Matthew chapter 8. If you don't have a Bible, there should be one in a chair near you. Definitely grab one and turn to the book of Matthew so you can follow along in our study and see the words for yourself that the Word of God would speak powerfully to our hearts. Matthew chapter 8. We're doing a verse-by-verse study through the book of Matthew. Matthew is the first book in the New Testament. Towards the end of your Bible, after Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Matthew eight will be in verse 18 to 22 this evening. Matthew eight. Well, the old explorer stories. We're always interesting, harrowing accounts of individuals setting out on undiscovered ventures in search of unknown and one in particular. especially is that of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan was born in around 1480. He organized what was mostly a Spanish expedition to the East Indies, or the lands to the east of India, the island territories and so on. Much of it was unknown to Europe in those days. They were seeking after spices, exotic spices, and those types of things. Well, the journey launched in 1519 from Seville, Spain, and three years later it returned. But it was the first known sail around the globe, traveling the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean. But especially in those days, it was an absolutely incredible journey. Difficulties, challenges, setting out on the unknown. They didn't know how far they would go. There was fighting amongst one another on the ships, as well as those they encountered. The five-ship fleet Originally, it was five ships. 270 men went from Spain. They proceeded out to the Canary Islands, went down to Rio de Janeiro, and then went through the southern tip of South America, discovered the Strait of Magellan, which sort of is just above the Tierra del Fuego there, and then proceeded from there to a few different remote islands south of Hawaii, then on to the Southeast Pacific and into the Philippines. In the Philippines, though, they were attacked by some 1,500 natives. The story goes that some men stayed back with the ship. Magellan and others came out and they were attacked with spears and so on. Magellan actually was killed on April 27, 1521. They kept his body there. At that time, only three ships remained. There was about 130 men, enough to sail two ships, so they burned one of the ships and sailed on. landed in South Africa in May of 1522. More trouble befell them. They lost another ship and more crew. And by the time they reached their starting point, they did reach it back in Spain. It was almost three years to the day, 1522. They had 18 people left of the 270 and one of the five ships. Remarkable journey. Very few survived. Now, one of the interesting side stories of The Magellan expedition involves a Portuguese man by the name of Rui Falero. He was an astronomer, a cosmographer, a map maker, and so on, an astrologer. He was sort of the brains behind the preparation of this unprecedented trip. He was the chief scientific organizer for this around-the-world trip. They prepared it for a very long time. Valero was one of the people who first nailed down a certain way to determine longitude and latitude and these sort of things. He served the Spanish King Charles I, spent a lot of time again with Magellan preparing, was appointed a co-captain with Magellan originally. Falero, among other things, was certain that south of the Terrace de Veracruz, as it was called then, or Brazil, that there was a passage, an Atlantic passage, into the southern seas in the Pacific where they could find these spices and so on. Now, Falero planned to accompany Magellan on the journey. However, history records that the night before the voyage, Falero, he looked into his horoscope. being an astrologer and an astronomer, and made his own astrological prediction of how he would fare on the journey, and he got spooked that night. What he saw, so the night before, he bailed on the journey, the co-captain after, and the brains behind the thing. After all the preparations, he withdrew from the journey. Supposedly, he saw in the stars or whatever it might have been, a rough journey ahead for himself. And so for Rui Falero, it all started out as an exciting journey. The thrill of the unknown. The anticipation of something new. A new experience, traveling around the world. But the prospects of hardship were too much, so he bailed. In tonight's study, we see a similar situation. A few individuals approach the Lord Jesus Christ, in effect saying, Lord, I want to go on the Christian journey. I want to be a follower. This sounds exciting. Heaven and. Golden cities and eternal life. Following you, I want to embark on this journey and Christ will caution them. of the journeys that lay ahead and as Fulero anticipated difficulties in his journey, that Christ would say, look, the Christian life also is not one of smooth sailing. Christ and his love, he sees it as better to be warned of the rough seas that accompany every single Christian life, every individual that would follow Christ on their way to heaven, that it's hard that it is, in effect, cross first, crown later. It is a road of difficulty. Christ warned us it is necessary to count the cost if we're going to follow Him. This is not an easy text. It's one that has very much convicted me. Perhaps some of us this evening have been like Rui