Resound Community Church Leah Ramirez

Is There a Cost?

Lately, I have been thinking about the Gospel… What it is! I’ve been considering what it isn’t. I’ve been asking myself if my understanding and definition would work in other countries, in other periods of time. Do I have hold of something timeless? More importantly, is it the demonstration of loyalty to a man? Is my understanding about a changed allegiance… from self to Jesus? When I present “it” am I preaching a doctrine or presenting the Son of Man? Sometimes we just need to come back to the beginning!

I. WHERE IS YOUR LOYALTY?

  1. Last week I listened to Dr. Michael Brown’s radio show, titled “Is God always in a good mood?” I am friends with Dr. Brown on facebook, and saw that he had posted this very question earlier in the day, and saw that within a very short period it had received over 35 comments. When I opened up the comments section, I saw an incredible dialogue concerning grace, and the finished work of Jesus… and the question of cost and discipleship.
  1. That night I listened to the radio show about this very topic, and as I began to research ministries and listen to podcasts, I can’t help but notice a growing trend… It’s as if grace is being put up as the opponent to discipleship. And as I’ve debated over the last week to share with you my thoughts, I am compelled to share what I can… and warn where I can.
  1. When we first started Resound, there was a young man in our company who was coming out of homosexuality. And in the beginning of every year, we take time to allow our students to share their testimonies and why they are giving the Lord 10 months of their lives in this way. We do it to get to know them, and also as means of accountability from the very beginning.
  1. I can remember this young man confessing his past, and saying that He realized the issue of homosexuality wasn’t the real issue, the issue of salvation had to do with being more loyal to anything above Jesus. The issue of salvation is an issue of loyalty. And I have never forgotten this statement! I believe it to be true! There is an issue of sin, but the greater issue has to do with self… we need an exchange of loyalties!

II. TO CHOOSE OR NOT TO CHOOSE? ...THAT IS THE QUESTION

  1. Just this week, I have been thinking about this young man. I have been thinking about his statement of loyalty. Unfortunately, he walked away from the Lord, and is bound to the sin of homosexuality. Recently, he has launched a movement about the abuse of bullying. It seems to be making quite a stir. Now if you go to the webpage, every single testimony about bullying is a story about the abuse of homosexuality!
  1. Am I for bullying? Absolutely not! But now it seems that if I take a stand with the standard of the gospel… if I state that the Bible says homosexuality is wrong, it’s a sin… then I am now a bully. Is anyone here endorsing bullying? NO!
  1. We can’t allow ourselves to be confused… Jesus is for kindness and Jesus is for purity. We don’t have to choose. And we don’t have to choose between grace and the standard of Christ either. This is not a choice Jesus is asking us to make! Gace empowers us to follow Jesus.

III. BECOMING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS

Matthew 16

[24]Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. [25]For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. [26]For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

  1. Is it possible to be saved without following Jesus? According to Jesus, is it possible to love Him without obeying Him? Are we called to be disciples? What is a disciple?

Discipleship: Definition

One who is a follower of a master, spiritual teacher, religious leader or a guru.

One who lives by the teachings and lifestyle of his master.

One who holds the standard and ideals set by his master.

One who wants to be like his master.

The Word used for ‘Disciple’ in Greek (‘mathetes’) refers generally to student, pupil, or apprentice.

  1. So what are the costs (conditions) of true Christian Discipleship?

Cross Bearing:

Matthew 16:24 – “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

Matthew 10:38: – “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

Galatians 2:20: – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

Gal 5:24: – “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

Self Denial:

Matthew 16:24: – “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Doing his will must be our first priority.

Leaving Everything:

Luke 14:26: – “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”

Luke 14:33: – “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has, cannot be my disciple.”

Phil 3:7-9: – “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him..”

Abiding in His Words & Teaching:

John 8:31: – “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”

John 15:7: – “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

Supreme Love for Christ:

John 14:23: – “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.”

2 Cor 5:14: – “For Christ’s love compels us.”

Love for Others:

John 13:34-35: – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Romans 12:9-10: – “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

Fruitfulness:

John 15:8: -”This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Gal 5:22: – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

  1. Relationship is costly. Real intimacy, with anyone, is costly. Intimacy cannot co-habitate with insecurity, woundedness, irritability or selfishness. Intimacy flourishes when both parties are whole… and selfless. It’s costly!
  1. And when we say that we don’t preach religion, we preach relationship, and then have the gall to say that this is free… and this is already finished. NO! Intimacy is not finished… a way has been made for us to begin in intimacy! Jesus made the way… and we get to walk in it! Who do we think we are kidding?! The call of Christianity is to come and die! Be clear. But this death is just really the beginning! It’s only in the death of a thing that we can we finally experience resurrection.
  1. Last night Larry and I were watching pitbulls and parolees. And they were trying to catch this dog that was in a dangerous location between several highways. They suspected she had been dumped their by her owner and for months she was there loyal, trying to survive and waiting for her owner. They went through extraordinary measures to capture her. Lots of money, and lots of time and man hours. She faught, she outwitted them, she ran… Finally they caught her. And the look on her face! She was relieved! All the provision had been made for her. But she was fighting and fighting and running and running. The work of the cross is complete. And we must surrender to it for our relief!
  1. Anyone who tells you that you won’t have to give up your everything is lying to you. To follow Christ, you must give up your life! Just like that dog… We all run and fight, but the second we allow the restraint of Christ to come, we find our true relief… our true life! And our real journey begins!!

