chapter 9 and when you find it you can say amen and we'll know that you're there not hard to find this morning Luke chapter number 9 say man when you found it and the Hopefully I feel a little better this morning than I felt last Sunday morning. Last Sunday morning I felt like I was, man, something was happening to me. And of course I was sick on Sunday and Monday and Tuesday, but fortunately I feel much better this morning. But Luke 9 and verse 57, this is what the Bible says, And it came to pass, that as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee, whatsoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, Submit me first to go bury my father. Jesus said unto him let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. Another also said, Lord, I will follow Thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Now what I'm going to preach on this morning is a simple little thought of following Jesus, following Jesus. And let me tell you, if we're going to follow Jesus, amen, sometimes you've got to put our seatbelt on so we can follow Jesus, amen. Because following the Lord sometimes can be, it can be, it can be a an experience that it's hard to describe sometimes, the places and the things the Lord would have you to do. But that's what we're gonna preach this morning on following Jesus. Let's pray. Father, bless the word as we preach this morning on following the Lord. And I know the last, God, 37 years of following you have been, Lord, the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my lifetime and the places that we've gone and the things we've done. And Lord, following the Lord is such a great thing. And God, may we all resolve in our heart that we're gonna follow you. Lord, as you called your disciples, you simply told them, come and follow me. And God, you're still saying that today, come and follow me. And God, if we could follow you and walk in your footpaths and do those things that are pleasing, God, how pleased and how blessed we would be. Father, bless the word now, guide my heart in life, and guide my lips, I pray in Jesus' name, amen. This morning as I preach on this thought, of following Jesus. And you know, the Christmas season was about the Lord, and we think about the Lord at the Christmas season, and we think about how He came into this world, and how He came to give His life, and He came to show us the living in a better way. You know, I think when it comes to following the Lord, let me say this this morning, I think it's commendable to follow the Lord. It is. To want to follow Jesus is the greatest decision that you will ever make in this life. And that's simply to follow the Lord. We have that Psalm, I have decided to follow Jesus. In verse 57, As Jesus is speaking to the multitudes, there's a man who makes a decision to follow Jesus. And that's what it says, "...it came to pass, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee, whatsoever thou goest." That's a bold statement to make, considering Jesus Christ was going to go a lot of places. You know, by the time Jesus Christ's journey came to an end, he was at the cross of Calvary. And you know, there was only one person, one of his disciples there, and that was John. When you make your decision to follow the Lord, let me tell you something, that's a decision sometimes, boy, it's commendable to follow the Lord, but there's a consideration to make when you make that decision to follow the Lord. Because you never know where following Jesus is going to take you. Amen. There's no way of knowing that and the things that God will ask you to do. Throughout the Bible, men that decide to follow the Lord, they were surprised some of the places that God asked them to go. So there's a consideration in verse 58, Jesus Christ says this, And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nest, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay." It said, you know, if you're going to follow me, you may not have a place to sleep at night. Amen. If you're going to follow me, there's some things you need to think about. I was thinking about that song, I have decided to follow Jesus, and then I thought about that verse where it says, though none go with me. Hey, sometimes following Jesus can be a lonely, lonesome path that you follow. Because not everybody can follow everywhere Jesus goes. I remember when James and John said, Lord, we want to sit on your right hand. And he said, are you able to drink the cup that I'm going to drink? And they said, Lord, we're able. And he said, you shall indeed drink the cup. What was the cup? The cup was the cup of death and suffering. Let me tell you, be careful what you ask for when it comes to following Jesus because Jesus went into death at the cross of Calvary and surely James and John were to follow him and James met his death first at the hands of Herod when he was beheaded at Easter. And again, following Jesus, there's some consideration when it comes to following the Lord. There's some cost. In verse 59 and 60, it says, And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go bury my father. And Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. If you're going to follow the Lord, there's going to be some cost. And that song I have decided to follow Jesus says, the world behind me, the cross before me. Hey, if you're going to follow the Lord, then sometimes you've got to leave some things behind, leave some things you love behind. Often, often, some of the things we leave behind is family and friends and finance and the things of this Lord, this world, the future, things that we've thought about all our life. Sometimes, if you're gonna follow the Lord, things have to be left behind. If you look at Luke chapter number 14, and boy, what a difficult saying some of these verses are in the New Testament, but yet they're New Testament truth to this day. In verse 25 of chapter 14, the