just about anything to be safe and comfortable despite the needs around me. I look at my favorite idol every time I stand in front of a mirror. But that’s just me!

• This man was a good man. He obeyed all of the commandments. He probably could’ve been a pastor or elder himself. He had arrived…almost.

• Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (10:21)

• Was that in God’s top ten list? I missed that!

• At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (10:22)

• Wait! Let’s go back to those first two commandments.

• 1. No other Gods (Exodus 20:3)
• 2. No idols (4-6)

• Do you see what happened?

• Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” (10:23)

• You are rich. Across the country at this very moment there are people occupying Wall Street and other public venues with one slogan. What is it? We are the 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%.

• Here’s the truth, though: I’m in the 1%. Many of you are, too. No, we’re not among the richest 1% of USAmericans, but we are among the richest 1% on the planet. If you earn $48,000 or more, you are in the top 1% of the richest people in the world. $32,000 places you in the top 6 %, and if you only earned $12,000 you’re still in the top 13%!

• The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (10:24-25)

• Why? It’s all about need. It’s about dependence upon God.

• The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

• Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (10:26-27)

• Many of us know this famous verse—all things are possible with God. Look at the context, though. It’s about salvation. Jesus is saying that we can be saved despite our wealth and idols.

• I recently heard an interview with a highly educated Muslim man talking about his Islamic faith. When asked if he had any certainty about his eternal destination, he replied that God only knows. He is spending his entire life trying to be good enough to earn God’s favor in hopes that he will pass the test on judgment day and go to heaven rather than hell.

• Maybe some of you are like that. You’ve been trying hard to be good so God will love you. You have more in common, perhaps, than Muslims. The religion of Christianity has said we must behave a certain way in order to believe and ultimately belong, but Jesus came to abolish religion. He came to offer grace, allow the unworthy to know God, invite sinners to heaven, and provide joy and peace and love to the unlovable.

• The amazing thing about Jesus is grace, unmerited favor.

• This past week I had a dear friend call me. We hadn’t talked in many months—maybe even years—but he was concerned that because he had turned away from God in the past, he was destined to hell despite his desire to follow Jesus again. I had him read the end of Romans 8 to remind him that nothing can separate us from the love of God—not even the terrible things we do.

• That’s grace! If we want God, He will always welcome us with open arms as did the Father in the prodigal son. That’s the good news! That’s the Gospel! It’s not about what we do, but what was done on the cross for us. None of us can be saved—not rich or poor—apart from Jesus and the cross.

• “Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning.” - Dallas Willard

• Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”

• “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields — and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. (10:28-30)

• What does this say about those who radically follow Jesus? It will be worth it.

• Jesus then concludes with one of His most famous paradoxical statements:

• But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (10:31)

• Play now and pay later or pay now and play later. The choice is yours. You can cling to this world, or invest in the world to come.

• We use a lot of words to describe God. Jesus. Teacher. Savior. King. Son. Prince of Peace. Father. Perhaps the most challenging is LORD. He gives us commands, not considerations or suggestions. He’s not out to get us, though. He knows that if we lose ourselves, we will find. If we give, we will receive. If we surrender, we will discover freedom. If we die, we will truly live.

• The Apostle Paul, arguably the most important figure in the New Testament after Jesus, said

• I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11)

• Paul is either insane or he is saying that by dying, he can experience resurrection and new life. When we die to ourselves, God can begin to recreate us. As the prophet Ezekiel wrote,

• I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:26

• You’ve got to let go, though.

• Never Alone

• This is a challenging message. This has been a challenging series. I’ve been reminded each week that I need to die, and just when I feel like every part of me has been surrendered, I discover another place where I’m holding on. Death can be scary, especially when everyone else around us is living their normal lives.

• This is where the Church becomes so vital. We are a family. We are a community. We need one another. We need to encourage one another. We need to mentor and disciple one another. We need to spur one another on toward our own death and Christ’s life.

• Perhaps the most graphic description of this is found in the second chapter of the book of Acts.

• They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

• Do you see it?

