"Total Surrender"
Not A Fan Series- Matthew 19:16-26
Sunday, March 3, 2013

Introduction: Dieting can be a challenging experience for many people. They decide they want to take off some weight, so they commit themselves to going on a diet. Once they’ve chosen their diet, they begin to only eat what they are allowed to eat. Maybe they even start working out some (which is actually very important to pair up with a diet). The problem for most people, is that they only stay committed to the diet for a short time. Maybe they see all the good food that they are missing. Maybe they find that they don’t have the willpower needed to be on a diet. Whatever it is, the commitment level is not there, and so they can’t follow through on their goal.

            When we set goals, we have to understand that there are personal sacrifices that are involved. Usually we have to give something up to achieve our goal. We have to give to get. This is how it is when you are seeking to be a follower of Jesus Christ. A fan will give only a little time, a little effort, a little money. A follower needs to choose to be fully committed to following, or it won’t happen!

I.                   Denying yourself- (Luke 9:23; Matthew 19:16-26)

a.      Saying no- To be able to move from being just a fan of Jesus, to being

a follower of Jesus, we have to learn how to say “no” to ourselves. Let’s listen again to Luke 9:23, (Jesus says) “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” There is a very challenging phrase in there that says “deny himself.” In Luke 9:23 Jesus makes it clear that if we are going to follow Him, we cannot have a “no-strings-attached” arrangement.

            Last week we talked about coming after Jesus. We talked about how when we come after Jesus, we are pursuing Jesus in love. We cannot come after Jesus without denying ourselves. We have to learn how to say “no.” The idea from Jesus here really means that we need to deny our own existence, in the sense that Jesus is primary, and we are secondary!

            We don’t usually talk that much about denying ourselves, because we live in a culture that stresses independence and fulfilling our needs. It is not appealing to talk about denying ourselves. How do we deny ourselves in a culture that is all about the individual?

            In Matthew chapter 19 we meet a man whose name we don’t know, but who we refer to as the rich young ruler. This man has followed a path that has led him to great wealth and power. This is actually the path that so many in our world are on. In verse 16 we see this man come to Jesus with a question. He asks: “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

            This man is asking Jesus how he can get to heaven. The question itself is good, but his assumption is not. He asks what he must do. All his life he has achieved his wealth and power on his own. He believes he can achieve eternal life for himself as well. Jesus issues a challenge to the man; the challenge of what it means to be a follower. Jesus says in verse 21: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. THEN come, follow me.”

         Jesus wants the man to understand that to be a follower he has to deny himself. To receive from Jesus the man has to give up what controls him. The man has to make a choice: follow Jesus, or the path that leads to money. He can’t follow both! In the end, the man could not give up his possessions, and so he remained a fan.

b.      Living in denial- It is not uncommon in other countries that when a

person accepts Jesus and commits to follow Him they are no longer welcomed by their families. To make a decision for Jesus means they have to give up their family.

There are times in our following Jesus/   that we have to make choices to give up things or re-prioritize our lives. We have to choose Jesus over our family. We have to choose Jesus over our career goals. We have to choose Jesus over money. We have to choose Jesus over freedom. A follower makes a decision every day to deny themselves and choose Jesus!

      When we sacrificially deny ourselves for Christ’s sake it is the clearest and best evidence that we love Jesus. It is not enough for Jesus just to be our Savior. If Jesus is our Savior, then He must be our Lord as well. If He is our Lord, then we will sacrifice what we want for what He wants. This is how we show we love Him, because love is demonstrated by sacrifice.

EX. The other day Tami bought a chocolate cream pie from Marie Calendar’s for the family. The first two days we each had a piece of pie. However, the third day there were only 3 pieces left. Tami volunteered to not have a piece. Tami showed her love for us by sacrificing her place. This is a simple illustration of how sacrifice shows love!

II.                No exceptions-

a.      Making Exceptions- Many who are fans of Jesus get by without denying themselves/

by compartmentalizing their lives. They try and negotiate terms of the deal to Jesus. They might say: “I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t expect me to forgive people when they hurt me.” OR, “I’ll follow Jesus, but don’t think that I’ll give up ten percent of my money.” On and on the exceptions go.

            In the book UnChristian, Barna research reported that 65 percent of 18-42 year-olds in America have “made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important.” That sounds like a pretty good number of people. On the surface it sounds as if our country is still a majority of Christians. But the better question is: “How many of those people are true followers?” You see, people want to say they are Christians, because they want the benefit of eternal life. Yet, many haven’t really committed to Jesus and become a follower!

            When we see more of the research we learn that only 23 percent of those people believed that sex outside of marriage is wrong. Only 13 percent believe that getting drunk is a sin. And on and on the list goes. They say they are Christ followers, but they do not follow much of the Bible’s teachings.

b.      Selective commitment- What is going on here is selective commitment.

They choose to commit some areas of their lives, but not every area. The problem is that Jesus never left open the option of selective commitment. When you say “yes” to following Jesus, you don’t get to say which parts of your life you will give over. When you become a Christian, by definition you are saying that you will give over every area of your life to Jesus; to your Lord.

            Selective commitment is actually a trend in our society. There was an interview on MSNBC where they interviewed a member from the new vegetarians. The woman said this: “I usually eat vegetarian. But I really like sausage.” This new group of vegetarians will eat vegetarian, unless they happen to like some meat. This trend has definitely hit the Christian faith. People follow Jesus, unless there is something else they like, and then they will follow that.

            Following Jesus requires complete and totally commitment. As the rich young ruler wanted to follow Jesus without saying no to himself, so we can be led to believe this same way. We have to understand that following Jesus requires personal sacrifice. Following Jesus requires we say “no” to ourselves.

