The Call to Be a Radical Disciple - June 5, 2011

This summer we are starting a Vineyard School of Leaders. I had the privilege of launching the first week of teaching. THe overseer of the program (Jim Egli) gave me the Radical Disciple topic and here's a snapshot of what that talk looked like.

OPENING

RADICAL – child of the 80’s… BMX bike racing… lame slang word used in surfing and Xtreme sports.

Dictionary definition: extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms: a radical change in the policy of a company. Favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms: radical ideas; radical and anarchistic ideologues. NOT superficial.

Disciple: follower of Jesus Christ

So a radical disciple is an extremely different follower of Jesus who is not artificial, but authentic!

Jonah Veggie Tales Movie: Show clip of chapter 5.

Jonah Story: explain the tension of the Jonah story - He is the example of a non-radical.

4:11 1 “But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Part 1 – The INVASION of Radical Disciples

·      This is NOT a male only talk… This is about getting you to choose a dangerous path of FAITH.

·      Robert the Bruce says of William Wallace: “Uncompromising men are easy to admire.”

·      The call to be a radical disciple is the way of UNCOMPROMISING Christian leaders.

Unleash Your Faith

·      Who in this room has faith in God?

·      Hebrews 11:1-2 “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot see. God gave His approval to people in days of old because of their faith.”

·      Hebrews 11:33-38 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

·      Hebrews 11:38 (NIV) ~ The world was not worthy of them!

But do you have Untamed Faith

·      Tragedy to civilize our faith. (Rev 2:1-5 “forgotten first love”)

·      John the baptizer tells of Jesus’ different kind of life: Holy Spirit and with fire is in all four gospels (Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, John 1, Acts 2).

·      Jesus’ Invitation: the call is not to ‘come and listen’ but to “Come and Follow Me!” The radical way is about love, intimacy, passion and sacrifice

Challenge

·      Hebrews 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;* then you won't become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

·      Radical discipleship risks life itself for the freedom of others.

·      EXERCISE/CHALLENGE: write down an area in which you've compromised or become complacent in your faith.

·      REWRITING WALLACE: Yes, live the Barbarian Way and you may lose friends, respect or even your job. Sit still and you'll be comfortable…at least for a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance to start over and tell our enemies, our family and our friends that they may have good lives, but there will never, ever be anything like the freedom we have in Jesus!

Part 2 - THE CALL to a life of faith

DANGEROUS INVITATION: Mushroom Eaters: who in their right mind was ever hungry enough to think that eating a fungus/cooking up a fungus was a good idea!?!

-The men and women closest to God will most powerfully live out the raw and untamed spirit of faith.

churches have several versions of the Invitation

·      Civilized Version: Jesus died & rose, so that you can life a life of comfort, security and indulgence. (Diminishes life after death)

·      Simple-Minded Version: simply confess & believe and you’ll be saved from hellfire & torture, then you’ll go to heaven when you die. (Diminishes life on earth)

·      Jesus Version: Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me. (the real call)

·      Hebrews 11 folk: The were not disappointed, understood their call, and chose it willingly. For them love & sacrifice were inseparable.

·      CRUX: A world without God cannot wait for us to choose the safe path.

RISKY BUSINESS: If you’re hungry enough you’ll eat.

·      Jesus never lied about the danger or cost (Matthew 10 or 2 Corinthians 11), but invites us to a life of uncertainty, mystery and risk.

·      CRUX: To walk in the character of Christ is always the right choice, regardless of the outcome (Betsie and Corrie ten Boom). Instead of finding confidence to live as we should regardless of our circumstances, we have used it as justification to choose the path of least resistance, least difficulty, least sacrifice. Instead of concluding it is best to be wherever God wants us to be, we have decided that wherever it is best for us to be is where God wants us. Actually, God’s will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life.

CHALLENGE

·      “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matthew 11)

·      It’s time to rediscover the Call of Christ.

·      John the Baptist: Defied anyone who would deny the legitimacy of Jesus. He declared his subservience to  the purpose and person of Jesus Christ.

·      EXERCISE/CHALLENGE: will you commit today to telling the Father “not my will but yours be done”? will you choose to hear his voice despite the noise of every other voice pouring into your heart?

·      BAGGINS: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off too. Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?”

·      BAGGINS REWRITE: “It’s a dangerous business, friends, going out your door. You walk by faith, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where the Holy Spirit might sweep you off too. Do you realize that “The Radical Discipleship Call” is the very path that Christ took, and that if you let it, it might take you on lonely journeys, or even further or to harder places?”

