GS018 · 1995 · Lent

If any would become my followers...

Following Jesus is meant to cost us everything.

Bible: Luke 9.18-27; Luke 9.51-end
Preached at: Binley, Allesley Park, Whoberley and St Paul's (8am 2025)
Kind: Full script · Adults
Themes: suffering, the cost of discipleship, self-denial
Graeme's notes: 1997 Binley. Evening Service only. GS018B adapted for Allesley Park and Whoberley.
Resources: Illustration: FILE 01 - 001 - Free but not Cheap

(Lk. 9.18-27)

At the heart of the Christian Gospel there are several great paradoxes.

According to my dictionary, a paradox is:

a statement which appears to be inconsistent, ...even absurd, ...yet is really true.

Life is full of paradoxes...

*****************************************************

The following section is an edited extract from Sermon S006

*****************************************************

When Jan and I had been married for three years we had our first baby, ...Christopher. I remember the first time that I took him into my arms, and I was overwhelmed with this precious gift that God had given us. I now had a son, ...and he was infinitely more valuable than my house, or car, or anything else that I owned ...yet he was free.

But I was soon to learn that free gifts can be very costly!

To start with there were financial demands. Jan had given up a good job as a teacher, and so we had one less salary coming in. And then there was all the equipment we needed to buy... and bottles, and nappies, and creams, and things I never dreamt of.

And then there were demands on our time. Jan and I used to enjoy going out together... but Christopher soon put a stop to that. We also enjoyed lying in bed on a Saturday morning, and he put a stop to that too! We walked round half dazed during the first few weeks, ...and it seemed that everything we did was driven by Christopher.

And there was also demands upon our emotions ...we worried about him. We worried if he was getting enough to eat. We worried that he might never learn to sleep through the night. And when any of our children have been ill, ...or bullied at school, ...or faced any other sort of suffering, ...we have felt their pain. And we would have gladly endured it on their behalf, ...but of course we couldn't, and we have felt totally helpless.

The best things in life might be free, but they are also very costly.

If someone were to ask me, "How much did you pay for your children?" ...I might reply "Absolutely nothing - they were a free gift!"... But there again, I might reply, "They have cost us everything - more than we ever imagined!" ...And both answers would be right!

And the same is true with the Christian life. You see, Jesus came to bring us so many good things.

- He came to bring us freedom from guilt.

- He came to bring us God's forgiveness.

- He came to bring us freedom from fear.

- He came to bring us eternal life.

All these things are free! We can't earn them, ...they are pure gifts from God, ...and yet, being a disciple of Jesus is meant to cost us everything.

At the heart of the Christian Gospel there is a great paradox:

The Kingdom of God is free ...but it's not cheap!

*****************************************************

End of section taken from Sermon S006

*****************************************************

Being a Christian is meant to be costly.

So let's return to this morning's gospel reading, (Luke Chapter 9). For here, we find Jesus talking about the cost of following him.

"If any want to become my followers", Jesus said, "...let them deny themselves ...and take up their cross daily ...and follow me". (v23 NRSV)

In this, and the next three verses, Jesus talks about two basic attitudes to life.

Jesus often talked in very black and white terms; and on several occasions he make his point by contrasting two types of people. ...For example,

he talked about the final judgement, where the sheep will be separated from the goats;

he gave us the parable of the ten bridesmaids, where the five wise ones are contrasted with the five foolish ones.

And here again, in verse 24, Jesus contrasts two types of people.

First there are those who want to save, or preserve, their own life. Now by this, I think Jesus is referring to those who are absorbed with their own life, and their own little world.

When I was a full-time vicar I did many funeral visits. And one of the questions I nearly always ask the bereaved relatives is this ..."What did he, or she, really live for?"

I've had many different answers to that question. Things like:

"He lived for his car, ...he was always working on it, and cleaning it". ...Or,

"He lived for his garden, ...he was always out their, weeding and planting". ...Or quite often people say,

"He lived for his family".

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we shouldn't care for our families, or work in the garden, or clean the car. But the problem comes when these are the things that we really live for.