III.             The fine print-

a.      Success by number- Whenever you sign a contract it is important that

you (or a lawyer who represents you) reads the fine print. You want to make sure you know everything that is being required of you. It is not a good thing when you find out later that something was in the contract that you didn’t know about.

            You see, fans tend to come to Jesus asking: “What can Jesus do for me?” Whereas, followers come to Jesus asking: “What can I do for Jesus?” The first is a consumer mentality, the second is a mentality of sacrifice. This has actually come about because of the collision of American capitalism and Christianity. Because this idea of capitalism has infected our society, we come to church and to Jesus with this same frame of mind. We have to learn to get rid of this thinking if we want to be a follower!

            Many companies measure success by the number of customers they have. This same criteria has seeped into the church. Many churches see success by the number of people they attract. Therefore, churches try and design programs to attract people. They want the people to be comfortable and happy. They want to show people what they have to offer, because they know people are “church shopping.” If they don’t like one church, there are many more to choose from.

            Can you see how this undermines the invitation of Jesus to deny ourselves? The invitation of Jesus is “give up everything” and follow me. The invitation of Jesus says, “deny yourself.” Because churches often don’t have the same message as Jesus, churches tend to get fans and not followers.

b.      Slaves in the Bible- The Bible has a different definition of a follower

than most churches today. The Bible’s definition is that of a slave. This is exactly the opposite of a consumer. To truly get a picture of what it means to “deny yourself,” it is good to look at this picture of a slave.

            A slave has no rights. A slave has no possessions that they can call their own. In Jesus’ day, a slave didn’t even have a personal identity. Slaves don’t get time off for themselves. Slaves couldn’t negotiate contracts. It might surprise you that many followers of Christ,  in His day, troduced themselves as “slave.”

            When Peter began 2 Peter, he didn’t introduce himself by saying “Peter, a good friend of Jesus.” He starts off by saying: “Simon Peter, a slave…”John, Timothy, and Jude all give themselves this same title. James begins his book by saying: “James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…” The Apostle Paul did as well when he said in the book of Romans: “Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus…”

IV.              Being a slave- (Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 19:22)

a.      Servant verses slave- Because slave is a common word used for

followers, it isn’t surprising that Jesus is often called Lord. When Jesus is called Lord, we often think that it is because of His Divinity; His being God in the flesh. But in the New Testament, when His followers refer to Him as Lord, theyare not using the word Yahweh, but rather Kurios. Kurios is a slavery word. Kurios is the word given to the master or owner of the slave.

            The other word we need to understand is doulos. The word doulos can be translated as servant, but the better translation for it is slave. This is important, because a servant works for someone, whereas a slave is owned by someone! To take this further, we must understand that when we call Jesus Lord, we aren’t saying He is our teacher and we are His students. NO, we are saying He is the master and we are His slaves. This is what it means for us to “deny ourselves.”

b.      Sign me up- I would imagine what I’m talking about here might be a

lot to take in. We don’t like the idea of being anyone’s slave. We are free people living in a free country! This is the challenge we have to overcome mentally if we are to become true followers of Jesus. Becoming a follower of Jesus is really about willingly choosing to be Jesus’ slave. In the gospel of Luke, chapter 1 when Mary has the encounter with the angel Gabriel, and she is told that she will give birth to the Messiah, she responds in verse 38: “I am the Lord’s bondslave…” Mary knew that without complete denial and submission, she could not fulfill this call.

            When one becomes the bondslave to a master, that bondslave is giving up all their rights to the Master. The bondslave is also agreeing to give up all their possessions to the Master. Now this could be a problem if the Master is untrustworthy. This could be a problem if the Master is abusive. But Jesus is not that kind of Master. Jesus is the kind who loves us, and empowers us, and gives us a call of purpose and wonder!

            Why would anyone choose to be a slave? A person who chooses to become a slave is one who loves the master greatly. The person who chooses to be a slave is one who is blessed by being in the service of the master. Going back to the rich young ruler, after he chose to leave Jesus and not follow Him, it is said in Matthew 19:22, “He went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Do you see what is going on here? The rich young ruler wanted to follow, but he couldn’t because his wealth had power over him; power he couldn’t give up!

Conclusion: Illustration- Millard Fuller became a millionaire at the age of 29. He bought his wife everything she could possibly want. But one day he came home to a note that said his wife had left him. Millard went after his wife. He found her in a hotel in New York city. They talked all through the night. She explained to him that the things of the world had left her cold. Her heart was empty and her spirit burned out. She felt dead, and wanted to feel alive again. They knelt down together and prayed. God moved in their hearts and they decided to sell everything they had and dedicate themselves to God and to serving poor people. After that they started an organization called Habitat for Humanity!

            When Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, it is not just about giving up money or possessions, it’s about giving up on what we think we want and need, and seeking out and following what God wants and needs from us! Let us deny ourselves and follow Christ. Amen.

"An Invitation to Pursue"
Series: Not A Fan, by Kyle Idleman
Sunday, February 24, 2013- Luke 9:23-27

Introduction: We are now two weeks into our series on the book by Kyle Idleman called “Not A Fan.” We are talking about a journey we are taking to move from just being a fan of Jesus, curious about who He is, to becoming a follower. To move forward on this journey we must identify the areas where we are a fan; the areas where we are holding back on Jesus.

            Up to this point we have looked at a couple of stories of those who were fans and what made them fans and not followers. Inevitably Jesus would put them into a position where they had to make a decision whether or not they would commit themselves to Jesus. Jesus dictates to us what His terms are. Jesus lets us know what it means to really follow Him!

            John 3:16 is probably the most quoted verse in the Bible. There is a reason why this is so. In this one verse we read that God loves us. We also see that Christ died for us. We are told that God gave us His Son so that we could have eternal life through Him.