Bible says, and there went, great multitudes with him. And he turned and said, And if any man come to me and hate not his father and his mother and his wife and his children and his brethren and sisters, yea, in his own life, he also, he cannot be my disciples. Let me tell you something. There's some cost involved in following the Lord. You know, when Peter decided to follow the Lord and Jesus said, Follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. Do you realize that he had a wife and he had children? And for three years he forsook his wife and his children and he followed Jesus. Now you say, what does following Jesus mean? Sometimes you got to leave some things behind. Is that a hard saying? Is that a difficult saying? Surely it is. I was teaching the Sunday school this morning talking about David Livingston and when David Livingston went to Africa to be a missionary, Africa was a dark and a very dangerous place when he went there in the 1800s. And as he went, he took his wife and his children with him and it didn't take him long to figure out that if they stayed with him, they would meet an early death upon the mission field. So he sent his wife and his children back to England and he ministered on the field there in Africa. Can you imagine that that was an easy decision for a man to make? But yet that was a decision that had to be made. Hudson Taylor, on the other hand, he took his wife and his children and kept them on the field and they met an early death. First he buried his three children and then he buried his wife. And then he married again and he buried his second wife and buried his other children there. Except for two that he sent back to England to a boarding home where his sister ministered to them. But can I tell you that he did a great work in China? He did a great work in China. But were there some costs? If you're going to follow the Lord, surely there'll be some cost along the way. It's commendable to follow the Lord, but there'll be some cost in following Jesus. There's always been cost in following Jesus. And that's why following Jesus is not a decision that's made lightly. when it comes to serving the Lord. Many have believed in Jesus Christ and then been martyred within minutes of believing in Jesus Christ. When Idi Amin had his tyranny that was taking place over in Uganda and he was murdering and butchering Christians, he would bring them to the football stadium and he would command them to deny their faith, and if not, they were put to death. One particular Christian was there and refused to deny his faith, and he was put to death for his faith. And at that moment, one of his executioners, seeing how he died and seeing his faith, immediately confessed Christ as his Savior. And immediately, he also was put to death. Sometimes you say, well, you know, following Jesus means pie in the sky, by and by, and there's never going to be a hardship. No, that's not true. Following Jesus, many times, there's much difficulty in following Jesus. If they crucified our Savior, and they did, how much more shall his disciples and those that follow him have difficulty and hardship? This thing of following the Lord. Is it great to follow the Lord? Yes, it is the greatest thing in the world to follow the Lord. But there is some cost. It's commendable, there's a consideration, but there is some cost in following the Lord. And then there's a commitment, there's something that's required here. There's something that's required when it comes to following the Lord. If you look in verse 61, back in our text here, in Luke chapter number 9, and notice what it says in verse number 60, Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead. but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. Another said, Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. You know, this thing of following Jesus. You know, remember that song, I have decided, and the last chorus is, no turning back, no turning back. You see, following Jesus is a lifelong commitment. It's a commitment. It's a contract to follow the Lord. When Abraham began to follow the Lord, he understood that there was no turning back. Will you look with me in the book of Hebrews for a minute? Hebrews chapter number 11. And we're talking about following the Lord. Abraham followed the Lord. until the day of his death. Notice what it says in Hebrews chapter 11, Paul's testimony of Abraham and his faithfulness to the Lord. In verse number 8 it says, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned to the land of promise, as a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God. Skip down to verse 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed them that they were strangers in pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country, and truly If they had been mindful of the country from whence they came out, they may have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly, wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He had prepared for them a city." Now, you think about Abraham for a minute and what God asked him to do when he left Ur of the Chaldees. Could you imagine the day when God asked him to take his son to Mount Moriah and offer him for a burnt sacrifice upon the mountains? Now remember, he'd already sent Ishmael away. I was teaching this in Sunday school for a few minutes, making a point, but the ideal here is, hey, sometimes God asks you to do some difficult things that requires unusual commitment. Now Abraham had faith in God that God could do anything, amen. Should we have faith in God that God can do anything? I mean, absolutely, we should have faith in God that he can do anything. As parents, what do we want our children to do? We want them to obey no matter what, right? Does not God ask the same of us and you and I? And God asked Abraham, he said, Abraham, take Isaac, your only son Isaac, whom you love so