Part 3 -OUR TRIBE - Who are you joining up with?

John 3 ~

“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. "Rabbi," he said, "we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you." 3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God." 4 "What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" 5 Jesus replied, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.*6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.*7 So don't be surprised when I say, `You* must be born again.'8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." 9 "How are these things possible?" Nicodemus asked. 10 Jesus replied, "You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don't understand these things?11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won't believe our testimony.”

BORN OF WATER

·      The entire focus of our faith has been the elimination of sin, which is important but inadequate.

·      It should be about the unleashing of a unique faith: you cannot meet God and remain unchanged. When God lives in you, there is transformation… you are no longer suited for a normal life.

·      Extraordinary faith: 1Peter 2:9-10 “Called out of darkness and into light!”

·      Original faith: If you are already a follower of Jesus and have been domesticated, you have lost the power to be who God intends for you to be. You must go to a primal place, a place in the presence of the Most High God and there be changed.

·      Wonderfully, untamed faith: Hearing God is not only normal, but essential proof of belonging to God (Jeremiah 31:33ff – “write on them, live in them, be their God and be my peeps”)

·      EwMc STORY – God doesn’t love me… yes he does… I want it to snow… fell asleep, she told everyone… changed her mind… drove me out of mine

BORN OF SPIRIT

·      Tribe of Irrational People: Noah, Elijah, David, Hosea, Moses… and these are the most popular ones.

·      These people and many like them were the radical tribe. Their stories began and ended with God. They were mystical warriors called out to advance the cause of the Creator of the universe. Every one of us is a follower of Jesus is called to join the SAME TRIBE, to live the same way.

·      The civilized build shelters and invite God to stay with them: the radical tribe moves with God wherever He chooses to go.

o   Civilized Christian has routine: radical tribe has a mission.

o   CC knows the letter of the law: radical tribe lives the law of the Spirit

o   CC loves tradition: radical tribe loves challenges.

o   CC is satisfied with ritual: radical tribe lives and thrives in the mystical.

o   CC has religious stability and certainty: radical tribe has risk and mystery.

·      My story of Jesus’ call to be a mouthpiece.

CHALLENGE

The radical call confronts us with all we love and all we fear. We resist love to avoid pain and squelch our dream out of fear of failure. For the Spirit of God to unleash dreams and visions within our souls, we must become free to risk and to fail. Every dream born of God is fueled by love. Every conversation to be had with God challenges the boundaries of our imagination. When we turn to God, His love transforms us and ignites a new passion within us. All that we have loved is consumed by the passion of a new heart. We discover the power and force of love in its purest form. At the same time, when we turn our hearts toward God, all of our fears are consumed by one fear. We are called to fear God only. There is an important reason for this. What we fear is what we’re subject to; our fears define our master. Where there is no fear, there is no control. When we fear God and God only, we are no longer bound by all of the other fears that would hold us captive. God will not hold us captive by fear though, but by love. Join the TRIBE that allows for us to live out dreams greater than ourselves. A place to have our dreams nurtured, developed and unleashed.

·      SEE the invisible.

·      HEAR the inaudible.

·      Exercise/Challenge

CHARACTER (Yoda)

LUKE: Oh, no. We'll never get it out now.

YODA: So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?

LUKE: Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different.

YODA: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.

YODA REWRITE:

YOU: Oh, no. I can’t change the way I live my life.

Jesus: So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Haven’t you heard what I said?

YOU: Master, going to church is one thing… This is totally different.

Jesus: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned and follow me.

Part 4 -THE REVOLT

Two thousand years ago God started a revolt against the religion He started. So don’t ever put it past God to cause a groundswell movement against churches & Christian institutions that bear His name. If He was willing to turn Judaism upside down, don’t think for a moment our institutions are safe from a divine revolt.

Violent Engagement

There is a revolt taking place, and its command center is the kingdom of God. Everywhere the kingdom of God advances, there is a violent engagement against a dark kingdom. To be born of God is to be made a citizen in the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is at war. Do not confuse this kingdom with paradise. Salvation is not reentry into a Paradise Lost; it is enlistment in the mission of God.

Engage it within the church

·      The sellers of goods had made access to God a business. They had made forgiveness something you could purchase. They had made the guilt and shame of others the marketplace for their profit. They had made the house of God into a den of robbers & thieves. They had become so good at religion that they had no need for God. They were so full of themselves that they had no room for God. When it came down to it, they loved their religion far more than they longed to know the God who created them. They treasured the civilization built around their religion and despised the Radical Faith from which it was born. They would rather have the temple than the Presence of God.