• They were radically committed to the Word of God and the apostle’s teaching.
• They were radically committed to fellowship together, in public and in homes.
• They were radically committed to prayer, experiencing miracles.
• They were radically generous, giving to anyone as he had need.
• They were radically committed to one another, meeting together daily.

• This was not a perfect church, but it was a radical one. I cannot imagine a more compelling vision for Scio—a group of normal but radical people, passionately committed to loving Jesus, one another, and their neighbors.

• It doesn’t just happen, though. We can’t wish it into reality. It requires total surrender, but it’s worth it.

• We are not alone. He is not only with us, He has given us one another to encourage each other. This world is not our home. We are just visiting this planet...together.

• Radical abandonment is about giving up anything that gets between us and God’s leadership. Do you trust Him…with everything? 

• Jesus abandoned everything in heaven for you and for me. He invites us to radically abandon everything on earth for Him.

Tags: Wealth, sacrifice, surrender, Finances, Giving

• Big Idea: Jesus is looking for fully-devoted followers, not mere fans.

• How Much Is Jesus Worth To You?

• Seriously. We’re starting light this morning! Maybe we should be begin with, “How much are you worth to Jesus?” You know that answer, right? Everything! What more could God do for you?

• Last week we began our series Radical. We asked the crucial question, “Do you believe the Bible?” As a church, we have concluded that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. It is true. It is truth. All of it. I don’t have the final word around here. In fact, if you ever hear me speak something inconsistent with the Bible, PLEASE call me out! I do my best each week with fear and trembling to present God’s Word, but Scio is not about me, it’s about Jesus and His Word.

• If you haven’t bought into the Bible as truth, you’re still in the right place. We are all at various places in our spiritual journey. I believe after thoroughly testing the Bible you will discover, as I have, that it is historically reliable, theologically sound, logically consistent, and best of all it works. It makes sense. It is relevant and reliable.

• The Bible is not, however, easy. Last week we looked at Jesus’ challenging words:

• In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

• That sounds radical…because it is!

• Luke 14:25-35

• Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

• Jesus was attracting large crowds. Human nature often says that bigger is better. Conventional wisdom says that if you have followers, you want to grow your fan base, right? This is true if you are a musician, an author, or a blogger. “Build your brand,” the so-called experts say.

• Why were large crowds traveling with Jesus? He was different. His message was fresh. He provide free medical care and sometimes free lunch, too. He was a celebrity.

• Rather than building his audience, He seemed to do the opposite. He raises the bar and separates the casual observers from the truly committed.

• “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

• Give up everything you have, carry a cross, and hate your family. That’s a lot different than admit, believe, confess, and repeat this prayer!

• Some of us bought into a lie. We were told that all we need to do is pray a magic prayer, feel good about heaven after you die, and just live like everyone else. Jesus is a free gift to accept and enjoy. It won’t cost you anything.

• That’s a lie! Jesus is saying that following Him will cost you everything—but it will be worth it. You cost Him everything! Think about it.

• This verse does not, of course, mean that we are to hate—ourselves or anyone. God cannot contradict Himself so when He says to love one another and love our neighbors He’s not making hate an option. Our love and commitment to Jesus should make all of our other desires and affections look like hate in comparison. One’s loyalty to Jesus must come before loyalty to family or even life itself.

• I have a good friend who regularly leaves his family to travel the world as a foreign missionary for weeks and even months at a time. I once asked him if he was neglecting his family and he replied, “Soldiers leave their family to serve and fight. I’m a soldier engaged in spiritual warfare, a battle of even greater consequence.” I was deeply humbled by his response.

• The expression “carry his cross” is foreign to our culture, but obviously to carry one’s cross meant to prepare to die. It was a public act that declared that the Roman Empire was correct in their death sentence. Carrying our cross is a public display for others that Jesus was correct.

• Some of you may remember the classic line in the film The Princess Bride.

• Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

• In a much more serious way, Jesus is telling his audience that if you want to follow Him, you must prepare to die. This was NOT a metaphor. Many of His followers then and now have died as martyrs. In fact, all but one of His twelve disciples were martyrs…and John was boiled alive!