much, and take him up there to the mountain and offer him as a burnt sacrifice wholly unto me. Now, let me tell you, you talk about taking some commitment. Now, when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, did he ever think that he would find himself on Mount Moriah with his son tied up on the altar as he stretched forth the knife? Did he ever think that God would require such a thing of him? But God did require it. Now, thank God, we know what happened. God provided a lamb, hallelujah, and Abraham didn't have to, but he wanted Abraham to be willing. You see, following Jesus is a willing thing. No one's going to take a stick and beat you and make you follow Jesus. You have to want to follow Jesus. You have to decide in your heart that you want to follow Jesus. So many of our young people struggle as they go through life deciding whether or not they're going to follow Jesus. And usually the struggle, many times, lasts up until they get into their 30s, where they're still in their 20s and teens, struggling whether or not, what it means, and if they're going to follow Jesus. And what a sad thing that is, because following Jesus is a rich and a rewarding thing. You ask anyone in the Bible, whoever followed Jesus, and they'll say, thank God I follow Jesus. But following Jesus requires some things. I want to look at in the next few minutes here what it means to follow Jesus, what it requires to follow Jesus. As Jesus talked to these men about following Him, and asked them to count the cost, and talked to them about what it entailed to follow the Lord. You say, what does it mean to follow Jesus? Well, it requires labor and service for Christ. Labor and service for Christ. If we're to follow Jesus, you know what it's going to take? Work. People say, is it work to follow Jesus? Oh, it's hard work to follow Jesus. You know, there's nothing easy about following the Lord. Nothing easy about that. Nothing easy about hey, walking the path that God would have us to lead when it comes to this kind of thing. You know, the Bible says in verse 61 of our text here, or verse 62, And Jesus said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plow, looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Have you ever plowed anything? Now, we had a couple of gardens this last year, and I borrowed Brother Butch's rototiller. And you think with a rototiller, it's easy to plow the garden. You think that, right? Marcos, is it easy to plow the garden? It is not easy to plow the garden. And can you imagine if you had a mule out in front of you, and you got the plow, and you're hitting the mule, but what do you got to do? For you to plow, you got to do what? You have to hold on to the plow. You have to set the plow. Something may be pulling it, but you still have to guide it. You still have to hold it. And let me tell you, it is hard work to plow the garden. I let Marcos plow half the garden, and I plowed half the garden. And let me tell you, we plowed it three or four times until we got it to where we wanted it to be. But he found out in a hurry, it's not easy to plow the garden. And Jesus said, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Hey, if you're going to follow the Lord, there's going to be some hard work involved in serving Jesus Christ. And many times we think, well, I want the Lord's work to be easy. There is no easy Lord's work. There's nothing easy about anything in the Lord's work. You say, well, I want an easy job. I'll take care of the kids in the nursery. You're insane. There's nothing easy about taking care of little kids in the nursery. You say, well, I want to take care of the kitchen. You're really insane. There's nothing easy about that. Well, preacher, give me an easy job at church. There is no easy job at church. There's nothing easy about serving Jesus Christ. But see, we're geared to easy. Psalms 126 verse 5 and 6 says, "...they that sow in tears shall reap in joy." Why are they sowing in tears? Because it's not easy to work for the Lord. "...they that sow in tears shall reap in joy, and he that goeth forth and weeping, weepeth bearing precious seeds, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." It's work to bring people to Jesus Christ. It's hard work. When David Livingston was in Africa, that famous reporter wrote to him and says, Send me an easy path to Africa so I can come and find you. And he wrote him back and he said, Sir, if you're looking for an easy path to Africa, you need not come because there is no easy path to Africa. There is no easy path to serving Jesus Christ. There are no cushy jobs when it comes to serving the Lord. This modern day Christianity that we live in today, let me tell you, when it comes to serving the Lord, these things don't ever come together. This ideal of serving the Lord is a serious thing, and it requires hard work. It's a humbling work. If you're going to serve God, you've got to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. In Matthew 20, if you look over there for a minute, As Jesus Christ sits at the last supper there with his disciples, and the supper's ended, and Jewish custom, when a supper is ended, you always have the servant come around and minister to those who sat at the supper. And a servant will come around, and wash the guest's feet and tend to the guests and take care of them. But at the Lord's Supper here, the final supper, it's the 12 disciples and Jesus and nobody else. And you can see the dinner is finished, the meal is over, and they're looking at each other and they're thinking, well, who's going to wash our feet? Who's going to minister us? Who's going to serve us? And let's pick it up there in verse number 20, and notice what it says. I want to make sure I'm in the right spot here with the verse that I want it. That's not it. It's John 13. We'll come back to that. John 13. Sorry about that. John chapter number 13. And