·      When our faith is refined, we are no longer dangerous to the darkness.

Engage it within the community

·      The driving purpose of this Revolt is to liberate every person who longs to find freedom in God.

·      Robert the Bruce vs. His Father "Compromise vs. Charging forth with Passion."

·      Too often we say, “Good needs to be done, but someone else will take care of it.” The Revolt tolerates no such abdication of responsibility. Every citizen of the kingdom of God is brought into the heat of the conflict between good and evil. Everyone who swears allegiance to Jesus bears responsibility for humanity.

·      When you enter the kingdom of God, there is no safe zone or waiting room. There really isn’t even a boot camp. It’s on-the-job, on-the-field training.

Love Untamed

Radicals measure only heart and action.

Untamed for God

·      No one has loved more deeply than God. Has anyone ever been more betrayed? God would not know suffering if He did not know love. But because He is Love, He chose to suffer on our behalf. Without love there is no glory in suffering.

·      Robert the Bruce: "I Don't Want to Lose Heart!"

·      2 Chronicles 16:9 God sees our hearts and looks for those in whom there is nothing false. The barbarian hides nothing before God. The revolt is led by those who are not ashamed.

Untamed for People

·      The most insulting thing that Jesus said or did was to become the friend of sinners. (Luke 5:27-32)

·      Passionate heart for the world.

·      The civilized Christian does what is right out of fear; the radical does what is right out of love. The Christian civilization is held together by rules and rituals, the Revolt is fueled by the passion of God and guided by the mission of God.

·       If you choose to live your life in this way, if you make the insane decision to live your life for the sake of others, if you choose to follow the One whose call led Him to the brutality of the Cross, and if you embrace His invitation to take up your own cross and follow Him, then it has begun. If you dare allow God to unlock your spirit, He will unleash the raw and untamed faith within. Then you will know you have chosen the radical way out of civilization and into the fullness of the Kingdom of God!

CHALLENGE

·      Unite us… Robert the Bruce: Although the force of one person fully committed to God is tremendous, it pales in comparison to the force of God’s people moving together.

·      BEES swarms, ANTS colonies. WHALES pods. FISH schools. CATTLE herds. BIRDS flocks. LIONS pride. CROWS murders. TIGERS ambush. BUZZARDS committee. FLAMINGOS flamboyants. OWLS parliaments.

·      “Crashing Rhinos.”

·      We don’t have to pretend we know the future. Who cares that we can see only 30 feet ahead? Whatever’s at 31 feet needs to care that we’re coming and better get out of the way!

GROWING PAINS from May 8, 2011

Check out my latest talk, which was the 2nd installment in our DESTINED series entitled "Growing Pains."

http://thevineyardchurch.us/podcast

March 19-20, 2011 -- Jesus, the Master Giver

PODCAST: http://thevineyardchurch.us/sec.php?p=podcast&perm=76


Sermon OPENING
I LOVE CHRISTMAS… The energy in the air. The food. The family time. The celebration.

But Christmas is ALSO an amazing time of year that really gets me excited to see people’s faces. I love the look of excitement and anticipation right before my family (especially the kiddos) open their gifts. There is something priceless about that excitement when they first tear into their packages. You’ve pondered and shopped and agonized over the gift and this is the moment of joy!

Based on the example of our friends Matt & Michelle: Every year, we have decided to give our children only 3 gifts. Why you may ask! Well, we want to be able to teach them the story of Jesus (and his 3 gifts) and to teach them that it’s not about how much you get, but about giving to others. Grandma and grandpa have also adopted this with them.
We also encourage our children give a gift first to grandparents, aunts, etc. before they are able to open their own. We want them to learn the joy of GIVING not just receiving.

Nice story, BUT the wrong season… or is it?

Today, we embark on our 4th phase in our Grow series. We’ve talked about how to EAT God’s word, how to PRAY God’s word, how to radically LOVE and today we launch into how we…

GIVE to LIVE!

Today, we launch into how to surrender our stingy-NESS and open up our hearts to giving. We truly begin to grow in our lives when we GIVE. Often I have heard the story of many people who tell me that the church just isn’t feeding me enough OR we’re not going deep enough in our teachings… true growth and depth will come out of GIVING of ourselves.

If on Christmas, all my children ever did is receive… they’d miss the point of Christmas, Easter and the church.

Opening Prayer
Welcome guests and campuses.