Falero towards Christ and towards the Christian life. So would that fall along as I read Matthew eight, verse 18 through verse 22, Matthew eight, 18. God's word says now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. Then a scribe came and said to him, teacher, I'll follow you wherever you go. Jesus said to him, the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nest, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. Another of the disciples said him, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, follow me and allow the dead to bury their own dead. Well, here we are a little background in Matthew chapter eight. Christ is in the town of Capernaum. There is a lot of frenzy surrounding him, as it noted in Matthew 8, 18. The crowds are following him now. He has been doing miracle after miracle. He has prior to this in Matthew five through seven taught what is the greatest sermon of all time in the Sermon on the Mount. And now he is speaking of these. Excuse me. Now he is performing these miracles. Some might have wondered what the authority he preached in the Sermon on the Mount as Christ is saying, look, here's basically how it's going to go down. You can't get to heaven apart from me. I will be and I am the judge of all humanity, all of history and your destiny for forever and ever will be determined upon me. So some authoritative words. Now, Christ and Matthew eight of the miracles is demonstrating that authority in his works. And so in our passage this evening, Christ pauses in the midst of the miracles and the crowds and the fanfare frenzy for a critical lesson. There's a lot of hype following him. It's exciting to come after him. And he says, in effect, these miracles certainly are good and important. But these are merely launchpads for you to devote your life to following me, to be a Christian following me with that our main idea, sort of the big idea of the study this evening. It's all Senator Bolton is this knowing our fickle human nature to Christ out of love because he loves us. Christ out of love warns us that the Christian life is not about casual Christian associations. And easy. belief, but a self-denying life of continual following after him. Christianity is not about casual Christian associations, showing up at a church event now and then, believing a few nice things, but self-denial, continual self-denial and following after him. And if you're a visitor this evening, Or if you're if you're newer to the Christian thing, we're very glad you're here. This is a great passage which sort of introduces us to really the raw sort of truth of what it means to be a Christian. From the mouth of Christ himself, so our outline tonight, we're going to see four clarifications. On the normal Christian life on the road to heaven for clarifications on the normal Christian life. What happens after sincere belief in Christ? Number one is this. We'll get right into it. Christian fanfare. Number one, an intermittent spiritual impulse do not constitute saving faith in Jesus Christ. Christian fanfare and an intermittent spiritual impulse do not constitute saving faith in Christ or what it means to be a Christian. clarifications on the normal Christian life. Let's get right into it. Look at verse 18. When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. So Jesus has the numbers are rising around him. He's he's he's getting more popular. For two reasons, it seems one because his amazing words to because of his amazing works, the miracles he is doing, the amazing words he spoke in Matthew five through seven, one sermon. By the way, this is probably all the same day here. These words, people said, we've never heard anyone preach like this before. They gather around him, then follow him down into the village of Capernaum on the north shore of Galilee. And then his amazing works, extraordinary displays of power by a word, by a touch, casting out demons, healing lepers by a mere word, healing those that are about to die. Unprecedented demonstrations of authority over the creation. So He did all these things, not with a well-trained posse of medical professionals and complex 21st century medical technology, but with a word. So all the regulars of Capernaum, the merchants, the farmers, the fishermen, and as Capernaum was on a trade route, all those who are passing through, they're stopping to see this unprecedented spectacle. They would understand, this predominantly Jewish crowd, that God is among them. That this is there is a work of God happening here. Some would have concluded that the Messiah is here, the chosen one. I suppose you might imagine if a guy walked into St. John's Hospital down the street, went into the rooms of the most sick. Suffering patients and said, OK, let's wheel them all down to the town square. Excuse me, nurse brings them out with a mere touch with a mere word. They they they rise previously bedridden, suffering patients dancing around, yelling at the top of their lungs in the town square. It would send the town of Jackson into an uproar. And so it was in Capernaum that day there was crowds, there was marveling, there was cheering. Hordes walking with Jesus. Emotions were high. They were stirred. Goosebumps. Goosebumps were spiked. Eyes wide open. Everyone would have said, no doubt in my mind, I am feeling the presence of God here. This is a God thing. This is a God moment. What