            Today we are going to look at another very important verse, but one that is not quoted as often: it is Luke 9:23. It is one of the verses that is quoted in three of the four gospels.

I.                   The Invitation is for Everyone- (Luke 9:23; John 3:16; Romans 3:23)

a.      No pre-qualifications necessary- In Luke 9:23 Jesus says these words:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” You can see how this verse is not a feel good verse like John 3:16. After hearing this verse I’m sure you understand why it isn’t as well known as John 3:16! It doesn’t make Christianity sound all good and rosy and comfortable. It would be much more difficult to recruit people to the Christian faith if this is the main verse we used. But the truth is, John 3:16 and Luke 9:23 have to go together in order for there to be an accurate understanding of the gospel’s invitation.

            Here is why that is true. John 3:16 emphasizes believing: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever BELIEVES…” Luke 9:23 focuses on following: “…take up his cross daily and FOLLOW ME.” These two thing must go together. There is no believing without following. If you don’t follow, then you didn’t really believe to begin with!!

            The last couple of Sundays we tried to identify where things stand in our relationship with Jesus. Over the next couple of weeks we will discover where Jesus wants to take us if we decide to follow Him. We are going to break down what this invitation in Luke 9:23 really means for us as Jesus clearly lays out His expectations of His followers. It spells out the terms so that we can know exactly what we are agreeing to when we say to Jesus that we will follow Him.

b.      Master- It is important to notice the first two words Jesus uses in His

invitation. He says, “If anyone….” The word “anyone” is significant because it makes clear who Jesus is inviting. Jesus is making His invitation open to all; all who would choose to respond to the invitation. Jesus doesn’t begin with a list of pre-qualifications like: those who are educated; those who have a great deal of money; those who have a special position; or those who don’t have any sin in their life. The invitation is given to ANYONE. This is good for people to put into perspective, because many people think that their sin disqualifies them, and so they think they can’t be a follower. People are used to having to apply for things, and sometimes getting their application turned down.

            EX. A number of years ago, when Tiffany was about 2, she colored on the front of our entertainment unit. Tami didn’t see her do it, but Tami noticed the blue crayon marks on the entertainment unit, and Tiffany was holding a blue crayon. When Tami asked Tiffany about it Tiffany said she didn’t do it!! Of course Tami knew she did because she was still holding the crayon.

            Most of us are hiding wrongdoings. Our worst fear is that someone will notice the wrong and realize what we are trying to hide; what we are denying. But because Jesus knows our wrongdoings, we think this disqualifies us to be a follower. Surely our wrongdoings will cause Jesus to scratch us off His invitation list. Why would Jesus want us?

            EX. This was probably true of Matthew. When are first introduced to Matthew in the Bible we see that Matthew is no longer trying to hide his wrongdoings. They were significant enough for his family and friends to write him off. He was probably a big disappointment to his parents. You see, Matthew had another name: “Levi.” To be given that name meant that your parents expected you to serve the Lord as the Levites in the Old Testament did. From birth Matthew was set aside to be a spiritual leader for the nation of Israel. Matthew’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all likely priests who served the Lord. By age twelve Matthew would have had the first five books of the Bible memorized. It is likely that he sent an application to the rabbi’s to become a disciple of one of them. But if he sent an application, it was turned down!

            Whatever happened, we know that something had gone wrong. Instead of serving the Lord, he decided to serve himself. Matthew became a tax collector. Matthew collected money from the Jews for the Romans! His job description was basically to unfairly take money from his people and give it to the Roman government. Not exactly a job that makes you popular with your people. Not exactly the career that makes your parents proud. Tax collectors regularly cheated the people to line their own pockets.

            We all have done things that have disappointed others. We all have had times when we didn’t measure up. We all have said things that we shouldn’t have said. We all have done things we wish we wouldn’t have done. As Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We might try to deny our wrongdoings, or cover them up, but they are there all the same.

            So every day Matthew would sit at his tax collector booth on a busy street. I’m sure he never imagined himself being in this career, but he was. What could he do now? There was a part of him that probably enjoyed the career, because it made him a great deal of money. Yet, when he stopped to think about what he was really doing, I’m sure he was even disappointed in himself. He would never be able to rid himself of the stain this career created in his life!

c.      Do you still love me?- Whenever kids are caught doing something

wrong, and their parents get upset with them, they always wonder: Do you still love me? We ourselves wonder this about Jesus. If my sin is what led Jesus to the cross, does Jesus still love me? Will Jesus still accept me?

            Matthew was wondering if his life was beyond saving. Then along comes Jesus one day, and Jesus said two words that would change Matthew’s life forever: “Follow me.” Here is a rabbi asking a tax collector to be one of His followers. It is hard to state how unthinkable this scenario would have been for those close by to hear. Matthew was given an opportunity to leave his sinful job, and be a follower of Jesus Christ; the Messiah.

            At this point in His ministry, Jesus was seen as a great teacher; even a Rabbi, although they didn’t know Him yet as the Messiah. When a Rabbi took on a student, it was a big deal, because he poured his life into the student. The student would give himself over to the Rabbi’s teaching.

            Matthew calls Jesus “lord.” The Greek work is “kurios.” A kurios is a master of his disciple. The disciple became like a slave (a doulos) to the master. The disciple gave up all rights to follow the master. This is what Matthew was choosing to do when he said “yes” to Jesus. Even more, Matthew was leaving a lucrative business to become homeless and follow Jesus!

            Anyone hearing this exchange would have been shocked. The other disciples of Jesus would have been offended. A tax collector? Really? He’s not only a sinner; he sins for a living. But this is exactly what happened. Instead of rejection, Matthew finds Jesus’ open arms and gracious invitation: “Follow me.”