But I know from my own experience that it's so easy for us to become absorbed with our own life, and our own little world. We can easily become preoccupied with:

- our own ambitions...

- or our own career...

- or our own house...

- our own possessions...

- or our own hobbies...

- our own reputation...

- or our own family...

- or even our own church.

(pause)

...But then Jesus went on mention a second type of person: ...those who are willing to lose their life, for the sake of Jesus.

Now remember that Jesus was talking about basic attitudes to life.

Those who are willing to lose their life, are those who are ready to give up everything which they consider to be valuable.

Now we're not simply talking about giving up chocolate biscuits for Lent! ...we are talking about those who are willing to give up everything:

personal ambition ...career ...house ...possessions ...hobbies ...reputation ...family ...even their own physical life.

In fact such a person is like someone who had been condemned to death, ...and who therefore had nothing of their own life left to live for. (That's what's meant by the expression, "to take up your cross", ...for in Jesus' day, a condemned man would be forced to carry his cross to the place of execution.)

(pause)

Now as a said earlier, Jesus often made his point by speaking in very black and white terms, ...and so can you imagine these two types of people? (left hand) Those who are absorbed with their own life, ...(right hand) and those who are willing to lose everything.

Now we reach the crunch! ...If we want to follow Jesus, then we have to be like this second type of people.

Listen again to what Jesus said:

"If any want to become my followers ...let them deny themselves ...and take up their cross daily ...and follow me".

Following Jesus isn't an activity which we can fit into our own lives, ...instead, it involves us in handing over the whole of our lives.

Now a few verses earlier we are given a big hint as to why following Jesus is so costly.

In verse 9, Jesus told his disciples that he himself,

"...must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed...".

You see, we're following someone who himself lost everything.

A few months ago David arranged a parish walk, and a group of us from church went along, (...perhaps you were one of them.) We set off from Easenhall, and it was a lovely walk, ...the only problem was that it was pouring with rain.

David led the way, and he got soaked. ...And of course the rest of us got soaked too!

But if you follow someone, you shouldn't be surprised if you face a similar experience to that of the leader.

Now of course Jesus is the unique Son of God, and the degree of his suffering and rejection is something that no one else will ever have to face. When he died on the cross he took upon himself the sins of the whole world, ...and that was an experience which will never be repeated.

Nevertheless, if Jesus suffered many things, we shouldn't be surprised if following him will be costly too.

Now for Jesus, it was costly for at least two reasons.

Firstly it involved rejection and suffering at the hands of others, ...and as we know, it ended in his painful and humiliating death on the cross.

And similarly, if we are to follow Jesus, we too can expect some form of rejection and suffering at the hands of others. ...Of course, this hurts the most when it comes from those who are closest to us, ....from relatives, friends and colleagues.

But that wasn't the only way in which it was costly for Jesus. It was also costly because he gave up his throne in heaven, and exchanged it for a manger in a stable. ...And this was something that he willingly chose to do.

Jesus chose to give up everything for us, ...and so St, Paul writes to the Philippians...

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

(pause)

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

...but made himself nothing,

...taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself ...and became obedient to death -

...even death on a cross!"

(Phil. 2.5-8 NIV)

(Pause)

Jesus chose to give up everything for us, ...and those who follow him are called to have the same basic attitude to life.

I began with a great paradox:

The Kingdom of God is free ...but it's not cheap!

And I end with another great paradox:

Jesus said, "Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it, ...but anyone who loses his life, for my sake, will save it." (v24)

Remember those two types of people that Jesus was contrasting?

Well sadly, those who are absorbed with their own life, and their own little world, will find one day that they have ended up losing it all. The very thing that they desperately wanted to hold on to, has slipped through their hands like grains of sand.

But those who are prepared to lose their life, (...not just for any reason, but for the sake of loyalty to Jesus), ...those who are willing to say "no" to their own ambitions, ...those who are willing to give up that which is valuable to them, ...Through this experience of loss, they will find life in a much deeper sense.

Let us pray.