we're seeing here. Everything in Capernaum came to a halt. Behold, Christ, everyone seems to be a friend and a fan of Jesus. He has a Christian fanfare. Perhaps this wouldn't have been much different than like a large crusade event, a Christian stadium rally, an emotionally charged church service, people running. People making promises about Christ commitments, signing cards, running down aisles, so it was on that day they saw the miracles. And some are coming to Jesus to declare their intent. Here is one look at verse 19, then a scribe came and said to him, teacher, I'll follow you wherever you go, wherever you go. Scribes are those who studied the Torah, the Old Testament extensively, sometimes referred to as lawyers, they were They were along with the Pharisees, often hostile towards Christ. So it's quite surprising initially that a scribe would come up to Christ and making what appears to be a very genuine statement of commitment. A term teacher, it's a respectful address. At this time, it was a custom in history for Jewish teachers or rabbis, they would have a following of disciples, they would sort of walk around and teach as they went. The disciples would typically choose their rabbis. They would have a posse. This is probably what the scribe is doing. So it seems like a sincere commitment in a powerful profession from a true believer, doesn't it? If someone would have came forward and made a profession like this at a church service in our day, a rally, the leaders would be thrilled. They'd say, hey, everyone, look at this guy. He said he's going to follow Christ wherever this guy's all in. He's sincere. Put a notch on her belt for another conversion. The spirit is moving tonight. This is a this is a God moment. The real deal. However. Emotional. Charge. Seeing miracles, neat Christian experiences, words even are not what constitute saving faith. Seeing the miracles was good. There was a wow factor. But a Christian is not someone. Who simply experiences these things? Saving faith is is not simply one who sees and hears and associates with Christian things. Christ is not looking for emotionally charged crowds, but committed disciples. He's not looking for an aroused Christian fanfare or association based on emotion. Many in this day, they are riding, riding the fanfare excitement. They're having these momentary impulses. But emotions can fade, can't they? The Christian life is going to involve more than intermittent impulses. Intentions given now and then sporadic spiritual urges to do something for Christ that never materialized into sustained obedience that never that never play out into progressive change in Christ likeness. The impulse never plays out into sustained, observable maturation in Christ, which is what he is looking for, or biblical discernment. It never moves forward to progressive growth where you can look back and see, man, by God's grace, I see sins put off. I see a progress in the faith. I'm not at the same place that I was. It's possible to experience great intentions. Experiences, emotions. Make a commitment. But to be what Christ calls the rocky soil. The parable of the sower, you remember this parable, Luke 8, I'll put it up here really quick. Christ is talking about this kind of fickle fanfare. He says, when a large crowd was coming together, those again, the crowds, you see, notice how Christ responds to the crowds. Isn't it interesting? It's almost like he discourages the crowds. Those from the various cities were journeying with him. He spoke by way of a parable. The sower went out to sow seed. He tells a story, a farming story. As he sowed, some fell beside the road and it was trampled underfoot. This is one part of the story. It was trampled underfoot and the birds of the air ate it up. Other seed fell among the thorns and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. The seed, he interprets this, the seed, verse 14, which fell among the thorns. These are the ones, these are the people who have heard. They've heard and they go on their way. They are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to maturity. They go for a time. They're in the fanfare. It's exciting. They go to big churches. They walk down aisles. They experience spiritual impulses, God moments. But they bring no fruit to maturity and so prove to not be saved. The impulse never moves into following. Well, so there is this wow factor, the crowds are coming to him, making big commitments. How will cry? How will Christ respond to this? Will he surf the emotions? Will he sort of cash in on the goosebumps of the crowds? Let's observe the tactics of the most loving individual in the world. Let's learn something from the most competent evangelist in the universe, evangelist, individual who would share Christ for the purpose of those coming to faith in Christ. Let's see what, how he would evangelize. and learn something, what will we do? Number two, Christ calls over to potential disciples to check their motivations and count the cost. Christ, number two. Calls potential disciples to check their motivations and count the cost. Are you this evening? Are you thinking about following Christ or or maybe recommitting your life to Christ? That's a good thing. And Christ would encourage you. Maybe you're an individual who's looking to make some change in your life. That is a good thing. Christ would call us, however, to