Sermon BODY
We cannot go on this journey of how to GIVE without looking at the life of Jesus. There are 1,000s of people who give of their resources to worthy causes because they feel it’s the right thing to do or it makes them feel better about themselves or they feel guilty due to a news story OR a cry for help on TV. Heck even American Idol has an “Idol Gives Back Night!” (explain it).

But that’s not what this is about. This is about JESUS. Jesus is the one who lives inside us as believers. Jesus is the one who empowers us to live a life of generosity! When we surrender our lives to him, we surrender our lives to following his example.

This whole series we will be encouraging you to be EATing and PRAYing through the book of Luke. Take note of how he spent time with the Father and how he radically LOVEd others…. And through all of it look at how Jesus was/is THE MASTER GIVER.

Listen to Jesus’ heart as he taught his followers about giving in Luke 6:38 (NLT)
“Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Do you hear Jesus’ heart? We determine our growth by either being stingy or by being generous with our lives! And friends, this is not just about your cash. This is about the act of your heart. This is about your life being lived generously towards others. We don’t want this GIVE series to be about you surrendering just your resources (though for some that may come into play), but about you surrendering your lives to follow Jesus, the Master Giver’s EXAMPLE… so how did Jesus live a generous lifestyle?

 The Master Giver gave of his… Time
o (Luke 4:18-19 in the Message) “God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!"
o Compassion – always having time for those around him.
o Healings – always being ready to say “can I pray for you right now?”
o Preaching – always ready to tell of God’s great story in your lives. (Your story is powerful!)
 The Master Giver gave of his…Abundance (Luke 9)
o Authority: Jesus sent out the 12 to “do the stuff” of the Kingdom. It wasn’t the Jesus show, but about loving his followers so much that he wanted them to partner with him… Zeke and the bookshelves ILL.
o Feeding the 5,000: Jesus was willing to meet the practical needs of those around him. Whatever he had, even though it was little, he was willing to share because he knew the principle of God’s abundance (6:38) being poured out when we share our abundance. Good place to intro $ as a heart issue.
o Fullness of the Kingdom: Jesus wanted to share everything the Father had given him in order to bless those around him. All of the light and life that was in him! All of the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit that the Father had blessed him with. That’s what he wanted to share. He refused to be stingy with the Father’s gifts and power. Friends, share all that God has blessed you with even the smallest things!
 Everything
o His Life  Share the gospel here!

Wrap Up
For me preparing this sermon, it was helpful and encouraging to see that Jesus gave so much in life, in death and even today… but we can’t stop with just a nice lesson on Jesus! Because the mission of the Vineyard is to “Continue the Ministry of Jesus”… we want to “do the stuff” of the Kingdom which means:

 If Jesus GAVE then we are to GIVE.
 If Jesus was willing to lose his life for the Kingdom, then we should be ready to lose our lives for the Kingdom.
 Again: Giving is not a resource issue, but a heart issue!
 We want you to give of your time, abundance & life because through giving you find TRUE LIFE in Jesus. When we surrender our stingy-ness we become generouse.
 This is the nature of the upside-down Kingdom (last and first)… we grow by being generous.

When I was a kid everyone wanted to be Michael Jordan (tell story).

Our #1 action during this series is for you to “Emulate the Master Giver!”
Emulate his generous lifestyle that flowed out of his love from the Father!

 Give Your Time: Volunteer, serve, read the book of Luke
 Give out of Your Abundance: Give to Live collection (details soon), resources
 Lose your life for the Kingdom! Luke 9:24 (NLT) “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”
Surrender your WILL to Jesus & obedience to a generous lifestyle will follow.


 When we lose our lives for the Kingdom, we join with the Vineyard’s Vision to IMPACT our world here, near, and far away!
 Whether you choose to give of your time to volunteer at your local campus OR your resources to the “Give to Live Collection”… or whether you commit to finding God’s heart in the book of Luke during this season or recommit to tithing to the Vineyard… or even if you jump on board with one of our church planting teams or pursue a life serving our missions in Mexico and China… all of these things will help you GROW.
 Overwhelmed? Mother T told us to just “find the person in front of you.”
 Reflect the heart of the Master Giver…
 Answer the call of: “Give to live!”

STORY: Woman in our church inspired by Di’s message on radical LOVE… gave a ride to girl with lice… God opened the door for her to give to 3 more people… shared with another woman at Vineyard… she, in turn, stopped and helped a homeless man that week with food & prayers. She literally gave money, time and love to the homeless person!!

