A Radical Call

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. It's amazing what we're looking for sometimes as consumers. It's like we're trying to add in Jesus into the rest of our lives that we've already got set up. And that's what we're going to find out today. These three would-be disciples in our text today are trying to add Jesus into what's already going on and have him kind of fit into everything. And I think that's what's happening in here. Somehow we think Christianity is about addition when at least at first I think it's about subtraction. We're going to get to that point. Let's pray. Lord God, thank you so much for this day and for humor and for just laughing at ourselves and others and how foolish we can be when we come up to you. We pray, Lord, today that you open up our hearts and our lives and that we really know what it means to follow you fully and to live for you. As you, Lord Jesus, followed all the way to the cross, we're just amazed at that. We are amazed at you this day. We pray, Lord, in these weeks ahead of Easter as we're approaching that day, that we follow along with you all the way, that you give us opportunities during the week to witness for you, to glorify you, to show your goodness to others, to serve others effectively and fruitfully in their lives. We pray, Lord, as well that you would bless all the gospel churches in this area, every one of them. There's only one Christian church, one that you set up on this earth in various expressions. And we just pray that this day you would create a movement in southwest Florida and from us throughout this whole world, Lord, that you are the center and you are the reason and you are the all-in-all for all of us. And it starts showing more and more in our lives. All this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. So this last week, Guy Lombardo shared with me a blog by Kerry Newhoff. I hope I got his name right, okay? It's got so many vowels in it, I do not know how to say it. But Kerry Newhoff, and he started a church called Connexus. That sounds like another one of those churches that would be fun to go to, right? But what he said, he found that actually there are seven trends he sees happening in 2017 and in the future. And we're not going to go through all seven. We're just going to go through his first point. And this is what he said. Consumer Christianity will die faster than ever. Over the last 100 years, North American Christianity somehow fused with consumerism to the point where we wrongly define discipleship as what we can get from God or from a church. That's because at its heart, consumer Christianity asks, what's in it for me? That view of Christianity is simply backwards. Christian maturity isn't marked by how much we know or what we can get. It's marked by how much we love and how much we give in light of how deeply we've been loved and how much we've been given. All of this is antithetical to the gospel, which calls us to die to ourselves, to lose ourselves for the sake of Christ. Our faith calls us to live for Christ and to love and reach the world for which he died. As the church reformats and repents, a more authentic, more selfless church will emerge. When you're no longer focused on yourself and your viewpoint, a new tone emerges. If your church is still defined by what you offer members to satisfy them and isn't defined by how you love each other and the world around you, the clock is ticking faster than ever. That last paragraph, especially, that's what I really hope for our church here. You know, we're not the latest, greatest, best. Maybe we've got a great name. I don't know. But the point is that what we want to offer is how much we love one another and love this world and serve this world. How much we are reflecting the life of Jesus to this world because this world needs Jesus more than ever. Right? Everywhere. Anytime I turn on the news, anytime I look at anything, it's like, oh boy, Jesus, we need you now. OK? So let's read a couple of passages. We're going to be looking at Luke chapter 9, verses 23 to 25, and then 57 to 62. And he said to all, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? And as they were going along the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests. But the son of man has nowhere to lay his head to another. He said, follow me. But he said, Lord, let me go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord. But let me first say farewell to those at home. Jesus said to him, no one...