            We have to understand that it truly is an open invitation. It really is an invitation for ANYONE. It doesn’t matter about your past; you are invited. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you are as good as others: you are invited. It doesn’t matter that your sins will be exposed: you are invited. Anyone means me. Anyone means you!                

II.                Come After Me- (Luke 9:23; Matthew 13:44; Psalm 63:8)

a.      Stories of Love- Jesus’ coming to this earth, and calling His disciples,

and calling you and me is really a story of love. Stories of love are great. In fact they make up many of the themes of movies, and books, and TV shows. Even the thriller movies always seem to have some kind of love story in it. This is because at the heart of who we are, we are created to love and be loved.

            I want you to think for a moment the first time you fell in love with the opposite sex. It was probably some time back when you were in your early teens. You went from thinking that the opposite sex was gross, to being very interested in them. Until you have experienced this kind of love, it is difficult to explain it to someone else. Some things, like love, don’t make sense until they happen to you.

            As I said before, in Luke 9:23 we have Jesus defining the relationship He wants with us. He makes it clear what it means to be a follower. Let’s hear Luke 9:23 again: “If anyone/            would come after me/            he must deny himself/

            and take up his cross/   daily/                  and follow me.”

We already talked about the word “anyone,” let’s next look at the phrase “come after.” It actually is a phrase that is used in romantic relationships. When Jesus says “come after,” he’s describing a passionate pursuit of someone you love. Remember how I told you that after about 3 months of dating, Tami slowed things down? Remember how I also told you that I continued to persevere. I was in essence coming after her. I was passionately pursuing her because I knew I wanted to be in a committed relationship with her. I wanted to marry her!

            Pursuing romantic love will make you do some crazy things. You might talk on the phone together all night. You might even set aside some responsibilities to spend time together. I remember that the first New Years Eve we were together, I was actually in the mountains with a friend. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about Tami. Ultimately I told my friend I had to go, because I felt I needed to spend New Years Eve with Tami. So about ten o’clock at night I got in my car, drove all from the mountains out to Camarillo (where Tami was) and surprised her. Fortunately when I got there she was still awake.

            Followers of Jesus should have some crazy “come after” stories. Stories that make people say to you: “That’s crazy that you would do that.” The problem is that many fans don’t grow up thinking about their relationship with Jesus in these terms. Following Jesus becomes more of a casual thing. You don’t get too carried away in your faith or your living for Jesus. You throw a few bucks in the offering and maybe help out a little here and there, but nothing too severe. But that is not how Jesus has defined the relationship.

b.      Pursuing with everything- Jesus wants us to understand that

following Him is a pursuit that requires everything we have. This is what makes people nervous, because often times they are not willing to make that kind of a commitment. In Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus tells a story called The Pearl of Great Price. This story gives us a picture of what Jesus had in mind when He invited us to come after Him.

            In Matthew 13:44 Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

            In Bible times people would often bury their savings in the ground. It was considered a safe place, especially in times of war or government upheaval. If they were killed, the treasure would be left unfound for years. This story Jesus tells describes how years later a hired hand would have found the treasure. Of course, when he discovers it, he can’t believe his eyes. He has come across a great find. Something that could change his life forever. However, it would only be his if he owned the land. So he hides the treasure, sells everything he has so he has the money to buy the land, goes and purchases the land, and know the treasure will be his along with the land! He knows this to be the best investment that he could ever make.

            Jesus’ point here is that there is nothing more valuable than having a relationship with Jesus! To have a true and solid relationship with Jesus means that we must rid ourselves of all things of value to us, so that we can focus fully on our relationship with Jesus. We should be willing to give whatever we have to gain this treasure of being a follower of Jesus. This is what a follower would do. A fan wants to experience ALL that is available to them, and so they are not willing to sacrifice the other parts of their life. Consequently, they will never truly know what it means to be a follower of Jesus. They will never gain the benefits of the treasure of Jesus.

c.      Lost that loving feeling- You see, God wants your time, your money,

your other relationships, your worship. It’s not because God needs these things, but He wants your love, and He knows that if you love other things above Him, then you won’t really be His!

            You’ve probably heard of the seven deadly sins. It turns out that there is nowhere in the Bible where these seven deadly sins are found as a “list.” The way they came about is that a number of years ago the Bible literacy rate was quite low, so some church leaders established this list of the “worst sins” so that people would know what not to do.

            There is one sin on this list that doesn’t appear to be so deadly. It is the sin of “sloth.” Sloth is laziness. Now while it is not good to be a lazy person, is that really deadly? The word for sloth is the word “acedia.” Sloth actually isn’t the best translation for acedia. A better translation would be “spiritual apathy.”

            The reason why it is a deadly sin is because God came into this world, in human flesh, in the body of Jesus Christ, and He died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and be restored in our relationship with Him, and a fan will just shrug their shoulders. The passion is not there. There is no pursuit. There is no commitment!

            A follower will not lose that loving feeling. A follower is excited when they first meet Jesus, and fall in love with Jesus. But because they are constantly pursuing Jesus, the love feeling never goes away.

            One of the things I tell couples in my pre-wedding counseling is to never stop dating. That is because it is quite common, after you get married, to fall into a pattern of staying home. Or even if they go out, it is to see these friends, or to go to an event. As dating is what brought excitement to the relationship before they were married, so dating “after” they are married helps to keep that excitement in the relationship. They are continuing to pursue each other in love.

