Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Chris Peterson is a 30-year-old man who has never grown up.

This is evident in his lack of ambition, the fact that he's living over his parents' garage, and maybe most apparent in his job as a paperboy.

First episode date: September 23, 1990 Final episode date: March 8, 1992

Final episode date: March 8, 1992

Just like Chris in this sitcom of dry humor and a child who never grew up, many Christians who proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior need to get a life.

Some of us may be doing some things when we first confessed Christ as we did years ago.

Never growing up in the faith.

Maybe we feel like singing like the little kid in the Toy’s R Us ( who is practically out of business) singing, “ I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys R Us Kid.....There come a time in our life we cannot continue to do the same things we did when we were children…

Jesus in our text today begin to bring to clarity what it means to get a life that lasts.

That able to endure, that’s biblically astute, and bears the fruit of learning, obeying and replicating the Rabbi of all rabbi’s, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lord’s, Jesus.

In order to get life, we have to embrace the call to discipleship.

Discipleship is the process of becoming a committed follower of Jesus Christ, with all the spiritual discipline and benefits which this brings.

Jn 10:27

nMy sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Total commitment is required of Jesus Christ’s disciples

Mt 10:37-39 See also Mt 16:24-25 pp Mk 8:34-35 pp Lk 9:23-24; Mk 6:8; Lk 14:26-27; 17:33; Jn 12:25

The purpose of discipleship is to become Christlike

Eph 4:22-24 See also Mt 5:48; Lk 6:40; Ro 8:29 God’s purpose in election; Ro 12:1-2; 13:14; 2Co 3:18; 7:1; Eph 1:4; Col 1:28; 3:12; 2Ti 3:17 the purpose of Scripture; 1Pe 1:14-15 a call to holiness; 2Pe 1:5-7; 1Jn 3:2-3

Dietrich Bonhoeffer who wrote the Cost of Discipleship tells us, “Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance; it is baptism without the discipline of community; it is the lord’s Supper without confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession.

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace with- out the living, incarnate Jesus Christ.

(Bonhoeffer, 2003)

Total commitment is required of Jesus Christ’s disciples

Mt 10:37-39 See also Mt 16:24-25 pp Mk 8:34-35 pp Lk 9:23-24; Mk 6:8; Lk 14:26-27; 17:33; Jn 12:25

The purpose of discipleship is to become Christlike

Eph 4:22-24 See also Mt 5:48; Lk 6:40; Ro 8:29 God’s purpose in election; Ro 12:1-2; 13:14; 2Co 3:18; 7:1; Eph 1:4; Col 1:28; 3:12; 2Ti 3:17 the purpose of Scripture; 1Pe 1:14-15 a call to holiness; 2Pe 1:5-7; 1Jn 3:2-3

tism without the discipline of community; it is the lord’s Supper without confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession.

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace with- out the living, incarnate Jesus Christ.

(Bonhoeffer, 2003)

There is a process to discipleship.

One that cannot be redefined by our political, social, economic aspirations.

Its not shaped by our opinions about a subject matter, or what news channel you allow to control our thinking.

To Follow Jesus comes at a cost.

Many don’t want to pay for anything, but want everything....They don’t want to pay for cable, ie the black cable boxes of the 90’s.

They want free everything.

Turbo tax has a commercial where it shows a man walking off after he has just blown up a van.

The words free begin to roll for everything .

One word is given credit for an entire movie......That’s not true.

First of all, turbo tax is not free and second, life is not free.....It comes at a cost......Following Jesus comes at a cost, but if you want to Get a life, you must consider truly following Jesus above all else.

In our text today,Matthew is writing to Jews that Jesus is the Messiah!

The Jews wanted a Messiah to free them from Roman Rule by conquering their enemy and usher in the Kingdom.

It was hard for Jews to imagine that their Messiah, the crown of the nation’s development and the fulfilment of its history, was destined to suffer ignominy, rejection and death.

After all, the Messiah was intended to usher in God’s victory.

Note: Act out starting in ; by reading Jesus teaching them the correct point of view of His discipleship.....

Peter response in to the Message of the Kingdom ( the Gospel/ Good news) as expressed by Jesus was emblematic of many Jews including John the Baptist.