check our motivations and count the cost of the Christian life. What does that mean? And I want you to notice here that Christ seems to discourage people. He seems to almost put up obstacles. Is this what we observe in Christianity in our day? Christ seems to discourage, almost. Verse 20, how will Jesus respond? Look what he says. Jesus said to him, the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. What an anticlimactic moment. I mean, this could have been, you put this on the big screen, tweet, man, I had a guy say this today in my church. This was not what the scribe was looking to hear. And if you and I were the scribe, it wouldn't be what we were looking to hear either. Why is Jesus saying this and what is he saying and what can we learn from Christ, the most loving individual evangelist? First, a couple of things that's not going on. First, Christ does not seem to be thrilled about the man's intent to follow him. This is odd. You would think he'd be excited and he'd strike another notch in his cloak. Keep playing the music band. Keep it going. Another follower, awesome. Doesn't say anything like that. Second, Christ is not affirming that the guy is genuinely saved and going to heaven. Do you see that there? He doesn't say he doesn't give him any assurance that he's going to heaven. The scribe, I mean, he was bold, he came forward to Christ, he spoke up, he was moved. He appears to make a decision, yes, I'll follow you, Christ. However, Christ never says, OK, great, you walked forward, you're saved, man, you're don't ever doubt that. When it comes to disciples and those who would be called Christians, Christ appears to be looking for something more than a charge decision. Even even a radical profession of commitment. He doesn't affirm him going to heaven. Third, Christ is not making it easy. He's not making it easy to to sort of be a believer or to follow him. Do you see that there in the text? Jesus is not lining up everything nicely so that would be seekers could sort of just waltz right into the kingdom and and just sort of smoothly prance right in to his favor. I find that interesting that he isn't doing that. How do we know that? And why is Jesus responding to the scribe's zeal with animals, a word about animals? Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests. It's just bizarre on the surface. A hole or a foxhole is typically the comfy dwelling place of a fox, which is a wild dog. It's like a dog. And a nest is the same for birds. It's a simple statement to say that these, these very common ancient East animals, both of these very common, then they have nice, they have homes that are nice relative to their, to themselves. But the son of man, verse 20 has nowhere to lay his head. So things like foxes and birds, Jesus says, are going to be better off in this world than the creator of foxes and birds. Things like foxes and birds are going to be better off in this world than the creator of foxes and birds by design. Is that how the individual who shared Christ with you, is that how they shared Christ with you? The Son of Man, of course, that's a title Jesus often uses of himself, which is pulled from places like Daniel 7, 13 and 14. It's really an amazing title, a messianic title, a title of deity. So Christ is saying that I didn't come to seek ease and comfort. First, it's a statement about himself. I didn't come to seek ease and comfort, and we would be amiss if we didn't stop and consider what a peculiar circumstance. What a peculiar design for himself as Christ intentionally made it this way when he came to the world that the greatest person in the universe, God, he comes into the world who is worthy of and deserving of all worship, all adoration, praise and allegiance. Yet goofy little foxes, birds, we're going to they're going to have better earthly conditions than God. You would think the whole world at the very sight of Christ, their maker would say, please, Let us prepare a place of of glory and comfort for you. But he crisis that it's not going to work that way. Christ did not come seeking ease and comfort. His ministry here was on purpose categorically one of self denial, self sacrifice, self abandonment. Denying the comforts of the world, the treasures of the world, the values of the world. forsaking self for the purpose of faithfulness to God, his father, to save sinners through his vicarious, substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross. The cross is the sort of pinnacle moment of what the rest of his ministry was. Self-denial, self-hate, self-loathing, self-abandonment. He sought one thing. seeking his own death on the cross for our sins. Christ denied himself comforts which even dirty little dirt-dwelling foxes enjoy. He did it because he loves God the Father and he loves us as sinners. This is the way in which he would save us. A road of death and execution. Now, Christ is not only talking about what he is doing because he's answering an inquiry from the scribe. He is also responding to the scribe's impulse to follow after him and believe in him. He describes what his life is about because the Christian life, of course, is following after Christ, which means that's what the Christian's life is going to be about. And he is saying, are you sure you want this? Are you sure you want to be a Christian? Are you sure about that? Oh yes, there is a glorious heaven