• Are you prepared to die? It’s easy to be a Christian in our culture. We are blessed with tremendous freedom and liberty. Although many signs point to our faith being in decline, I doubt any of your lives have ever been in jeopardy while following Jesus in the United States.

• Of course, the whole point of Jesus’ message is that we must count the cost. He requires total devotion. Jesus can’t just be your homeboy, your buddy, or even your BFF. Kyle Idleman’s recent book and website say it all.

• Video

• It’s all or nothing. HE continued…

• “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

• If you’ve ever driven to the state of Ohio, you’ve no doubt seen the house along US 23. What was envisioned as a huge, beautiful home sits as an empty, abandoned structure because someone did not count the cost. To quote Jesus, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Tragic.

• “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

• There we see last Sunday’s verse. We cannot be a disciple of Jesus if we do not count the cost and give up everything we have.

• How many of you have ever played on a sports team of any kind? You likely heard the coach say to give 110%. Of course there is no such thing because you cannot give more than 100%, but this is the root of what Jesus is saying. All in or all out. Give 110% of your heart, soul, mind, strength, hopes, dreams, time, talent, treasures, and relationships or go home.

• One of my biggest fears is that I put Jesus in a box, I make Him safe, and I keep an arm’s distance away from me. To be honest, sometimes I’m afraid He’ll ask for something I don’t want to surrender so I get real busy, so busy and noisy that I can’t hear His voice.

• The question is not, “What is God’s will?” but “Will I obey His will?”

• What if He wants my….

• Jesus concludes…

• “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

• What an image! That’s a description of fans rather than followers. Which are you?

• “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

• The Benefits

• You may be thinking, “Why in the world would I surrender everything to Jesus? You don’t understand my life. You don’t know my situation. I don’t want to do anything, uh, radical. Jesus couldn’t have meant everything. What does that leave me?

• It leaves us with Jesus.

• To everyone wanting a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, stay away from Jesus. The danger in our lives will always increase in proportion to the depth of our relationship with Christ. – David Platt

• Before the children's encounter with Aslan in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Lewis has Susan, who is always a bit too concerned with her own well-being, ask Mr. Beaver whether Aslan is safe. "'Course he isn't safe," the Beaver replies. "But he's good."

• The reward of the American dream is safety, security, and success found in more comfort, better stuff, and greater prosperity. But the reward of Christ trumps all these things and beckons us to live for an eternal safety, security, and satisfaction that far outweigh everything this world has to offer us. –David Platt

• The great songwriter Graham Kendrick wrote in his song Knowing You,

• All I once held dear, built my life upon,
• All this world reveres and wars to own;
• All I once thought gain I have counted loss,
• Spent and worthless now compared to this.

• Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You

• God delights in using ordinary Christians who come to the end of themselves and choose to trust in his extraordinary provision. He stands ready to allocate his power to all who are radically dependent on him and radically devoted to making much of him. –David Platt

• We have a mission that involves blessing the nations, changing the world. Seriously? If we are willing to radically sacrifice everything for Jesus, there is no limit to what He can accomplish through us.

• I dream of our baptistery filled with new believers proclaiming their devotion to Jesus.

• I dream of people being sent from Scio all over the world to bless the nations.

• I dream of our youth becoming contagious, dangerous, influential Christ-followers.

• There is no limit to what God can do…if we allow Him. If we open our palms, as we said last week, so that He can take away but also give.

• Jesus is worth the risk of following Him!

• Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25)

• Jesus is supremely loving.
• Jesus is worthy.
• Jesus is loyal.
• Jesus is faithful.
• Jesus is good.
• Jesus sacrificed everything for you.
• Jesus is our reward.

• Next week we’re going to get specific about being radical, but this morning I wanted to give the Holy Spirit one more opportunity to reveal to you your next step. What are you clinging to? What you need to surrender in order to be fully available to God’s work?

• How much is Jesus worth to you? You are worth everything to Him. Everything. The more radical your sacrifice, the more you will discover that Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience and enjoy.

• Followers vs Fans

Tags: Luke 1425-35, sacrifice

• Big Idea: Jesus demands everything—and He can be trusted.