I got ahead of myself. John 13 and look at verse number 4. John 13 and in verse number 4. And this is what it says in verse number 2, "...and the supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon's son to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he was come from God and went to God, he rise from the supper and lay aside his garments and took a towel and girded himself. And after that, he poured water into the basin and began to wash his disciples' feet and to wipe them with a towel wherein he was girded. Then he cometh to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do now, thou knowest not, but hereafter thou shalt know. Hold on one second here. Excuse me. And Peter said unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And Jesus said unto him, He that is washed need not to save to wash his feet, but he is clean every wit, and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him, therefore said he, you're not all clean. So after he had washed their feet and had taken his garments, he was set down again, he said unto them, know ye what I have done unto you? You call me master and lord, and ye say, well, for so I am. If I then, your lord and master, have washed your feet, ye also are washed one another's feet, for I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done unto you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord, neither is he that sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, Happy are ye if you do them. Now, what is he trying to get across here? Hey, we're supposed to be servants one to another. Now look back in in Matthew chapter number 20. Let's pick that in Matthew chapter 20. You see, pride is one of the things that keeps us from following the Lord and from being the servant that God asked us to be. In Matthew 20 in verse 20, then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping, desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant these my two sons may sit one on the right hand and the other on the left in my kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, You know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of? And he baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. And they saith unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with. But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them to whom it is prepared of my father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called on them and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your what? Minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your what? Servant, even as a son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many." There's got to be humility. You know, as Christians, if we're going to follow the Lord, it's about serving. Serving the lost, serving the saved, serving our communities, serving one another. I can hear people say, well, I didn't sign up for that. What did you sign up for? You say, well, I signed up to follow Jesus. You know what that means sometimes? Sometimes it's wiping some snotty kid's nose. Sometimes it's picking up the trash. Sometimes it's vacuuming the floor. Sometimes, hey, being a servant of God or doing menial things, taking someone a meal, helping someone, you know, push their car along. Sometimes being a servant of Christ is doing the simple things of life. We pulled up here just yesterday and there's some ladies were picking up a TV and I thought to myself, Man, the 1970s want their TV back. And I thought, why would someone want a big old console TV in the 21st century? I mean, this is the day of flat screen TVs, right? I mean, this is the day of all the technology, the smart TV, and all that kind of stuff. And man, they're out there, these two ladies, and they're struggling with this thing. And I said, I told Lisa, let's pull over and help them get that thing in the car. And I'm thinking to myself the whole time, and they're putting in a little, small little, small little SUV thing. And I'm thinking to myself, why would they want that? But I thought, you know what? God wants me to give these folks a gospel track. They live right here in East Ridge. They were picking it up right over here on Fruitland. And I said, well, I said, can I help you with that? And they said, oh, would you please? I said, yeah, we'll help you with that. And, you know, old console TVs, how heavy they were, and picked it up and got it in there. I said, let me give you a gospel track, tell you about the love of Jesus Christ. You see, following the Lord sometimes is doing the menial things of life. Doing those servant type things to be a help and a blessing to someone else. And following the Lord, hey, there's going to be some hard work involved. There's going to have to be some humility involved. People say, well, I don't want to wash your toilet. What do you want to do? What is it you want to do? You know, I don't want to serve a table. What is it you want to do? You know, I always marvel in my mind when people think, well, what is it you want to do? Do you want to sit on the platform and let everybody see? Is that what you really want to do? Now, there's more to sitting on the platform with someone looking at you than sitting on the platform with someone looking at you. You say, I want to sit on the platform. Good. You see these keys? We call that responsibility. You want responsibility? You got it. There's responsibility that goes along with that, right? There's more to sitting on the platform than just sitting on the platform. There's more to standing behind the pulpit than standing behind the pulpit. Hey, when that call comes in at three in the morning, that's part of that, right? When you're there weeping at the bed of someone who's just died, that's part of that. When you're there at that car accident and it's difficult, that's part of that. When you're there helping someone change that flat