that awaits. Oh yes, salvation is not by works. It is by faith in Christ. But the point between salvation justification and glorification getting to heaven, it's going to be one that's not even as good as foxes and birds. Are you sure you want to be a Christian? What a profound way to evangelize. Christ calls followers to a mindset and a life of sustained self-abandonment. That is fundamentally what Christianity is, the Christian life, sustained self-denial. Putting away all my wants, ambitions, dreams, desires, and impulses of the self that the world tells me that I want, that I want, in order to be faithful and submissive and subject to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the King of Kings. This isn't a life for elite Christians, but every Christian. So, if the scribe and the second guy we'll look at did not end up following Christ, there is a type of non-following belief, or non-saving belief, or unbelief belief. Might you have that? Might you have a non-saving belief, like the scribe, a belief that by which one does not get to heaven, evidenced by they don't follow? It is possible. Followers of Christ must count the cost, and He borders on discouraging them. At this point, however, many of our present day and supposed Christian authorities and evangelists, gurus on church growth and Christian leaders. I mean, they would be they would have rebuked Jesus right here. If anyone taught these methods and evangelism, they would scold them. No, no, no, no, you have it all wrong, Jesus, why in the world would you discourage these would be followers who are charged up like this? That's a terrible strategy. You're not going to boost the numbers and the fanfare this way. Jesus, you need to be more positive and accommodating here. You need to be more effective at luring people and making it easy because that's what it's about. It's not what it's about. They would say, no, you need to make it like a drive-thru Starbucks. Roll on in and Christ is eagerly waiting there to take your order. What do you want? How do you want it? How do you want it made? Do you want it tall? Grande? Skinny? Do you want whipped cream? Just tell me what the Christianity is that you want and I'll give it to you because it's all about you. Christ is the opposite. He discourages it. He says you need to count the cost and I love you. user friendly discipleship. It's the way of the future. There are even drive drive through churches now. I saw the other day. Make it easy. They would they would rebuke and cry down someone who took Jesus's approach here. And in doing so, they would be misleading people. There can be a great spiritual dishonesty in that type of a thing. I remember when I came to faith many years ago in my early 20s, reading the Bible, God saved me from a shameful life. I remember thinking, this is the hardest thing in the world. I mean, you read stuff like this, you gotta be kidding me. You gotta be kidding me. It is the hardest thing in the world. but the most glorious. No one's going to move forward in the Christian life with a few impulses, a couple of charged emotional experiences now and then throughout the year. I think too often that's how the Christian life gets pictured. But Christ calls potential disciples to count the cost, to check their motivations, number two. Number three, saving faith. Very simply, we see here in the text, Christ takes priority over everything. Everything. He takes priority over everything. Over convenience, over my own way. Christ never calls us and permits us to a part-time discipleship, does he? You don't see that. Even a three-quarter time discipleship. Discipleship means just the life of a learner following after Christ. Look at verse 21. Another of the disciples, wow, we got more, we got crowds, more than one. This is awesome. Another of the disciples, this is even a disciple. Another of the disciples said to him, Lord, permit me first to go and and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, follow me, allow the dead to bury their own dead. Once again, I mean, anticlimactic. from the words of our loving Lord. First, what this does not mean here, what is not going on here. The guy is not saying, OK, my dad is dead at home and I need to go bury him in a grave. He's not saying that dad's dead body is, you know, in the front yard and I need to go put it in the ground. He's not saying that. It was Jewish custom to bury the body right away. They did not embalm. It was hot. They buried him immediately. They would mourn for about 30 days or so. Jesus is not against funerals. The phrase here, permit me to go bury my father. It was an ancient East way. Sometimes it said today, too, is an ancient East way of referring to this. Staying at home. waiting to receive my big old inheritance from dad who is still living and sort of living it out, being faithful to dad so I can get dad's cash cow that's coming to me. That's what it meant. The inheritance. Jesus sees right through it. He saw his heart. He saw his lust. His idolatry of comfort and cash over Christ. Christ calls him on it. Nothing can get in the way. Of Christ, as we sing. The Pearl. Right from the parable of Matthew. Jesus has the kingdom of heaven. It's like someone who finds a finds a pearl. He gives up everything he has because of the value of this one pearl. Are you kidding me? I'll get rid of it all. Because this pearl is so