Let me close by reading you our key text again, but this time in the Message translation:

Luke 6:38 (MSG)
“Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”

Closing Prayer

March 4, 2011 - LEADERSHIP RALLY SERMON

In the fall of 2000, I found myself profoundly impacted by going to the National Missionary Convention in TN that year. I learned a lot about city kids and hammers (tell story). But for me, 2 important things happened during that weekend:
1) I was introduced to Lost and Found (S&G kind of 2 man group) that sang 4 kinds of songs: spell out words, clap twice, say “no” and slow songs… one of their songs was called COST… the verses are fun and interesting, but the chorus is this: “Count the cost. Count the cost. Count of love before it breaks your heart.” Which leads me to #2
2) The preacher that weekend told a sermon about getting out of the saltshaker… you see he said that we were all salt in this giant 5,000 seat auditorium that needed to get shaken out and bring our FLAVOR to the world…

So what did I need to do? I needed to COUNT THE COST of how I was going to serve Jesus with my life…

You see, we count the cost in every single thing that we do…
• For that trip I had counted…
• We do for food, clothing, shelter… budget
• Cars, houses, toys, stereos, video games, televisions… big purchases/debt.
• But it’s more that that! What about marriage, children, adoption… the huge stuff.
• Taking or leaving a job… friendships… relationships… moving/staying
• In all of our life we must count the cost.

As leaders, we have to count the cost of what it means to fully give our lives to the gospel of Jesus…
Tonight is a leadership Rally. Which means, we want to thank you, thank you, thank you for giving your time, talents and money to serve at the Vineyard. We want this weekend to be FUN. We want it to be empowering and life-giving to your ministry. Tomorrow, we want you to see how you are joining with this incredible move of God’s Kingdom across Illinois. (Mention all campuses).

But, I want to ask you
“Have you counted the cost of the love it will take to lose your life for the gospel of Jesus? Have you counted the cost of losing your life for the good news?

…and it is good news, ya know 
Jesus died for us. He ransomed all of us from sin and death. He conquered evil and every dark think because He loves us and wants all of human history as a part of his family. That’s really, really good news.

PRAYER

 
Tonight, if you’ve got your Bibles, we are going to be in the gospel (the good news) of Mark.

This passage is Jesus talking to his team and asking them ARE THEY READY to count the cost? Before he sends them out to do Kingdom stuff. This is where we find Jesus in today’s passage. He’s asking them questions. Are they ready to hear what Jesus will ultimately do on his mission to bring about God’s Kingdom?


27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”
29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”
30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things,
33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
9:1 Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!”
 
(Foot in mouth disease )Peter says, YES… but he wasn’t ready. Peter didn’t realize 3 truths…

The cost of following Jesus is losing control.
• Jesus’ question led to Peter’s confession… ok, maybe they are ready to hear the cost.
• Peter’s confession led to Christ opening up about his suffering… his cost.
• Christ’s openness led to Peter’s questioning… we’re not ready for that cost.
• Peter led to Christ’s revelations on the Kingdom… Here’s what it will cost!
• brings the crowds into the convo.  It’s time to get in line! (get behind me and follow).
• It’s time for our faith to become our faith. Not our parents, our church’s or our friends…ours.
• Jesus knows his role in the Kingdom is to LEAD. The disciples (we) seem to forget that we are followers and need Jesus. As Matthew 5:1 says – “God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.” Are you ready to be a floater?

The cost of following Jesus is no earthly reward.
• (cross video) M. Moore: Join the revolution whose leader chose to die… grab a cross (guillotine, electric chair) and join a movement that is destined to end in you losing your life for the cause. (wearing a cross necklace)
• If you do this, you will find TRUE LIFE in Christ. If you don’t, you will lose everything this world holds dear at some point… it all ends in ashes, meaningless.
• Your soul matters… your flesh does not! Are you ready to serve without a crown?

The cost of following Jesus is stepping out of your comfort zone!
• Initial Leadership Requirements are: Taking core classes (KH, SG Train), become a member at Beginnings, becoming a tither, and then after coming to VLT/Rally.
• But after that: Boldness matters… standing up for the King and his Kingdom matters!
• Many of us need to let go of our lives and let the Holy Spirit fill us.
• Are you ready to step out in faith? (How to train Dragon) Are you ready to lose everything for what you believe in?

CONCLUSION
Is it worth it?!
YES
9:1 –see the Kingdom
Matthew 16 –keys to the Kingdom
End with beginnings talk?

9:1 – The Kingdom will come in power upon those who (a)choose to follow, (b)submit completely to the will of Christ, and (c)who walk boldly with His gospel

OR as Bob Shimmin put it this week… “We enter the Kingdom with a bowed head, a bent knee and a willingness to serve.”