tire, hey, that's part of that. You see, following the war requires some labor and service, some hard work, some humility in our life. I can think about, I used to laugh during the first, I remember the first war in Iraq and all the reserves came back and they were so upset. And they said, we didn't sign up to fight. You mean you signed up in the military and you didn't plan on fighting? You're kidding me. What is the number one thing that soldiers do? They fight! That's what soldiers do! I don't know if you remember seeing our soldiers who were captured by the Iraqis. Even during the second Iraq war, they were captured. And they were cooks, and they were service personnel. But when the battle got ahead of the supply lines, and they captured those people, and they were just terrified, and they thought, I never dreamt in a million years that I'd ever be in battle. No, if you sign up in the military, you're going to be in battle. People say, I signed up to go to college. No, they fooled you. You signed up to fight. That's why you went to basic training. That's why they put a rifle in your hand and taught you how to shoot because you're going to Afghanistan. You're going to Iraq. You're going to Europe. They're painting our vehicles green as fast as they can paint them because they're preparing for that war in Europe that's on the brink of happening. I tell all these young people, don't let the $25,000 signing bonus make your decision. You can make that anywhere in America. Because when you sign up, you become part of Uncle Sam's property. And he demands service. My sister's nephew, by marriage, his name was Billy, he signed up to go to Iraq. They gave him a $25,000 signing bonus. He had a year to prepare himself to go, and he did. When it came time to go, he told my sister, he said, Aunt Wout, I don't want to go. He said, I know I'm going to die. I'm so scared, I know I'm going to die. She prayed for him. She said, Billy, I don't know what to tell you. He said, I took the money and I spent it. I know I have to go, but I'm going to die. Billy went, and he was killed the second day he was there. You see, this thing of every decision we make has a consequence for the decision we make. You see, there's some cost involved with following. Lord. There's some cost involved with joining the United States Army. There's some cost involved in the decisions we make in our life. You say, why don't anything do with God? Don't worry, there's some cost in that decision also. Following Jesus requires some labor service, some hard work, some humble work, some sometimes harrowing work. I remember the first time I knocked on the door how scary that was. He says, is it scary to knock on a door? It must be because it's hard to get people to come to visitation. Right? You ever gone up to a stranger's door and knocked on the door and had a gospel tract in your hand? That can be a pretty scary thing. The first time a person preaches, that can be a pretty scary thing. The first time someone teaches Sunday school, that can be a pretty harrowing thing. The first time you go to the mission field, the first time you preach on the street, the first time you pass out tracks, the first time you share your faith and witness. It was funny, we had the testimony service, some of these teens were shaking. They want to testify, but they're scared to death to stand up and testify. Some of the adults want to stand up and testify, but they're shaking on the inside. Hey, serving the Lord sometime, it can be pretty harrowing. God's gonna ask you to do some things. God's asked me to do some things. I thought, boy. And the Lord said, yeah, I want you to go do that. I want you to go talk to that scary person over there. I said, Lord, they're scary. They're six foot tall. I mean, they're not looking very happy to see me. They got a beer in their hand. And the Lord said, good, I want you to go talk to them. You see, serving the Lord and following Jesus Christ, Again, it requires something, some service and some hard work. Can I say this? Not only service and hard work, but sometimes, sometimes, sometimes loss and suffering. Paul gives us credentials in Philippians chapter three, if you'll look over there. You say, well, if I serve Jesus Christ, I'll have a million dollars in the bank and I'll never have a care in the world and there'll never be another problem. Don't make me laugh. Serving Jesus Christ might just be the opposite. Philippians chapter 3 says this, and finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord to write these same things unto you. To me it is indeed, it's not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of concision. For we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit. Rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh. Now here's Paul's credentials. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I am o'er. Circumcised the eighth day for the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, is touching the law of Pharisee. Concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteous was in the law blameless. Now look what he says, "...but what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless I count all things but loss. For the excee of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." You know, it was Jim Elliot that said, when he was martyred in Ecuador, he said, "...he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep for that which he cannot lose." Jim Elliott wanted to see them Indians saved and them unreached people. And Nate Saint and the other two men that went with him. And they literally gave their lives for those people. As the arrows pounded into their body and took their life, and their bodies were found there floating in the river, lifeless bodies, they had determined that Nothing was more important than bringing these people to Jesus Christ. And it was through their death that