valuable. So it is in following Christ, the kingdom of heaven. Christ says, believe me, friend. Believe me, daddy's portfolio might be big. But it is not worth. It isn't worth sacrificing heaven. And following me, which is what true Christianity is. So he says, allow the dead to bury their own dead. It's a it's a firm call to prioritize priorities, the kingdom of heaven following Christ. The dead probably refers here to the idea that his father is spiritually dead. Christ is probably saying he's dad's not even a believer anyhow. No interest in Christ and God, so let the dead and let sort of the values of the dead sticking around and foregoing Christ for an inheritance. Let those things, those dead things fall by the wayside. But you, he tells them singular you. I like that firm. Follow me, he says. Follow me. Bottom line crisis priority or anything that might get in the way that hinder us from a sustained life of self-denial in the name of Christ. Is this how you've pictured Christianity? It's very difficult, let's be honest with ourselves, for all of us. But this is it. It is this or it is not Christianity. Jesus said, as we read in Matthew 10, 37, to sort of put it in different words, he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. He who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who has found his life will lose it. He who has lost his life for my sake, he will find it. Oh, you will find it. Eternal life. But prior to that, there needs to be some intentional self-loss. J.C. Ryle, great 19th century British Pastor, he said, beware of half-hearted religion. Christianity worthy then beware of following Christ from any secondary motive to please relations and friends to keep in with the custom of the place or family in which you reside to appear respectable and have the reputation of being religious or Christian. Beware of that. Some of us. That's why you follow Christ, because you want wife to be happy. You want friends to be happy because it feels good because you want a better marriage. And those are all fundamentally idolatrous reasons to follow Christ. We follow Christ for Christ. He says, follow Christ for his own sake. If you follow him at all, be thorough, be real, be honest, be sound, be wholehearted. He is priority, Christ is. Number three, number four. While Christ is not looking for Christian fanfare and intermittent spiritual impulse, finally, number four, genuine belief in Christ will be evidenced by persistent following after Christ. This is how it will always and inevitably look, not because we are great, but because genuine belief, conversion is a miraculous work of God in the soul, whereby we launch into a life of following after Christ. Genuine belief, not the unfollowing or unbelief belief. Genuine belief in Christ will be evidenced by persistent following after Christ. Verse 22, go ahead and look there. Jesus said to him, follow me. Follow me. This is the main central call of the passage and of the Christian life. Follow that word there. The verb in the Greek, it's in a verb tense that means constant. It doesn't mean up and down, intermittent impulses. It means just an ongoing, unbroken, uninterrupted, durative life of following. We're following, it's the idea of continuing after someone, ongoing, enduring progression, and ongoing progression on not one's arbitrary path, but a path that is already laid out for you. You follow someone else who has already put the path down. Following, it's the opposite of a few intermittent moments of excitement, of impulses, It's the opposite of, well, you know, every couple of times in the year when I have a tragedy, I get interested in Christ again. It's the opposite of that. Christ does not say, well, show up to a few Christian things now and then and be sure to have a God high and a spiritual impulse, but it's day after day, hour after hour walking behind Christ on the path he has already set. The path is singular, it's obeying the New Testament. It's the idea of a forward movement, of progression. A progression that involves effort, intention, direction, and regular, continual self-denial and self-abandonment. As Jesus said, and Jamie read during Song this evening, Luke 9, 23, he was saying, To them all. This is to all. If anyone wishes to come after me, what's this going to mean? Jesus, just a couple up and down sort of experiences. He must deny himself. It means that deny the word there. It means to forsake, to throw self back for the purpose of something greater and take up his cross daily, every day, taking up the cross in the first century. The cross was a instrument of of terrible execution. Christ to say a willingness to to go to execution for me. and follow me. Now, is Christ saying that as in verse 19 and 20, that you have to be homeless and never own anything to really be a Christian and follow Christ? No, if that was the case and every time Christ and the disciples came in contact and went into someone's home, they'd be rebuking them for material ownership and they're following after Christ. It's this. So I'll put just one possible definition. This isn't the only one following means this faith in Christ. Resulting in an enduring and progressing obedience to the commands of Christ's word scripture. Resulting in an individual's observable maturation in Christ likeness. Starting out with faith in Christ, we believe. With the