• The Bible

• When I was a young boy, we used to sing this song called The B-I-B-L-E. The lyrics were, “The B-I-B-L-E/Yes that’s the book for me/I stand alone on the Word of God/The B-I-B-L-E.”

• One of the core values of our tribe, the Christian & Missionary Alliance, states

• Knowing and obeying God’s Word is fundamental to all true success. Joshua 1:8

• Do you believe this book? It’s so much more than just pages of stories or wisdom. It is God’s precious Word. It is our guide for life. As some have said, it is Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

• For thousands of years people have been studying the Bible, seeking to know, understand and apply it. As Joshua was preparing to lead the people of Israel following Moses’ death, God told him

• Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8)

• Did you catch that? It is a command with a promise. I don’t know about you but I don’t like random rules. I want to know why! God promised Joshua prosperity and success if he read and obeyed the written Word.

• So again I ask do you believe this book? Maybe you’re still not sure it’s trustworthy. After all, it’s thousands of years old and surely it’s been changed over time, right? The science of textual criticism evaluates manuscripts based upon their written date, the time span from the earliest copies, and the number of copies. No ancient book is even close to the Bible in terms of its preservation and authenticity.

• The Bible is true. It can be trusted. There is nothing like it on the planet. Don’t take my word for it, though. Billions of people for generations have not only studied and obeyed it, many have given their lives to preserve and share it.

• The All-Important Question is do we believe this Book?

• If the answer is yes, the next several weeks will be challenging. See if you don’t believe it, you can ignore what it says and comfortably enjoy our weekly family reunions together. Belief, however, demands action.

• A few weeks ago I told the story of the Great Blondin - the man who invented the high wire act. He crossed Niagara Falls again and again; blindfolded, carrying a stove, in chains, and on a bicycle. Just as he was about to begin yet another crossing— this time pushing a wheelbarrow—he turned to the crowd and shouted, "Who trusts that I can cross pushing this wheelbarrow?" Every hand in the crowd went up. Blondin pointed at one man:

• "Do you trust that I can do it?" he asked.
• "Yes, I trust you can." said the man.
• "Are you certain that you trust me?" said Blondin.
• "Yes" said the man.
• "Absolute trust? Absolutely certain?"
• "Yes, absolute trust, with absolute certainty."
• "Thank you," said Blondin, "please get into the wheelbarrow."

• True faith requires action.

• Do we believe this book? Do we believe what it says about the church? The cross? Mission? Decisions? The lost? The poor?

• Our passage for this morning is very short. Jesus said to His followers

• In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)

• You can look at the original Greek, examine the context, and do whatever you want to twist it, but you can’t really change the message: following Jesus requires giving up everything. No buts. No excuses.

• That’s radical! He demands total devotion.

• My wife demands total devotion. An occasional affair is unacceptable! Should God demand any less?

• David Platt notes

• Even his simple call in Matthew 4 to his disciples—“Follow me”—contained radical implications for their lives. Jesus was calling them to abandon their comforts, all that was familiar to them and natural for them. He was calling them to abandon their careers. They were reorienting their entire life’s work around discipleship to Jesus. Their plans and dreams were now being swallowed up in his. Jesus was calling them to abandon their possessions. “Drop your nets and your trades as successful fishermen,” he was saying in effect. Jesus was calling them to abandon their family and their friends. When James and John left their father, we see Jesus’ words in Luke 14 coming alive. Ultimately, Jesus was calling them to abandon themselves. They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation.

• When we gather in our comfortable church building to worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves.

• Video

• Is it all about you? When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die…so he can truly live.

• Francis Chan illustrated this idea of comfortable Christianity like this. He said, If I ask my daughter to do something (“Rach, clean your room”), I am not satisfied if she come back later and says that she has memorized what I said, or that she got her friends together to discuss what my request means or what it would look like if she cleaned her room, or that she made a poster or needlepoint with my command on it.” Commands are to be obeyed.