brought those tribal people to the foot of the cross. It was through their death and their sacrifice. They had guns in their hand. They had rifles. They could have killed those Indians, but they didn't come to kill them. They came to bring them to Jesus. You see, following Jesus sometimes requires something more. It's loss and it's suffering. It was said that the blood of the martyrs was the seeds of the church during the Reformation, and it was true. If you look in Mark chapter number 9 and verse number 34 this morning, Mark 9 and verse number 34, boy, isn't this so different from the contemporary Christianity that's preached and practiced in the day in which we live? You know, where everybody's gotta be comfortable, and everybody's gotta be satisfied, and everybody's gotta be happy, and there can't be any discomfort. Now, let me tell you, if you're going to follow Jesus, there's going to be some discomfort. There's going to be some discomfort in life. Mark 9, and in verse number 34, notice what it says there. And let me get my spot here. And He came to Capernaum, and being in the house, He asked them, What was that you disputed about among yourselves, by the way? But they held their peace by the way, for they disputed among themselves who should be the greatest. And he sat down, calling the twelve, and said unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them. And when they had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one such child in my name receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me receiveth not me, but him that sent me. The verse I'm looking for here is where Christ went on to say and talking about his life there, and I think I missed the verse. Look in verse number... Oh, let's see here. I'm not seeing it, but where he says we're about losing your life for Christ's sake. He that would gain his life must lose it. And the idea of sacrificing and giving of what you have for the Lord. Look in Mark chapter number 10 in verse number 28. Mark 10 and in verse number 28, Peter said this, Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospels. But he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, and persecutions. And a world to come, eternal life, but many are first, shall be last, and the last first. You know, this idea of living for the Lord and giving of your life is such a serious thing. And if you're going to serve the Lord, then obviously there's going to be some loss and suffering along the way. Sometimes loss of freedom, liberty, choosing to do what's pleasing to God instead of what's pleasing to oneself. The Bible says we're bought with a price and therefore glorify God in our bodies because we belong to the Lord. You're not your own anymore. And so we're at Christ's bidding and to follow Him means that there'll be loss sometimes. Knowing loss and suffering, but living in sacrifice. Romans 12 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by mercy of God, that you present your body in living sacrifice, pleasing unto the Lord. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Was it Paul that said, I die daily, dying to self? If you look in Luke chapter number 9, back where we started here in Luke chapter number 9, this idea of dying daily, dying to self, dying to our desires. Luke 9 and verse number 23. And notice what he said, he said to them all, if any man come after me and let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantage if he gain the whole world and lose himself or be a castaway? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory and his father's and of the holy angels. Now, when it comes to this thing of this living sacrifice and dying daily for the Lord, you know, it's something that God has asked us to do, and to do it dutifully. It's a reasonable service. After all that Christ has done for us, is it unreasonable to think that we should come to church, give offering, pay tithes, pray, witness, testify, live holy, be kind, be honest, trustworthy? Is that too much to ask considering that what Christ has saved our souls from hell and prepared us a place in heaven? And then takes care of our every need? And the Lord says, all he simply says was, come and follow me. Come and follow me. If you look at the 12 disciples, all Jesus said was, come and follow me. You know what Jesus is still asking today? He's saying, come and follow me. But Christ never asked us to follow Him blindly. You understand that? He says, He tells us what to expect when we follow Him. There will be pain, there will be difficulty, there will be problems. But can I tell you whether you follow Jesus or not, there's going to be pain, there's going to be difficulty, and there's going to be problems. Whether you follow Jesus or not. Hey, there's going to be terrible things that happen in this life just because they happen. Wouldn't you rather follow Jesus and know that He's holding your hand through the difficulties than not follow Jesus and not know that God is with you? Can I say this this morning? When it comes to following the Lord, there's labor and service, there's loss and suffering, there's living and sacrifice, and there's leading and there's soul winning. The Bible says no man liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself. No matter who you are, can I say this? Someone is always looking up to you. And they're looking to your example. And it will be the determining factor of how their life turns out. You say, well, no one's looking up to me. Someone's looking up to everybody. I have to laugh sometimes. Little Karina on the bus is so cute. And I have to laugh sometimes these little girls on the bus. I mean, these little boys on the bus and, you know, Marcos, big old Marcos, right? Big old tall Marcos. He'll go to the door and they'll give him a big hug and they'll wrap their legs around him. And Marcos thinks, nobody's looking up to me. Oh, somebody's