consequence of being an enduring and a progressing obedience to the commands of Christ, that also results in an individual's individual's observable maturation progress in the faith that's following. If you picture following down a path, I look and it's hard, but I've looked and I've made progress. There's maturation that's happened by God's grace following. Saving faith means following. The profession of faith, interacting with faith, is not saving faith. Christ is saying here that a Christian is not merely someone who has believed in Christ. It is someone who follows Christ. A Christian is a person who follows Christ as the inevitable result of believing that there will be a changed life. Evidence by following is the idea. And that's still another way the following Christ is the necessary outward evidence. Of having inwardly believed in Christ and been converted to Christ. Without which there is no conversion to Christ. Ian Hamilton has said it this way, Christ is not looking for mere decisions, but disciples. Not fickle decisions, but following disciples. Saving faith will transform. Let's beware we're not like the character in Pilgrim's Progress named Mr. Facing Both Ways. You remember him? You can't go both ways at once. You can't go down the trail and up the trail at the same time. Mr. Facing Both Ways. In Luke's account of this, another individual comes and he says, let me go say goodbye to my family. Jesus says, nope, no one after putting his hand to the plow. Christianity is like plowing. No one after putting his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven. This, this needs to be a straight and a prolonged plowing of following. Here in our area in Jackson, we have various guiding companies that will take you out to fun and precarious places in the mountains that we love. You can hire a guide and he or she will explain what will happen is they'll explain the route to you. They will meet with you. They'll tell you about the equipment involved in the necessary. precautions, the necessity of persevering. They'll give you certain warnings. They'll say, OK, this this trip up Mount Owen or the Grand Teton, it's going to be overnight. Day one. Here's what we'll do. We'll start early in the morning. We will. to hike for about five, six hours up to the lower saddle. We'll camp up there. The next day we'll get up 3 a.m. or so and we'll make a push for the summit. It'll be very difficult. You'll be exposed. You'll be on some ledges. The ground is a couple thousand feet below you there. It's windy. It's cold. It's hard. Chilly. We might get some weather. The altitude could compound the difficulty. Are you up for it? Are you up for it? Are you sure you're up for it? And you go out and you say, okay, you must constantly move forward. These, again, these precarious places, they have not made it sound easy. They simply tell you how it really will be. They even discourage you if you're half-hearted about it. If you're saying, well, honestly, Mr. Guide, I want to do this because my buddies have, and I'd like to Facebook a couple of pictures of me kind of giving the thumbs up on the lower saddle and on the grand and so on, they'll say, You need to wait another year or three, then my friend, you shouldn't do it. They're not like, oh, great, another one who wants to go. They don't say that. Oh, you shouldn't do it, then friend. This isn't a game. People die on this mountain. Why? Because they care for you. They don't want you to be deceived. So it is, and far more with something way more valuable than climbing a mountain, the true Christian life, this side of heaven. It is a battle, friend. Every step is exertion. Now, speaking of a guided trip of the grand, the story goes of an individual who showed up to the meetings with a guy. They heard the trip laid out. They heard the warnings, bought the equipment. Yes, yes, that's good. They even tried out their equipment. They told their buddies, man, I'm all in to do this. I'm going to climb it. I have the gear. Look at this nice gear I have. I've heard what it's about. I'm pretty excited. Getting the getting to the top and sitting up there sounds amazing. I'd really like to do this. So the day comes. The day comes when they have to follow the guide up the mountain. They start hiking for a bit. Their blood is pumping. But when the trail started up a bit, just about 30 minutes into the hike, the guide says, where'd this guy go? He looks around. The guy's sitting there on a rock. He says, hey, will you take my picture here on these rocks in the wilderness? So he did. And then the guy says, thanks so much, Mr. Guide, I'm headed back down. What do you mean you're headed back down? We're only a 10th of the way up here. Yeah, but hey, I got my gear. I walked a bit. I took some pictures. I feel pretty good. I mean, I'm basically in the club and then he heads back down to the car. We would not say about that guy. Well, he followed the guide. We would not say that. We would say he bailed. He bailed. He had an impulse to do the hike, a desire. He bought the gear, said the words, got pumped up, but he never followed. And so it can be with a Christian life and what Jesus is saying here. Too many of us have the impulse. Yes, I'm saved. But. You're you're a trailhead Christian, my friend, which is a no Christian. You show up to the trailhead, as it were, the beginning of the trail. You like