            As Psalm 63:8 says, “My soul follows HARD after you…”

Conclusion: God wants us to passionately pursue Him. God wants us to do this by being fully into the relationship. God wants us to do things for Him that others will say: “That is crazy.” And to which you will say: “It’s because I’m in love with God!” God wants us to “take up our cross daily and follow Him.” This isn’t something we can do on the side. This isn’t something that we can do sometimes. This isn’t something that we do with a minimal amount of energy.

            NO! To passionately pursue God means that we follow Him with our whole being. We love God with our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. We have no other gods before Him. We in essence sell all that we have so that we can be ALL IN this relationship. We become His disciples; His children; His slaves. We give up being a fan, and become a follower.

            Let us give our hearts fully to God this day, and every day. Amen.

"Spirit Filled Following
Series: Not A Fan, by Kyle Idleman
Sunday, February 17, 2013- Matthew 23:1-12

Introduction: We are on a journey together. It is a Lenten journey taking us to a place of greater and deeper commitment to Jesus. It is a journey that is helping us to see what should be our focus. It is a journey that is allowing us to walk down the path that God has for us. It is a journey that will bring ultimate fulfillment, because when you live as God has designed you to live, you will experience fulfillment.

            Today we are going to learn how to let the Holy Spirit fill us so that we can be guided and directed by the very Spirit of God. This was Jesus’ intention when He left this earth. As He told His disciples in John 16:7, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you.” It is really only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we can be true followers of Jesus Christ. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can stay away from the things of the world, and commit ourselves to God.

            So, let’s spend some time Learning more of how to be “not a fan.”

I.                   Following Jesus Above the Rules- (Hebrews 11:6; Matthew 23:5)

a.      What is your target?- There is a heartbreaking story in the 2004

Olympics. The athlete was Matt Emmons. He was actually one shot away from claiming victory in the 50-meter three-position rifle event. He didn’t even need a bull’s-eye to win. His final shot only had to hit the target. Normally, the shot he made would have received a score of 8.1 and given him the gold medal. But in what was described as “an extremely rare mistake in elite competition,” Emmons fired at the wrong target! Standing in lane two, he fired at the target in lane three. Because he hit the wrong target his score was a 0. Instead of getting the gold medal he got no medal at all, because his 0 dropped him to eighth place.

            This is a picture of what happens to a lot of fans of Jesus. As I said last week, most people who are fans of Jesus believe themselves to be followers. The problem with fans is that they aren’t following Jesus. Without realizing it they are aiming at the wrong target. Instead of following Jesus they are following religious rules and rituals. They have confused the targets.

            In Matthew 23 Jesus tries to get the attention of a group of fans known as the religious leaders. The irony here is that they are devout religious people. In their time, if you would had asked someone to identify a follower, it would be these religious leaders. They knew the Scriptures better than anyone. They were known for observing the laws of God. They kept the rules better than anyone.

            When Jesus comes He helps people understand that the laws and rules are not the target. This is because the laws and rules help you to “look good” on the outside, but not on the inside. Their hearts were not in tune with God and God’s ways. Their hearts were not guided by love and compassion, as God’s heart is.

            In Matthew 23 Jesus gives what is known as the seven woes. These seven woes are directed at the religious leaders. Seven times Jesus says to them “Woe is you…” He isn’t offering them counsel or advice. He is opposing them because He doesn’t want the people to be confused with how God wants them to live. These woes are a warning to the religious leaders, the people around them, and to us!

b.      The hard work of a fan- We need to understand that fans work hard.

They are committed to doing the right things. They want others to think that they are spiritual people. They are trying to “please” God with their actions. But while doing good things has its place, we are told in Hebrews 11:6a, “And without faith it is impossible to please God…”

            EX. There is an interesting story about Andre Agassi. If you don’t know who Andre Agassi is, he was a famous tennis player. For years he was one of the top players in the world. He turned pro at the age of 16! He won eight Grand Slam titles in his career, which lasted 22 years. It turns out however that he never liked tennis. He writes these words: “My dad decided before I was born that I would be the number one player in the world.” He started practicing seriously at age 7. On the outside you would never have guessed that his heart wasn’t in it. He put in countless hours of practice. He was one of the best at what he did. But he was wearing a mask, because he never chose it. As a result there was no love.

            The reason why we can’t please God without faith is because without faith our heart will never be in serving God. You may work hard at trying to do all the right things, but not love what you are doing. You may serve in the church so that others will think good of you, but you will not love what you are doing. You will be working hard, but for the wrong reasons. Your heart will not be in it.

c.      Becoming more focused- The main problem that Jesus had with these

religious leaders is that they were hypocrites. Meaning that they would teach one thing, but practice another. Eight times in Matthew 23 Jesus calls them hypocrites. The word hypocrite is from the Greek ancient classical theater. Often a single actor would play several different characters. To change characters they would just hold up a different mask in front of their face. As Jesus says of the religious leaders in Matthew 23:5, “Everything they do is for show.”

            Jesus does tell them to obey and do everything they tell you to do, but do not practice what they do and preach. Hopefully, if I lived differently than the messages I preached, you would see it and call me on it. At least I would think that you would not follow my example. Although people follow the wrong behaviors of leaders all the time.

            Jesus here is trying to get people to see what’s on the inside of the religious leaders lives, and challenge people to match the inside with the outside. Fans struggle to do this.

            To become more focused then as a follower you must choose love over laws. Not that laws aren’t important, but they are designed to lead us into good and loving behavior. Legalism leads to loveless practice. You are only concerned with what is the “lawful” thing to do.