Jesus said:

"If any want to become my followers ...let them deny themselves ...and take up their cross daily ...and follow me". (v23 NRSV)

During a short time of quiet, let us ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any specific in which he is calling us to deny ourselves, ...to take up our cross, ...and to follow Jesus.

(silence)

Following Jesus is meant to be costly, ...but God sends us his Spirit to give us the strength that we need. Perhaps as you come to the communion rail later in the service, you can ask God for the help that you need.

Amen.

Other versions

Graeme often reworked a sermon for a different church or occasion. These are the other copies he kept.

GS018A (Microsoft Works)

If any would become my followers...

(Mk.8.31-38)

At the heart of the Christian Gospel there are several great paradoxes.

According to my dictionary, a paradox is:

a statement which appears to be inconsistent, ...even absurd, ...yet is really true.

Life is full of paradoxes...

*****************************************************

The following section is an edited extract from Sermon S006

*****************************************************

When Graeme and I had been married for two and a half years we had our first baby, ...Christopher. I remember the first time that I he was put into my arms, and I was overwhelmed with this precious gift that God had given us. We now had a son, ...and he was infinitely more valuable than our house, or car, or anything else that we owned ...yet he was free.

But we were soon to learn that free gifts can be very costly!

To start with there were financial demands. I had given up my job as a teacher, and so we had one less salary coming in. And then there was all the equipment we needed to buy... and bottles, and nappies, and creams, and things ... as any parent knows the list is endless, and the older they get the more they seem to cost!

And then there were demands on our time. Graeme and I used to enjoy going out together... but Chris soon put a stop to that. We also enjoyed lying in bed on a Saturday morning, and he put a stop to that too! We walked round half dazed during the first few weeks, ...and it seemed that everything we did was driven by Chris.

The best things in life might be free, but they are also very costly.

And the same is true with the Christian life. You see, Jesus came to bring us so many good things.

- He came to bring us freedom from guilt.

- He came to bring us God's forgiveness.

- He came to bring us freedom from fear.

- He came to bring us eternal life.

All these things are free! We can't earn them, ...they are pure gifts from God, ...and yet, being a disciple of Jesus is meant to cost us everything.

At the heart of the Christian Gospel there is a great paradox:

The Kingdom of God is free ...but it's not cheap!

*****************************************************

End of section taken from Sermon S006

*****************************************************

Now often we tend to focus upon the first part of this paradox ...the good news that the Kingdom of God is a gift which is freely offered to all. It's an amazing thought, and it's right that as Christians we should celebrate it.

But now this morning, I want to redress the balance by focussing upon the second part of this paradox ...that being a Christian is meant to be costly.

So let's return to this morning's gospel reading, (Mark Chapter 8). For here, we find Jesus talking about the cost of following him.

"If anyone would come after me", Jesus said, "...he must deny himself ...and take up his cross daily ...and follow me". (v34 NIV)

In this, and the next four verses, Jesus talks about two basic attitudes to life.

Jesus often talked in very black and white terms; and on several occasions he made his point by contrasting two types of people. ...For example,

- he talked about the final judgement, where the sheep will be separated from the goats;

- he gave us the parable of the ten bridesmaids, where the five wise ones are contrasted with the five foolish ones.

An here again, in verse 35, Jesus contrasts two types of people.

First there are those who want to save, or preserve, their own life. Now by this, I think Jesus is referring to those who are absorbed with their own life, and their own little world.

Graeme does quite a few funeral visits. And one of the questions he nearly always ask the bereaved relatives is this ..."What did he, or she, really live for?"

He's had many different answers to that question. Things like:

- "He lived for his car, ...he was always working on it, and cleaning it". ...Or,

- "He lived for his garden, ...he was always out their, weeding and planting". ...Or quite often people say,

- "He lived for his family".

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we shouldn't care for our families, or work in the garden, or clean the car. But the problem comes when these are the things that we really live for.

But I know from my own experience that it's so easy for us to become absorbed with our own life, and our own little world. We can easily become preoccupied with:

- our own family...

- or our own career...

- or our own house...

- our own possessions...

- or our own hobbies...

- our own reputation...

- or our own ambitions...

- or even our own church.