IV. William Tyndale

  1. William Tyndale was a highly educated man fluent in several languages, including Greek and Hebrew. He had been hired as a tutor for the children of Sir John Walsh at Little Sodbury Manor. During his free time, Tyndale would gaze out into the fields below the manor and observe the ploughboys diligently working in the fields.
  1. The ploughmen represented the uneducated and superstitious people of England. Redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ awaited the ploughman. The message of salvation seemed foreign to their existence, and in fact it was, until a man named William Tyndale decided to compile the "Words of Life" in English, the language of the ploughboy!
  1. Tyndale had to hide in Europe under an assumed name to complete his translation. In 1526, Tyndale’s English New Testament began trickling into England. Upon discovery of Tyndale’s work, officials began buying up as many of the English New Testaments as possible. William Tyndale was publicly denounced.
  1. Within a decade, Tyndale’s New Testament was widely distributed throughout England. Persecution of those caught with this "illegal" book was severe. The prisons were overflowing, hundreds of New Testaments were burned, and believers were even publicly burned at the stake with Tyndale’s New Testament fastened around their necks.
  1. William Tyndale, through his translation and distribution of the English New Testament, became responsible for a wave of severe persecution. Thousands of Christians were executed. The persecutions were no longer targeted at the ploughboy. Every man, woman, or child, educated or not, was at risk if they dared possess Tyndale’s New Testament. Even church officials, once persecutors, became martyrs after finding truth in Tyndale’s work.
  1. A clergyman hopelessly entrenched in Roman Catholic dogma once taunted Tyndale with the statement, “We are better to be without God’s laws than the Pope’s”. Tyndale was infuriated by such Roman Catholic heresies, and he replied, “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the scriptures than you!”
  1. He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and condemned to death. Tyndale "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned". Tyndale's final words, spoken "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", were reported as "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes”.
  1. The fifty-four independent scholars who created the King James Version of the bible in 1611 drew significantly on Tyndale's translations. One estimation suggests the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale's, and the Old Testament 76%.

V. WOULD YOU DIE FOR THIS?

Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Matthew 6

[9]Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. [10]Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [11]Give us this day our daily bread, [12]and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. [13]And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Exodus 20- (Paraphrased by me)

And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God…

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'

SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'

1519, AD

  1. The seven Christians were brought into the courtyard near the prison. The executioners secured ropes around the Christians waists, hands, and feet. Three large poles had been set into the ground. Six men and one woman, a widow, were about to meet their fate. The believers had two things in common. They had illegally taught their children in the ways of faith, and they had each been sentenced to death.
  2. The Christians had been arrested on Ash Wednesday, and held in solitary confinement. The following Friday, their children were called in for an interview to find out how much their parents had taught them. The prison warden, who had conducted the examination, threatened each of the children with a death like that of their condemned parents, if they ever repeated what they had learned.
  1. On Palm Sunday, with the necessary evidence against the believers, the sentence of death was given to them. Only one of the believers was released from the fate of execution. Perhaps it was because she was the only woman among the guilty, or possibly because she was a widow. The reasons were not disclosed, but she was ordered to depart the prison where the remaining six, soon to be martyrs, remained.
  1. Because the sun had already set and the streets were not safe for a woman alone in the evening, one of the prison guards, Simon Mourton, offered to accompany the widow. As Simon was leading the former prisoner by the arm, he heard the rattling of paper within the sleeve of her coat. "What have you hidden in your sleeve?" he asked, and pulled from her coat portions of the Bible. It was the same Scripture that had been taught to the children, the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments.
  1. The widow was immediately brought back to the prison where she was again sentenced to die with the others.
  1. On April 4, their fate was sealed. Having been secured to the three wooden poles, bundles of wood and straw were stacked around their feet. They had broken the law.
  1. They had illegally taught their children, and for choosing to obey God rather than man, they were burned to death. (

VI. LIVING IN THE TENSION

  1. For the last few years, I have determined in my heart to “live in the tension.” I believe it is the place of safety. I encourage you to dig deep into the Word. Search out the scriptures for yourselves. Take the time to read Genesis to Revelation. Spend time learning! AND, develop a living relationship with God. Dialogue. Learn to discern His voice. Take risks. Fail forward.

Matthew 22

[23]The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, [24]saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ [25]Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. [26]So too the second and third, down to the seventh. [27]After them all, the woman died. [28]In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

[29]But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

  1. You don’t have to choose between seeking out the Lord through His Word and experiencing the Divine mystery in action! Don’t make that choice!! Live in the tension. We need BOTH! It’s in the tension that Jesus is revealed. Error is in the caricature. We need both!

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