Would you turn in your copy of God's Word now to the Gospel of Matthew? We are there in chapter 8 this morning. You'll find that on page 966 of your Pew Bibles. This morning we'll begin reading at verse 18 of chapter 8. This follows on Jesus' healing of many. a leper, the servant of a centurion, Peter's mother, and crowds of people. Let's give attention now to God's word. Matthew 8, beginning at verse 18. Now, when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. Another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead. And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, Save us, Lord, we are perishing. And he said to them, Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, What sort of man is this that even winds and sea obey him? Let's find the reading of God's Word. Amen. Please be seated. Would you pray with me? Father and our God, as we come to this passage, about following Jesus, we ask, Lord, that you would work by your Spirit powerfully. Some of us think we may be following Jesus this morning, but in reality, Lord God, we're not. We're fearful. We're fearful of the storm. And so we pray by your Spirit, Lord, work powerfully in our hearts now. convicting us and then comforting us in the knowledge of who Jesus truly is. We ask this in his precious name, amen. In John's gospel, you may be familiar with chapter 10 where Jesus gives his disciples an image of a shepherd and tells them that the sheep will always follow the voice of the shepherd because they know his voice, but they will not follow the voice of a stranger. But the disciples, being weak in faith, didn't really grasp what he was speaking about. He didn't know that he was speaking about himself and his disciples following him. And so he explained, all who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved. And Jesus was connecting the hearing of his voice and the following of him with faith, with salvation. J.C. Ryle put it this way, to follow Christ is to place implicit trust in Him as our Redeemer. It is to take up our cross and subscribe our name among His people, to look at the Lamb as our guide, and to follow Him wherever He goes. This morning, as we come to this passage, Jesus has completed that significant sermon on the mount where he's been teaching and teaching about the kingdom. And now he's applying that teaching as he goes out with his disciples. And today, calling them to follow him in faith. This morning I want us to see that Jesus calls His followers to a supernatural faith, enabling them to serve, separate, and survive the world. We'll see that in three points this morning. Serving in the world. Secondly, separating from the world. And then finally, surviving in the world. What does it mean to follow Jesus? We use that term quite a bit, but do we really know what it means, or better yet, how? Do we know how to follow Jesus? Let's go to our first point. Serving in the world. These passages really go together. You might think that there were two different things going on, Jesus talking to folks about following him and then calming the storm, kind of separate, nothing to do with one another. But truly, they go together. They begin or Matthew begins his description in verse 18, when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And he continues that narrative then in verse 23, when he got into the boat. But before he gets into the boat, he has these two engagements, these two interactions, one with a scribe and the other with another disciple. And they're all about following Jesus. Even as he gets into the boat, his disciples followed him. So these passages go together. The main event seems to be the boat and what happens in the boat, but truly the main event is following Christ. And if it's all about following Christ, then it's all about faith in Christ. Even listen to the scribe as he comes to Jesus, teacher, I will follow you wherever you go. For anyone to make that kind of a statement, he or she would need to know who Jesus was and what he had come to do. How could anyone commit to following this one if he didn't know him, truly know him. And truly know where he was headed. It would require a sincere, a heartfelt experiential faith. To truly follow this one. So then this brings us to consider this Christ and how this passage opens up Jesus to us. It opens. This way, with Jesus referring to himself as the son of man, look at that in verse 20. As the scribe makes his bold statement that I will follow you wherever you go, Jesus's response is about foxes and birds. And then he refers to himself as the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. Matthew uses this title for Jesus somewhere around 30 times in his gospel. This is the first. This is his first use of that title. This is the first use of his recordation of Jesus using that title for himself. And I believe it's a reference back to Daniel. And Daniel We read in chapter seven, as Daniel's having this vision about the ancient of days, he continues that vision of the ancient of days, meaning God sitting on his throne. He says, I saw in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. And he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people's nations and languages should serve him. That's where we see this title. We see it certainly throughout Ezekiel and his reference to Ezekiel himself. But I believe this is where Jesus is pulling that title from. He refers to himself as son of man can't be overlooked. One who has been with the ancient of days. One who is able to come before the God of creation, one who is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom. Remember an eternal kingdom, one which would never be destroyed. This is Jesus. This is how he refers to himself. Think of that. Think of that descriptor and then think of how he describes his life. Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Jesus had left His home. And now during this earthly ministry, he had no place to call home, so to speak, no place to rest comfortably, peaceably. The Son of God, the divine one, the creator of the universe, the one who was and is and always will be king, came and took on a human nature. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, a description of the Son of God coming and taking a human nature to himself, emptied himself. And so we see here, as Jesus describes his life, The Son of God, the Son of Man, living not in an earthly palace. He did not erect a throne nor a throne room. He didn't call multitudes to serve Him. He did not pursue a life of luxury or pleasure. What does this say about the Son of Man, the Son of God, our Savior? Why would Jesus do such a thing? The one who's been given all dominion, All authority. Live in such a way that he had no place to lay his head. Why would he impoverish himself in such a way when he had all things in his possession? We know this is not the way the rulers of this world live. Think of the large white house down the street. What does it say as the President of the United States invites world rulers to come? to His house. He says, I'm powerful. He says, I have authority. I live in a palace. But Jesus chose nothing of that. And you have to ask why. The only explanation is the love of Jesus for the people of God. We know that Jesus came to serve and not to be served, and we know that he loved his people to the end. That's what John records in his gospel just before Jesus dawns on that servant rap. and takes the bowl full of water and kneels down before each of his disciples and washes their feet. He loved them to the end. You begin to see the connection between his serving and his loving. So Jesus begins his earthly ministry among the people of God. He loves them and he lives among them. It seems to be the idea. The son of God condescending, leaving his home and coming to live amongst those he loves and he was sent to save. It's just a beautiful example of his condescension, isn't it? Webster's defines that to be to descend from privileges of superior rank or dignity to do some act to an inferior. That's exactly what Jesus did. That's exactly what the son of God did. He lowers himself. The apostle Paul writes this in chapter 12 of his letter to the church at Rome, live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Associate with lowly. Jesus chose to have nowhere to lay his head. Think of that by having nowhere to lay his head, he was going from house to house, from place to place. He was he was loving those whom he was sent to save. J.C. Ryle advises pastors. They should not be above talking to the poor, visiting your people from house to house. Sit down with your people by the fireside, exchange thoughts with them on all subjects, find out how they think and how they express themselves if you want them to understand your sermons. Jesus was living with the people he came to save. The Son of Man, the Son of God has an attitude of lowering himself in order to serve those who are weak and helpless. Even those who are filthy in their sins. He cared not for his own comfort. He longed to lovingly serve those who were unable to help themselves. He willingly left that which was pure and entered into that which was impure to save those who were lost. Like the weary shepherd whose sleep has left him, because he's constantly watching over and protecting his sheep, caring for them, leading them to the next field where they can graze on green grass and lie down beside quiet waters. That's a picture of Christ. He came to serve, to save, not to sleep and be served. Even this one we see in this passage, who was able to command the wind and the sea. You see how they go together now? He had no place to lay His head, and yet He's able to command the wind and the sea. He upholds the universe by the word of His power. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. This is the very same One who did not have a place to lay His head, who did not rest while He was about the work of His Father, who stooped low, low enough to be able to wash the feet of His disciples. This is your Christ. This is the one who came to serve you and to save you, who loved you so much that he would not rest. He would not rest his head until you were lifted up, until he had accomplished salvation for you and ensured that you would be lifted up on the day of judgment. This is what we can learn this morning about Jesus in this passage. And as He saves, He calls the saved to serve Him in a similar way, selflessly, serving in the world without a pillow, so to speak. And you can only follow Jesus when you know Him like this. When you know the love of our Savior, when you know the sacrificial heart of our Lord, then you can follow him. When you know of his divine rule and at the same time know of his life, his heart of a shepherd. There's a great sense that what Jesus is saying, even to this first one, was that to follow him requires a supernatural faith. To follow him, there must be an out of the ordinary trust in the father's provision. He states this so very clearly when he says that I have no place to lay my head. He was relying upon the father. This is a picture of of Jesus, the son of God, relying upon his father throughout his earthly ministry for every single day. He was dependent upon his father for provision, going before him in prayer constantly. leaving others to to pray, to receive that supernatural provision from his father each day. And that truth follows directly from his preaching, his teaching, as he's already taught his disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things. Will be added to you. It's a matter of trusting in the promises of God. It's a matter of faith in Christ, and that if you sincerely believe all that the Lord has said, then you'll be able to follow Jesus in all aspects of your life. No cause for worry over where your head's gonna fall tonight. No cause for worry over your rest, for He will give it. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. That's a promise of the Lord Jesus. So you can follow him. That brings us to our second point, separating from the world. And this point really focuses upon his interaction with that second one, another disciple. Another of the disciples, verse 21, said to him, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. Seems like a reasonable request. This disciple wants to delay. The call to follow Jesus has apparently been made implicitly. It's here. We don't read of it, but he's responding to it. Lord, let me go bury my father first. I have something else to do, something a bit more important. After I finish this other task, then I can follow. Seems like a simple and harmless request, we might consider that the compassionate Jesus would say, of course, go mourn for your father, fulfill your duties as a faithful son. This ministry can wait. It's not that important. That wasn't Jesus's response. Listen to his words, follow me. I'll leave the dead to bury their own dead. We might think that this was just Jesus lacking compassion at this moment. A momentary lapse. But that would miss the point. Of his teaching. Jesus would never counsel a family member to neglect their family obligations. Consider how Jesus sought to do the will of his father constantly. Consider how even on the cross, Jesus sought to care for his mother. Woman, behold your son. Here, very simply, Jesus is saying that in order to serve, in order to serve and follow him, that you must separate yourself from the world and from the things of the world. Luke records this of Jesus's words, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Again, Jesus wasn't counseling. Hatred of parents. It becomes clear as Jesus continued, whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. None of you can be my disciples who does not give up all his own possessions. That's the idea. For if your desire is for this world, for the things of this world, if you love this world, that you're attached to it so much that you are unable to devote yourself to your savior and completely to Christ, then Jesus is saying, you cannot follow me. Indeed, you have no desire to truly follow Jesus as your desire is not for him. But for the world. We see this lesson taught time and again throughout scripture, especially in the Israelites. We read of it this morning. As they're brought to the promised land, as they've been wandering through the wilderness, as God has promised that I'm going to bring you into this land and it's a wonderful land and I'm going to care for you here. And this is where I'm going to establish worship. And what happens? As the spies return, all but two with a bad report. What do the people want to do? Let's go back to Egypt. Let's go back to the world. It wasn't so bad there. We had all the food we wanted. Let's get rid of Moses and follow someone who will take us back to the world. Isn't that what they were saying? Time and again, grumbling and murmuring. Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt and stone these two who want us to go up into the land. But what happened? The glory of the Lord appeared. Time and again, the Israelites complained in their corrupt opinions because they didn't have enough of the world. Such was their longing after the world that they neglected God. And this was the issue that Jesus was dealing with as he speaks to this other disciple and said to him, let leave the dead to bury their own dead. It was not a rebuke. It was not the rebuke of a son who loved his father and sought to grieve and mourn over his passing. No, Jesus was saying that the work of following him or proclaiming the kingdom was so urgent, so critical to the living that the task of burying the dead was not for him. It was not for those who were committed to saving lives through following Christ. How can you do this? How can you serve in the world and yet simultaneously separate yourself from it? It's our problem, isn't it? Oh, how we love the world. How Christians tend to love the world. If you don't believe me, Listen to our prayers sometime. What do we pray for most earnestly? Do we pray for growth and grace? Or do we pray that a physical affliction, a sickness, an illness might be healed quickly? How often do we pray, Father, separate my heart from this world? Help me to loosen my grip on my family and my possessions, even on my health, so that I may follow and serve the Lord Jesus Christ first. Brothers and sisters, we all need to pray for the Spirit's work. To separate our hearts from this world, from the things of this world. We need to ask the Spirit to help us grasp the importance and urgency of following Christ now, To understand the effect of urgently following Jesus upon first ourselves and then upon our children, upon our extended families, upon our neighbors and the world. How does the world react when they see you first following Jesus? What effect will that have upon your neighbors? How will that possibly woo them to Christ? That brings us to our third point, surviving in the world. Now we enter into the third event, which is really the main event, so to speak, and that is Jesus entering into the boat. Verse 23, and when he got into the boat, he's going to the other side. Remember, he's had this discussion with these two. It's an intervening discussion, but now we're back on track on the narrative. When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. They followed him into the storm, didn't they? Behold, There arose a great storm on the sea so that the boat was being swamped by waves, but he was asleep." This is what happens, isn't it? Storms surround Jesus. To even think that way. The storms or oppositions follow after Jesus. Let me say it another way, that the result of following Jesus, you should expect that you'll be stepping into the storm, meaning opposition. Jesus, his person, his work and his teaching, his words are all magnets for the hatred of the world. Those who are in rebellion against God, against His anointed are planning opposition. Isn't that what we read in Psalm 2? Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves against, excuse me, the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. So as a follower of Jesus, you must expect that you will be exposed, just like the disciples now in the boat with Jesus. They were following him. They got in the boat with him. And now the storm comes. The boat's being swamped. Not merely exposed, but drawn into an experience, the storm of rebellious opposition. Some of you may be thinking about this wondering whether it's possible for me to remain on the sideline, like maybe just not getting into the boat. Yes, Jesus, I'll go to the other side, but you take the boat. I'm going to walk. I'll stand on the sideline and I'll see if the other guys make it. But that's impossible. It's impossible for the sincere, the faithful follower of Jesus Christ to say, I'll remain on the sideline. Just look at that picture we have set before us. If the disciples were going to follow Jesus, they had to get into the boat. And they were brought into the storm. They couldn't avoid it. It was impossible. Each one had determined in his own heart to follow Jesus into the boat to go to the other side, and as a result, each one of them experienced the storm. And then each one of them feared. They entered into an untrusting fear for their physical lives. See, the sincere follower of the Lord Jesus Christ cannot sit on the sidelines and watch because he will not want to do that. His desire will be certainly to enter into the storm and fight for Christ. And so the question becomes for us this morning, how do you survive the storm? If you're here this morning and you're loving Christ and you're saying, yes, I want to follow him. And you're knowing that the storm is going to come. Maybe it's already come, but maybe it hasn't. And the question is, how will you survive? Are you ready? This passage presents that question for us this morning. Are you ready? Are you ready for the storm? Are you expecting the storm? If you haven't already experienced the opposition of the world to the message of Christ, to the person of Christ, and if you're a sincere follower of Christ Jesus, if you're trusting in him for the eternity of your soul this morning, then you will experience the opposition of the rebellious. Are you ready? And then the question must become, well, how can I prepare? What then can you do to prepare to weather the storm, to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, to participate in his ministry and persevere through it while you're in it? It seems as though the answer is clearly set forth in this passage. You won't weather the storm in your own strength. Think of the disciples. They're fishermen. This was the lake on which they fished. They were accustomed to it. They knew the storms. They knew how it came up. And here they're crying out to Jesus, save us. So don't leave here this morning thinking you just need to be stronger. But that's a false hope. It's only in union with the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who supplies all of your needs, including the strength to persevere. through the storm of opposition that is coming. You must have faith. You must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. His grace is sufficient. Only His grace. And you can do all things through Him who strengthens you. As long as you're connected to the vine, you'll continue to have that strength that you need to produce that fruit, even in the storm. So you might be asking now, even now, how can I increase my faith? Yes, I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the storm. I'm not sure my faith is strong enough. The disciples' faith wasn't. Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? You can say, you may be even saying to yourself this morning, well, that's me. That's me. That's my faith. I would have been right alongside those disciples crying out, Jesus, save us. How can we increase our faith? Simple answer to that question is by using the means of grace. You're using one right now. Worship. Worship is a means of grace. Worship is a means of strengthening your faith. You're hearing the word of God. You're hearing the word of God opened up, and now you're seeing the Lord Jesus Christ, maybe in a new perspective this morning, the one who had no place to lay his head and did that for you because his love for you was so great. And you think, yes, I can. I'm so encouraged to follow this one. You're in worship. And by and through that worship, you're being strengthened. We're about to enter into another means of grace, the Lord's Supper, where He feeds us with Christ. His body and His blood we're going to feed upon this morning, not carnally, not bodily, but by faith. It's mysterious. We don't understand it completely. In fact, we understand very little of it. But we understand by and through the Lord's Supper, he is feeding us with his son, with Christ. And one of its designs is to build us up in our faith. And certainly prayer is a critical means of grace. We must participate in. If our faith is going to be strengthened. as we commune with God, either privately in our prayer closets or corporately as the Church of the Lord of the Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer is that one means of grace where we commune with him. We pour our hearts to him and he's strengthening our faith at the same time. And then reading his word. Coming to know more of Christ and of his father. The person in the work of the spirit being shown forth as he takes up the word and and lays it up in your heart, isn't that a means of strengthening your faith as he takes his word and lays it up in your heart? Yes, of course it is. These are the ways for your spiritual muscles to increase your faith, to be encouraged, that you can follow Jesus Christ even through the storm. Yes, Jesus calls his followers to a supernatural faith, enabling them to serve, separate and survive the world. The sheep referred to in chapter 10 of John followed Jesus every single time. That's his call to us this morning. Knowing who he is, what he came for. sincerely, sincerely heartfelt confession that yes, Jesus, I will follow you. Because I know that God the Father will give me all the strength I need to do so. Praise be to God. Amen. Father in heaven, What a glorious thing this is that Jesus would even call us sinners saved only by grace to follow Him. That He would want us with Him, participating in the ministry that He began. Father, we thank You and praise You for this great privilege and ask, Lord God, that You would work, work by Your means of grace to strengthen Your children, that we indeed might be encouraged and enabled to follow our Savior. We ask this in Jesus' name.