looking up to you. They don't give you a big hug and wrap your legs around you because they're not looking up to you. Gabriel, those little kids on the bus, you think they're not looking up to you? Oh, they're looking up to you. And if you're not there, guess what? Your seat is missed. Some of the families in church, someone won't be here for a few weeks and the kids come, where is brother so-and-so? Where is sister so-and-so? What does that tell you? Somebody's looking up to you. Somebody cares whether or not you serve the Lord or not. Somebody cares whether or not your seat is empty. I'm always amazed when people leave the church and they so carelessly leave and they don't even think about how many people are affected by them leaving. Especially when they leave for the stupidest of reasons. You say, Brother Chris, what's a good reason to leave the church? There's only one good reason to leave, it's because God told you to. And there's no other good reason to leave. You know how I spent 23 years at Bible Believers Baptist Church? Because God never told me to do anything else. Right? If you do what God tells you to do, you're not going to have a problem. You know, I've been pastor for 14 years, one of my 14th year at Fellowship Baptist, because God hasn't told me to do anything else. We were 14 years in mission service because God didn't tell us to do anything else. And when God did tell us to do something else, hey, it was a glad, it was a bitter and a sweet, but a glad and a happy thing because we were moving to the next thing that God had told us to do. And we were able to be sent off with love and happiness and joy. That's where folks make their mistake. because they don't never find the Lord and what he's telling them to do. Following Jesus means sometimes you might be somewhere where you're not enjoying it at that moment. But that doesn't mean God doesn't want you to be there. If I told you this morning that I agree with everything Brother Vic did over 23 years, a period of time, if I couldn't stand here and say it, I'd be a liar. And over 23 years of serving at the church, there were many times Brother Vic wasn't happy with me either. But you know what? It wasn't about that. It was about where God wanted us to be and what we were supposed to be doing. No matter where you go in life, you're going to find sometimes you're not satisfied. Do you always like your job? Now, if you say you do, I know you're lying. Not everybody always likes their job. Do you always like your lot in life? Not always. Hey, I'd be lying if I said I always liked being a preacher. There are some times I get up on Monday morning and I don't feel like being a preacher. But guess what? I'm still a preacher. You see this thing of following the Lord and walking with Him and obeying His voice and doing what He says and realizing that what God's giving you to do is bigger than what you are. Because every decision you make is affecting someone else. I've seen men and women get out of church and not even think what's going to happen to their children when they do it. I have seen people get out of the ministry and not even think what's going to happen to those around them when they do it. I have seen men and women, my goodness, change their direction in life and not even consider what was going to happen to everybody around them when they made that decision. The Bible says our life is a book that is known and read of all men. And we all have a sphere of influence and we all are ministering to somebody. And what we do matters to somebody in our life. I don't care who you are, where you are, or what your age is. Our life's a book. But what kind of book is it? What kind of book is it? In Psalms chapter number 90, and we'll bring it to a close. In Psalms 90, if you'll look there, as the psalmist writes in Psalms chapter 90, and he speaks of his life and his life as being a tale that is told. In Psalms 90 verse 9 it says this, Is not that what I've said this morning? Is there not strength, labor, and sorrow? There is. Who knoweth the power of thine anger, even according to thy fear, so as thy wrath? So teach the number of our days, and we apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O Lord, how long, and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. When we think about the days of our life and our book being a, our life being a novel, our life being a book that people read, a tale that's told, But what kind of tale is it? Is it a book of life that brings people to God? Is it a book of sorrow and death and heartbreak and tragedy? Is it a porn book? Is it a fiction novel? Is it a biography of God? What is our life? My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it really does mean something to follow Jesus. But the million-dollar question is, have you made that decision? You see, following Jesus is not something you do when you feel like it. Following Jesus is something you do all the time. That's the decision, I pray to God, that we as Christians would make that decision. And make it seriously. So as Jesus said, no man having put his hand to a plow, looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. You see, there's no turning back once you make that decision. Do you think I could ever go back to being anything else but to be what I am? You see, when God's called you and given you direction, there is no turning back. Because anything else is second best. Could you imagine ever going back and not living the Christian life now that you've lived the Christian life? Now that you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good, do you really think there'd be any happiness or contentment in going back to the old life without Jesus Christ? Where Sunday meant nothing? And the people of God meant nothing? And the services mean nothing? You see, following Jesus means there's what? no turning back. Let's stand for prayer.