(pause)

...But then Jesus went on mention a second type of person: ...those who are willing to lose their life, for the sake of Jesus.

Now remember that Jesus was talking about basic attitudes to life.

Those who are willing to lose their life, are those who are ready to give up everything which they consider to be valuable.

Now we're not simply talking about giving up chocolate biscuits for Lent! ...we are talking about those who are willing to give up everything:

personal ambition ...career ...house ...possessions ...hobbies ...reputation ...family ...even their own physical life.

(pause)

Now we reach the crunch! ...If we want to follow Jesus, then we have to be like this second type of people.

Listen again to what Jesus said:

"If anyone would come after me ...he must deny himself ...and take up his cross daily ...and follow me".

Following Jesus isn't an activity which we can fit into our own lives, ...instead, it involves us in handing over the whole of our lives.

Now a few verses earlier we are given a big hint as to why following Jesus is so costly.

In verse 9, Jesus told his disciples that he himself,

"...must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed...".

You see, we're following someone who himself lost everything.

A year or two ago at our old church in Binley, the vicar arranged a parish walk, and quite a few of us went along, We set off from Easenhall, and it was a lovely walk, ...the only problem was that it was pouring with rain.

The vicar led the way, and he got soaked. ...And of course the rest of us got soaked too!

But if you follow someone, you shouldn't be surprised if you face a similar experience to that of the leader.

Nevertheless, if Jesus suffered many things, we shouldn't be surprised if following him will be costly too.

Now for Jesus, it was costly for at least two reasons.

Firstly it involved rejection and suffering at the hands of others, ...and as we know, it ended in his painful and humiliating death on the cross.

Jesus chose to give up everything for us, ...and so St, Paul writes to the Philippians...

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

(pause)

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

...but made himself nothing,

...taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself ...and became obedient to death -

...even death on a cross!"

(Phil. 2.5-8 NIV)

(Pause)

Jesus chose to give up everything for us, ...and those who follow him are called to have the same basic attitude to life.

I began with a great paradox:

The Kingdom of God is free ...but it's not cheap!

And I end with another great paradox:

Jesus said, "Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it, ...but anyone who loses his life, for my sake, will save it." (v24)

Remember those two types of people that Jesus was contrasting?

Let us pray.

Jesus said:

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me". (v34 NRSV)

During a short time of quiet, let us ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any specific in which he is calling us to deny ourselves, ...to take up our cross, ...and to follow Jesus.

(silence)

Following Jesus is meant to be costly, ...but God sends us his Spirit to give us the strength that we need. Perhaps during the next few days, you could find the opportunity for a few minutes quiet in which you can ask God for the help that you need.

Amen.

GS018B (Microsoft Works)

If any would become my followers...

(Mk.8.31-38)

Opening Activity

Equipment: small holdall, paperback books, C.D. player, Mars bar, comfortable shoes, purse.

Today, I want you to imagine that I'm off on a journey. Any guesses as to where I'm going? Nor Eurodisney or Florida, but somewhere even more exciting. I've got my ticket, and I'm just off to check in at the airport.

But first I'm going to do some packing.

Pack the holdall, talk ing about why each item is important to me. Then close up the holdall.

Now I've actually been told that I mustn't bring anything with me, because everything I'll need will be provided. However, I'm sure that just this small bag will be O.K.

Pick up the bag and walk to the table.

I'm just checking in, and ...

Oh dear, I've been told they aren't going to let me through unless I leave my bag behind. I don't know about that. I mean I'm really looking forward to the trip, but how am I going to manage without my books, my music, my chocolate .... What will I do without any money?

Keep picking up and putting down the bag, trying to make a decision. Eventually, put the bag dosn and hurriedly walk on.

Look, I've got a window seat. And look who's going to be sitting next to me ... Jesus himself. This is fantastic! Just think, I could have missed all this if I hadn't decided to leave my bag behind.

Later on , the adults will be listening to our New Testament reading in which Jesus told those who wanted to be his followers that they had to be prepared to leave everything behind. That's not an easy thing to do, but we know that if we do leave everything behind and follow him, the journey will be more than worth it.

Talk