the feeling of making a few steps, but you never really go beyond the trailhead. You look back and there's really no progress. We would not conclude from that individual, oh, they are following the guide, they made it, they persevered. They are a climber. You would not conclude any such thing. You would conclude they're a trailhead Christian. We get look, we get knocked down and knocked off the trail at times, but like Peter sinking in the water, God and his good grace pulls us up, pulls us back up, and we keep going by his grace. We keep following. We keep denying self. And it is so difficult. But by the grace of God, we move. And just like, you know, I remember when Brian Chassard drug me up the grand one time, towards the top, it was like every step was just, and I thought, I'm making no progress. I'm never going to get to the summit. And you look back after a little time and you say, I made progress. How did that happen? Because it felt like I was going nowhere. So it is the Christian life. Those of you who are following, those of you who are, it's like you think you're making, but you look back and it's like, by God's grace, I have matured. By his grace, I have. But others of us, you keep just going back to the trailhead. You get the impulse. OK, I'm back. I'm going to do this. Going to read the Bible. I'm going to going to get discipled. I'm going to really do it for Christ this time. And it's the trailhead and you're gone. It's too hard, there's too many other important things or you're too important, actually, that that's what you're saying as a trailhead Christian, that you're just too important to obey Jesus. Perhaps some time ago, a teacher, a Christian authority told you that since all you made a decision about Christ and some spiritual impulse, you wrote down a statement even of Christian intent. Perhaps you even said something like this scribe. You had an emotional event, a Christian camp experience. You were told, hey, you're going to heaven because of this. I tell you, you're all in. I'm so sorry that you are not told the truth that that is you. Caesare, you are not told what is true and what the Bible says. Trailhead spirituality is an unconverted and unbelieving and unregenerate Christianity. You need to be saved still, my friend. Many are led to believe that they can be a trailhead Christian, but Christ's words are clarifying. Perhaps some of you might wonder, man, I've been a Christian. I think I've been a Christian. I've known some Christian things desired, but you never move. You never follow. God loves you so much and in his grace this evening says, be saved, friend, be saved. He says, I love you. Ask my forgiveness by faith. Come to Christ and follow after Christ, he says. Start following. He loves you so much. Christ loves you, friend. So start following. He'll be with you. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, as some of you are. Behold, you are with me. Stop the trailhead Christianity, my friend. You will not go to heaven. With these spikes of impulses that never materialize into true discipleship, follow him. He loves you. He died for you. He will see you to the finish. Ask his forgiveness for the trailhead spirituality. All of us, as I've had to ask myself, are we really saved? Are we following Christ? Are we really following Christ? Or are we sort of just tagging along? We're part of the fanfare. Are you part of the fanfare? Feels good. Gives you self-esteem. There's some self-actualizing benefits to it. Some of you have been following Christ perhaps for a while. Maybe you're even in a form of ministry or leadership. But what you do is you follow Christ, but every now and then you have your happy trail you like to take, your spur. You follow Christ for a while and then, boom, I'm off on my spur. When it's hard, when it gets difficult, when it gets inconvenient, you have your me trail, your sort of self-indulgent forest frolic. Christ says, stop that. I love you. Follow me. Others of you. You're a trailhead Christian. You're not a Christian. It is time to follow Christ. And He loves you. You can just confess it to Him. You can just declare to Him what He already knows. He loves you so much. He's going to see it to the end. He says, come to Me. Come to Me. I love you. All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Let's pray. Father, thank You for us. Your great love for us. That You would send Your Son to die for our sins. What an amazing truth. Lord, that kind of love is not like us. We're not like that. We are self-serving, self-protecting, self-indulging. And You sent Your Son to die for us, Lord, so that we could be rescued. Thank You, Lord. Through His death, we can be saved, forgiven. We can stop playing games. We can stop being trailhead Christians. And we can follow after You in the most difficult, yet at the same time the most fulfilling life there is to live. following after you, Jesus. Help us to do so. Help us, Lord. Holy Spirit, save any who are not saved tonight. We beg you, save them. And all of us who are saved, Lord, those of us who need to, we ask your forgiveness for sometimes going on our self-indulgent forest frolics and not faithfully following after you, Lord. Forgive us. We thank you for your love and your patience with us. Cause us to follow you. To love you, to be faithful, to be salt and light in this world. For your glory we pray. Amen.