            EX. A man named John, dressed in blue jeans, walked into a bank to finalize a business transaction. The teller told him that the person he needed to see wasn’t in, and he would have to come back the next day. John then asked the teller to validate his parking ticket. She said to him that she couldn’t since he didn’t make a financial transaction. He said he intended to, but couldn’t because the person he needed wasn’t there. She then responded: “I’m sorry; that’s our policy. Rules are rules.” So John decided to make a business transaction. He decided to close his account. John last name was Akers. John Akers, the CEO of IBM. He then closed his account of one-and-a-half million dollars! The teller was then able to validate his parking sticker.

            The teller was so into the rules that she failed to care for the customer. God wants us to be concerned about love. If we love others, then we will be following God’s main law. Love God, and love others. Fans are concerned with rules, followers are concerned with following God’s ways. Fans miss what really matters. Followers care about what matters to God the most.

II.                Spirit Filled- (Acts 1:8-9; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

a.      From where the power comes- If I were to say the word spirit-filled,

many people are not sure what that means. That is because churches often time don’t talk much about the role of the Holy Spirit and the person of the Holy Spirit. That is one of the things I like about the Alpha program, is that there is a whole section on understanding who the Holy Spirit is, how we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, and what that means to us.

            Fans fail to see that the Spirit of God is how God resides in them. They fail to understand that God’s Spirit is what empowers us and enables us to truly live for God. Fans try to do everything on their own power, forgetting that they have access to the very power of God. Followers have discovered that it doesn’t work without the power of the Spirit.

            EX. I have been taking cholesterol medicine now for many years. Because of this I have to get a blood screening every year. This last visit the doctor was concerned with my Thyroid. He wanted to put me on some medication that he believed would help me with my energy level. I told him I thought my energy level seemed fine. My doctor, being a Christian, then said to me: “Yes, but we don’t know if that is because you are Spirit-powered!”

            Jesus said to His disciples in Acts 1:8-9, just before He ascended into heaven: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to all the ends of the earth.” After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”

            Fans may try to follow Jesus out of their own strength, but followers are empowered by the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament it talks about God with us, but in the New Testament it says God in us. This is an important discovery for us. Because of Jesus, His followers will have God in us.

b.      The Breath of God- In Genesis, when the Bible talks about Adam

being created, it says that he was created from the dust but had no life. It then says that God’s Spirit (the Hebrew word Ruach) was breathed into Him. It was then that he was filled with life. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive the breath of God, the life of God, the power of God!

            Because of this, it is okay that we have weaknesses, because in our weakness we seek God’s power, and we are then made strong. As it says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

            The Apostle Paul understands that living in the power of the Spirit means shining a light on our weaknesses. This is what fans find most difficult. Most fans have learned to make sure everyone knows about their strengths, but that no one finds out about their weaknesses.

            The only way to be filled with the Spirit is to empty yourself of you. When you empty yourself of you, it provides space for the Holy Spirit to fill you. The more of you that you try and bring to the forefront, the less room there is for the Holy Spirit. The more you try and do it on your own power, the less of God’s power will be there for you to use. We have to choose moment by moment, day by day, will we seek to live on our own power, or on God’s? Fans live on their own, followers live on God’s power!

III.             An Open Invitation- (Matthew 7:13-14, 21; James 2:17)

a.      Open your eyes- My prayer is that this series would help you to be

open to God’s Spirit’s presence and awaken your soul to the kind of relationships God desires to have with you. I want you to be able to stand before God and be identified by Jesus to be a follower of His.

            EX. A couple of weeks ago my family and I were going up to Big Bear to have some time away and to ski. We had written down the directions and were going along I10. We passed one exit for Big Bear, but I knew there was another one that would take us up the backside of the mountain. However, not knowing the way very well, I passed that exit as well. We were driving for a while when Tami finally said: “Chris, you passed where we were supposed to get off.” We discussed this for a bit, all the while going farther out of our way, and then finally agreed that I had. We then had to backtrack to get to our exit.

            In Matthew chapter 7 Jesus talks about two different roads that lead to different places. He says in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gat. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

            Many people take the wrong road and only few find the narrow path. If that is true, it is worth our while to regularly slow down and evaluate if we are followers of Jesus, or not. Donald Whitney once said: “If a person is wrong about being right with God, then ultimately it really doesn’t matter what he or she is right about.”

b.      It’s not just about what you feel- In Matthew 7:21 Jesus makes it

clear, when He says, “Not everyone who says…but only he who does…” Jesus makes a clear distinction between fans and followers. We cannot be comfortable with separating what we say we believe and how we live. The world has convinced so many that if they sincerely believe something, then it is true. We must get our truth from the words of Jesus and the words of the Scriptures!

            EX. If we were to take a survey asking the question, “Do you believe it’s important to eat right and exercise?” many would say “yes.” But if you would analyze how people live, and eat, you would see that they often live contrary to their belief as they eat double bacon cheeseburgers and double chocolate fudge cake.

            Here is what fans do: they confuse their feelings for faith. But your feelings aren’t faith until they are expressed. For example, you may see someone in need, and to help them would require you to sacrifice something for them, and you feel God tugging at your heart to help, but then you don’t follow through. You might “feel” bad for them at first, but it doesn’t manifest itself in action. In James 2:17 it says, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Conclusion: So let me conclude with a couple of questions. Question 1: “Do you think you’re on the right road because of what you’ve done? Ultimately what will determine if you are a fan or a follower isn’t what you say or what you do. No matter how much good you do, no matter what you accomplish for the kingdom, that’s not what makes you a true follower. Jesus gave many examples of this. Those things matter, but only to the extent that they reflect your answer to this next question. Question 2: “Do you know Jesus, and does Jesus know you?” That is what Matthew 7 is all about, when you get to heaven will Jesus say that He knows you? Jesus identifies His true followers based upon an intimate relationship. How you will know that you are His true follower is that this relationship will radically change your life. You will love differently. You will care about the things of God more. You will seek to be more giving. You will have increased patience. You will experience more peace. All these things and more will manifest themselves in your life when you become a follower of Christ.