Peter who gave the Iconic Response from God the Father in is now rebuking Jesus in v22.

Webster's 1913 Unabridged English Dictionary.

To rebuke means.... “The act of blaming or finding fault with and condemning as wrong; reprehension; blame.”

In other words, when Peter heard Jesus message of a suffering and rejected messiah did not fit into his worldview and took Jesus aside and had to straighten out Jesus.

Maybe he grabbed Him by the shoulders or pointed his finger at Jesus, with his eyebrows touching the bridge of his nose in anger as he bellowed out his voice at his displeasure this type of Messiah.

But Jesus turning around ( AWAY FROM the insubordinate, insulting and inconsistent PETER) and turned to His disciples rebukes Peter publically and tells Peter who is possibly standing behind Him physically speaks to the Devil who has crafted his message from the mouth of a friend and tells Satan to get behind me!

Always check citation for accuracy before use.

If you and I want to get a Life, we need to start by dealing with people close to us Friends, Family members who are hating on Jesus , our suffering and rejected messiah to Get behind me.....Just like the Great CC Winans when you hear the message that contrary to what Jesus says, that keeps you from following Him, its satanic, You have the power Like Jesus to tell the Devil to get behind me.

Once you can tell the Devil to get behind you, then you can begin to move forward to the path of Discipleship.

Then you can get a life.

Point #1- The Desire of Discipleship (,)

Christ is showing an act of grace by proposing an opportunity for his disciples that are there to be released from their current commitment by using the word wish.

When someone wishes something he or she desires something.

Discipleship has to be something you want , not forced into.

It’s also an open invitation for someone to enter into a deeper commitment with Christ.

He now transposes the requirements by uniting the cross which is a sign of suffering and rejection and ask those who wish to follow in likewise manner.

• The selflessness in the discipleship.

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself" ().

To serve Christ requires selflessness.

A selfish person will never amount to anything for the Lord.

A selfish person finds it impossible to deny himself anything.

But serving Christ involves much denial of self.

If we had more denial of self among church members, our churches would be filled to overflowing for all their service.

• The suffering in the discipleship.

"Take up his cross" ().

This involves duty and the "cross" says suffering will be involved in the matter of service.

You may not be nailed to a literal cross; but you may instead experience the suffering of scorn, rejection, and reproach.

• The Savior in the discipleship.

"Follow me" ().

Service is focused on Christ.

If you would serve the Master, you must be where He is otherwise you will not be there to serve Him when He wants your service.

So it is with Christ.

Following Christ has to do with our devotion to Him.

If devotion to Christ is lacking, our service will be lacking.

• The sacrifice in the discipleship.

"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" ().

Anything we give to the Lord from our possessions to our life involves sacrifice.

To withhold sacrifice will not gain us anything but will result in loss.

But any sacrificing we do for Christ is a gain, not a loss.

The world will not agree with this gain/loss formula but we do not serve Christ on the world's standards but on Christ's standards.

Application.....Don’t be a sell out to this world, the flesh and the devil.

Evry TV, Radio ADD wants your business.....Even when you walk in the mall, people be trying to get you money by selling you cat and dog for Chicken.

Just because they hide it in the sauce, don’t make it right......WE sell out to everybody and everything and try to bless it in Jesus name...

Hollywood is a place that would pay $1000 for a kiss and 50 cent for your soul.

Point#2- The deliberation of the soul v26

Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting.

Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and reason as opposed to power-struggle, creativity, or dialog.

Soul- The spiritual, rational, and immortal part in man; that part of man which enables him to think;

Sometimes, in distinction from the mind, the moral and emotional part of man's nature, the seat of feeling, in distinction from intellect;—sometimes, the intellect only; the understanding; the seat of knowledge, as distinguished from feeling.

In a more general sense, "an animating, separable, surviving entity, the vehicle of individual personal existence."

Tylor.

Willia Law states: “The eyes of our souls only then begin to see, when our bodily eyes are closing.”

Webster's 1913 Unabridged English Dictionary.

We need to place our souls under the eyes of the Holy Spirit and scripture to make sure .

KJV - Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.