• John Stumbo of the Alliance writes,

• Have you wondered why the Church in places like China and Vietnam has grown rapidly and vibrantly, even in the face of terrible persecution, while many churches in America struggle just to maintain the status quo? In China and Vietnam believers have few resources and even fewer trained pastors. Most congregations have no facilities, and members often are persecuted by hostile government officials. There are not even enough Bibles for every Christian. Yet the Church moves triumphantly forward.

• In the West it is a different story. We do not lack resources. There are millions of dollars available to build spacious buildings and to fund evangelism and discipleship training. Bible colleges and seminaries train thousands of students every year, and many congregations have two or more well- trained pastors. There is no dearth of Christian literature, and every Christian home contains not one, but many, Bibles.

• I am firmly convinced that the reason for our spiritual impotence in the midst of material affluence is simple. We have been discipled toward knowledge, believing that a mature Christian is one who knows a lot about Christ and the Bible. Christians in places like China and Vietnam have been discipled toward obedience. In their paradigm, a mature Christian is one who obeys all that he or she has learned of God’s Word and of Christ.

• Are you pursuing the American Dream of Jesus’ dream for your life?

• What do you have?
• Do you really have it?
• Does it have you?

• Pearls

• This is a very heavy message. Who wants to give up everything? It all begins with our understanding of God. He is not out to ruin your life, but instead He wants you to experience the most abundant, exciting, joy-filled life imaginable. Really.

• The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

• "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

• As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. James if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

• Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere - Sunday School, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

• Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

• "Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

• "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess - the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."

• "That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night."

• And he brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

• "Daddy, you know I love you."

• "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

• "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

• A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

• Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."

• With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

• Jenny's father is like our heavenly Father. He also is waiting for us to give up our dime store stuff and seek Him first ... so He can fling open the windows of Heaven and pour us out such a blessing that we will not have room enough to hold it.

• Next week we’ll look at the context of this radical verse and see that Jesus literally wants us to give up everything.

• Treasures
• Time
• Talents
• Future
• Relationships

• What do you most fear right now? What can’t you surrender? There’s a good chance that it is an idol in your life. God wants it, not because He wants to rob you of your joy, but so that He can BE your joy.

• Take My Life

• The word “consecrate” means to solemnly dedicate to God or sanctify.

• Frances Havergal, at age 36, received a book called, "All for Jesus", which stresses the importance of making Christ Lord over every dimension of one's life. On Advent Sunday, Dec. 2, 1873, she saw the blessedness of consecration and made a full surrender of her all to Christ. Not long after she was visiting ten people in a house, of which she writes: "I went for a little visit of five days (to Areley House.) There were ten persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted, but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer, 'Lord, give me all in this house!' And He did just that. Before I left the house every one had got a blessing. The last night of my visit after I had retired, the governess asked me to go to the two daughters. They were crying; then and there both of them trusted and rejoiced; it was nearly midnight. I was too happy to sleep, and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration; and these little couplets formed themselves, and chimed in my heart one after another till they finished wit h'Ever, Only ALL for Thee!'" (Havergal Manuscripts)

• Chris Tomlin said of the hymn “Take My Life,” “This hymn sums up what we all want to say to God: Take everything about me…take all I am and all I own—it’s yours Lord. Louie and I penned these simple four lines of refrain to amplify what we felt the writer was wanting to communicate, and to give us the chance to step back from the numerous lines of the song and voice our all to the Father.”

• As we sing, I want to challenge you with two things. First, I invite you to lift your open hands in front of you, offering everything to God. Second, pour out your heart to God. Tell Him your hopes and dreams. He’s not out to get you. He’s out to bless you, but when we are clinging to what we have, there’s no way He can give us anything. When we surrender, we lose, but we also gain. Like baptism last week, we must die in order to be resurrected. He gives and takes away.

• Conclusion

• This week I challenge you to ask God to reveal to you whatever is holding you back from being completely surrendered to Jesus, a fully-devoted disciple.

• I also challenge you this week to get into the Word. Read through the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

• Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8)

• We all want to prosper and be successful. Let’s get into the Word and discover all that He has for us.

Tags: Luke 14:33, surrender, sacrifice, devotion, Radical