            Jesus has defined the relationship He wants with you. He wants completely committed followers. Amen.

"Defining the Relationship"
Series: Not A Fan, by Kyle Idleman
Sunday, February 10, 2013- John 6:60-69

Introduction: As you look out at many churches today, you see that there is a trend to water down the gospel to make it more appealing for the masses. People want their churches to grow, and so they think that they have to change the message of Jesus so that it is more accessible to the average person. But if you look at Jesus’ teaching, you see that He never watered anything down; He gave it to the people straight.

            Think about the teaching of Jesus when there was a big crowd. The message He usually gave was one that caused people to leave. For example, in John chapter 6, Jesus is probably teaching to a crowd of more than 5,000 people. At this point in His ministry Jesus has never been more popular. Word has spread about His miracles, His healings, and His teaching. The people are there to cheer Him on!

            As the day goes on the people are getting hungry. Jesus has the disciples feed them with the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish that He blesses. That night Jesus crosses over to the other side of the lake with His disciples. The next day the crowd sees Jesus over there, and comes to Him. Jesus knows it is because of the miracle He did of feeding them. Now Jesus wants to change the tone of His relationship with them. Jesus tells them: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry…”

            They then start complaining because they wonder who Jesus really is. They know Him as the son of Joseph. They wonder how He can give them His flesh to eat. They misunderstand what Jesus is trying to say. John 6:60 tells us: “When many of His disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’”

            This morning we start our Lenten Series “Not A Fan.” This book was written by Kyle Idleman, and challenges us in our thinking in regards to our view of Jesus, and our relationship to Jesus!

I.                   Those Who turned Back- (John 6:61-66)

a.      Response to Jesus’ teaching- When Jesus says that He is the bread of

life, He is basically stating that He is the only thing on the menu that matters. At this point the crowd has to decide if Jesus will satisfy them, or if they are hungry for something more, or something different.

            Jesus responds to the questioning of His hard teaching in verses 61-63, “Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”

            Jesus is aware of their grumbling. Jesus is aware that His teaching is challenging for them to accept. At this point He doesn’t back off of His teaching or try and making it easier to deal with. Rather, He tells them that His words are full of Spirit and life. His words are what will give them the true life. His words are what will help them overcome their fleshly ways, and lead them into the life they were meant to have.

            The people had come to see Jesus. They had experienced a miracle from Jesus. They were excited at the possibilities of what Jesus could do for them. They were thinking about themselves, and for their own selfish needs. So when Jesus challenges them about Him being the bread of life, and about needing to follow the will of God over their own, they didn’t like that teaching!

            Jesus understands that His teaching will send people away. We know this because Jesus says in verses 64-65: “‘Yet there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.” It seems that Jesus isn’t concerned with the ones who didn’t believe. He isn’t even concerned about the ones who somewhat believe, but will stop believing when He speaks the truth. This is not because He doesn’t care about them, but rather because He knows that if someone isn’t a true follower, the world will lead them away from Him. Jesus knows that His disciples must know the whole truth, and accept the whole truth, and follow the whole truth.

            And then we are told in verse 66: “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.” Many of those who are fans of Jesus turn to go home. It might surprise you that Jesus doesn’t chase after them. Jesus doesn’t decide at this point: “I better soften my message to make it more appealing.” Jesus doesn’t send the disciples after them to tell them that there will be an ice cream social later. Jesus seems to be okay with the fact that His popularity will change once His full message gets out!

b.      Not the crowd, but the commitment- For Jesus, we need to

understand that it is not the size of the crowd that He cares about, but their level of commitment!! Jesus came to make disciples, not fans. He wasn’t here on this earth to get people to like Him, or accept Him, but to accept His message.

            This should be a challenge to us as a people of God, and as a church. It shouldn’t concern us what people think of us when we speak the message of God, but rather that we are speaking the truth of God for all to hear and know. We shouldn’t change Jesus’ message to try and make Him look more appealing, but rather should speak the message Jesus spoke, just as He spoke it.

            EX. Let’s say that in a number of years, when my daughter is old enough to get married, I decide to help out. So I put an ad in the paper that she wants to get married. I put an ad on a billboard. I make up t-shirts begging someone to choose her. Maybe I even offer some attractive gifts as incentives. Does that sound like a good idea? Hopefully you say “no.” Why? Because all of this will cheapen who she is. It makes it seem like whoever comes to marry her is doing her a favor.

            I WOULD NEVER DO THAT! I have a high standard for who I think should marry my daughter. I will want to meet whoever she dates, and especially the one who wants to marry her. I want her to have someone who is committed to her, and devoted to her, and loves her with his whole being.

            This should be true for us as we are telling people about Jesus. We should want people to discover what it really means to follow Jesus. We should make sure we talk about repentance, and surrender, and brokenness, and the death that sin brings.

II.                Choosing to Stay- (John 6:67-69)

a.      Staying or leaving?- Jesus then turns to His main disciples and says to

them in verse 67: “You do not want to leave too, do you?” In other words, Jesus is asking them, are you going to be a fan too, or a follower? Jesus is asking them if they are going to stay or go. Jesus is giving them the opportunity to make a full commitment to Him, not just for what they think Jesus can and will do for them, but rather for how Jesus will affect their lives. Their response? “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe that You are the Holy One of God.”

            Jesus turns to us and asks us the same question: Are you a follower? You might want to quickly answer: “Jesus, You know I’m a follower.” And then you give Jesus the reasons you think you are a follower: I have a Christian sticker on the back of my car. You go to church regularly. You own more than 3 Bibles. You serve in the church. It says “Christ Follower” on your Facebook page.

            However, you might be quick to say that you are a follower, but do you really understand what this means?

            In Matthew, chapter 7, Jesus tells of a day where everyone who has ever lived will stand before God. On that day many who call themselves Christians and identify themselves as followers will stand confidently in front of Jesus, only to hear Him say, “I never knew you. Away from me.” You cannot just assume that you are a follower of Jesus, you must make a full commitment!

b.      Defining the relationship- If Jesus will say these words to some who

think they are followers, how do we determine if WE really are followers of Christ? This is where the DTR talk comes in. If you don’t know what DTR stands for, it stands for Define the Relationship. You know how in every romantic relationship there is that time where you have to determine the level of commitment? You get to that point where you decide you are serious about the relationship, and want to make it serious, or you will break it off and go your separate ways.

            EX. When Tami and I were first dating, I think I got more serious about the relationship than she did. In fact, after 3 months, I knew I wanted to marry her. At this time Tami was actually quite busy with her golf career, and didn’t necessarily need to be in a committed relationship. She actually told me that we needed to slow down for a while. About a month after this, with some perseverance on my part, we decided to have the DTR conversation. We then decided that we believed this was a serious relationship, and continued forward, getting engaged at 6 months, and married after 13 months!

            As you define the relationship with Jesus, I want you to imagine you are sitting at a table in a local coffee shop, and in comes Jesus, sitting down next to you. Jesus skips past all the small talk and gets right to the point. He looks you in the eye and says: “It’s time we define the relationship.” He wants to know how you feel about Him. Is your relationship with Jesus exclusive? What is your level of commitment?

            Again, Jesus wants to know, are you a fan or a follower?

A fan is “an enthusiastic admirer.” It’s the person who goes to the game painted up in the home teams colors. The one who knows the stats of all the players, even though he doesn’t KNOW the players. If the team loses for too long, he will jump off the bandwagon and cheer for some other team.

            Those who are fans of Jesus cheer for Him when things are going well in their life, but walk away when it’s difficult. Fans of Jesus sit safely in the pews cheering, but they choose to not get involved in the game. Fans of Jesus know all about Jesus, but they don’t know Him.

            As I said before, Jesus was never interested in having fans. If you were to ask Jesus to define the kind of relationship He wants, “enthusiastic admirer” isn’t an option. The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians, but aren’t actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to get the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.

c.      Inaccurate measurements- The problem with asking the question,

Fan or Follower?, is that it can be difficult to be objective. After all, you don’t want to admit that Jesus won’t let you into heaven. Anyone who considers themselves to be a Christian, believes it sincerely.

            So, to help us be more objective, we need to ask: what are the measurements we should use to determine if we are fans or followers?

            First of all, we should not use cultural comparisons. A cultural comparison is where you compare your commitment level to those around you. Even more, you use the people whose commitments are low to make you feel like yours is solid. A cultural comparison is about using a grading curve, where you are more spiritual than the person next to you. It is like me comparing myself to other husbands to determine if I am a good husband or not. Inevitably I will look to those men who aren’t too good of husbands, so that I feel better about myself. Instead, I should be comparing myself to what kind of husband I should be for Tami, what kind of husband Tami deserves, and what kind of husband Tami expects to have.

            Another measurement fans use is a religious ruler. They point to their religious rules and rituals as evidence that they are really followers. They reason, a fan wouldn’t go to church every Sunday, put money in the offering plate, volunteer in some ministry, and exclusively listen to Christian music!

            Even more, inaccurate measurements come from denominational measurements, family heritage, and biblical knowledge. Rather than trying to come up with our own measurements, we need to ask: how does Jesus define what it means to follow Him? Whatever measurement Jesus gives, that is the one that we should use, and that will allow us to be objective!

d.      Diagnosing the situation- This defining the relationship talk is actually

one that Jesus had with people all the time. He didn’t necessarily sit down and have a “let’s define our relationship” moment, but He did take the time to ask them the question about their commitment. In each encounter, the person finds themselves in a position where they had to tell Jesus if they were a fan, or a follower. We will look at many of these encounters in the next few weeks of our series.

            The internet is pretty amazing. You can go on to a particular website and type in the symptoms you are experiencing, and then get a description of the most likely diagnosis. For example, if you type in “runny nose” and “nausea” the website informs you that it’s likely the flu or food allergy. If you add “lightheadedness” then it narrows it down to a food allergy. If you take away “lightheadedness” and add “fever,: then the diagnosis is likely to be the flu. The more specific the symptoms, the more likely you are to get an accurate diagnosis.

            The biblical accounts of Jesus requiring people to define their relationship and honestly determine if they were true followers give us some telltale symptoms of being a fan. As we study these encounters with Jesus they will act as a mirror so we can have a more honest assessment of ourselves.

           

Conclusion: Fans mistake their admiration for Jesus as devotion to Jesus. They mistake their knowledge of Jesus for intimacy with Jesus. Fans assume their good intentions make up for their apathetic faith. Fans are more interested in the benefits than the commitment. In fact, they want the benefit without the commitment.

            If you were to do a study in the topics of Jesus’ teachings, you would see that Jesus didn’t shy away from the tough topics. Jesus challenged the Pharisees in their being poor examples of what it means to be a follower. Jesus talked about sin, death, and hell. Jesus talked about the need to give money. Jesus talked about showing commitment to Him over all other things. Even though people walked away when Jesus got to these tough issues, He continually taught on them because He was here to make disciples/followers, not to have people in awe of His power.

            So, I leave you with this, have you defined your relationship with Jesus? You just might want to do that this week. Show yourself to be a follower, not a fan. Amen.