The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
00:02 Okay. Um, good morning church
00:06 foy.
00:09 Um, I'm glad to see that uh many of you
00:11 guys could still make it here um this
00:13 Sunday. I was told there'll be a le
00:15 lesser than you. That was an
00:18 encouragement, but that didn't happen.
00:20 Um, okay.
00:29 Okay, great. Um, all right. Behind me
00:33 you see my name written in Chinese uh
00:36 characters and yes, it's uh the horse
00:38 which stands for the ma in Masimo.
00:41 Um
00:43 so uh I don't think it's a coincidence
00:45 that I'm speaking here on this
00:46 auspicious day. Yeah. Um with the new
00:50 year it is common um that we look
00:52 forward and hope for prosperity u good
00:55 health and success.
00:58 Um, I hope that um, God is able to shift
01:00 that thought today and help us all
01:02 refocus on what it means to be a
01:05 follower and what the year might bring
01:07 for us from a follower's perspective.
01:11 So, as a non-Chinese, um, I had two
01:13 options. um either continue to unpack my
01:16 Chinese name and speak about Chinese New
01:19 Year and bring in the gospel and not
01:21 make a single mistake or false move
01:23 culturally or making any references
01:25 about it or take a two second pause and
01:29 abruptly change the topic. Um, I decided
01:33 to go with the ladder. Um, because the
01:36 pressure standing up here is intense and
01:38 by making wrong cultural references, I
01:40 wouldn't want to add to the pressure.
01:45 So, I chose this passage in Mark's
01:47 Gospel. Um, and I titled it fan of
01:50 follower. When it comes to fans u, and
01:54 followers, there's a great difference.
01:57 Twitter actually got the concept right.
02:00 um they do not help create fans, they
02:03 create followers. They know what the
02:06 difference is and they market that. The
02:08 main difference is in engagement level
02:10 and the attitude when you're a follower
02:12 rather than a fan. It's a different
02:14 concept of being a fan. It is a
02:16 different mindset when you follow
02:17 somebody or when you tweet and all your
02:19 followers reply or listen.
02:22 This is something more personal. It's
02:23 something more engaging.
02:26 You see, let's take soccer for example.
02:28 There are those like me who watch the
02:30 big games so that you do not feel left
02:33 out uh in conversation and can share in
02:36 the excitement uh when a world cup
02:38 season has come or they are the fans um
02:42 those who watch the game quite
02:44 frequently have a favorite team. Some of
02:47 them would even get quite intense when
02:49 the matches are up and root for their
02:52 favorite. They buy the jersey.
02:55 They walk around claiming to belong,
02:58 but just wait for a team to lose a few
03:00 matches or maybe a season. And their
03:03 jersey color changes and their support
03:06 shifts.
03:08 The true follower of a club knows the
03:09 details, knows the stats. They stick
03:11 with their club even in the hard times.
03:14 They won't just stop being followers
03:16 because the manager changed or because
03:18 you lose four out of the last seven
03:20 matches.
03:22 The fans leave when the circumstance of
03:25 the team changes. The follower stays
03:28 despite of that circumstance.
03:31 But I can't talk much about soccer. I
03:33 can talk a lot more about music. You
03:35 see, I'm a music fan and follower. And a
03:37 music fan simply likes a song because
03:40 it's in the charts, because it's
03:41 popular, because others seems to like
03:44 it. A real follower of a band is
03:46 different. You see, I recently talked to
03:48 a K-pop lover.
03:50 Um, compared to the fans who just like
03:53 the song, a true follower knows the
03:56 birthdays of the singers uh and of the
03:59 actors by heart.
04:02 Um, he or she knows all the shows they
04:04 act in. They would even watch the shows
04:06 that are really crappy just because
04:08 their favorite actors acting in them.
04:11 They would know the personal details
04:12 about the actor, their dating life. They
04:14 devote some time to look for the news
04:16 about the actor every day.
04:20 They will try to meet the person in
04:21 online chats and when the idol comes
04:24 into the country, they go to the airport
04:25 to see him and and trail him all around
04:27 the country. They try anything to get
04:30 some personal time with their idol.
04:34 You see, but that's not a new
04:36 phenomenon. In the 70s, we had groupies
04:39 and even today in all genres of music,
04:41 we have followers. You see, a follower
04:43 always knows the lyrics of every song,
04:45 knows the tune by listening just three
04:47 bars of the piece played. They know why
04:50 the song was written and to whom it was
04:52 written, and what emotional condition
04:54 the writer was when he was writing it,
04:56 what it meant specifically to the right,
04:58 to the person he was writing it to, and
05:00 what it means generally to the rest of
05:02 us.
05:05 And lastly, a true follower always looks
05:07 for a personal relationship with God
05:11 or sorry with the idol.
05:15 Okay. Um this is Toby Sheldon.
05:19 He is a big Bieber follower. He loves
05:22 Bieber so much that he spent about
05:24 $100,000 US on plastic surgery to look
05:27 like his idol. He's got his Bieber bang
05:31 done and he got his eyelids raised.
05:35 He got his Bieber smile
05:37 and he got his cheeks Botoxed all in
05:41 order just to look more like his idol.
05:44 He wears Justin Bieber's clothes and he
05:47 does radical things for the one he
05:49 worships.
05:51 It's amazing the pain and the cost he's
05:53 willing to bear just to look like his
05:56 idol.
05:58 You see, it shouldn't be much different
05:59 with God. We should have the same
06:01 approach. The only difference is our God
06:04 loves us first, would never abuse our
06:06 love, seeks us first, and reciprocates
06:09 our devotion many times over. Justin
06:12 Bieber would never die for Todd, but God
06:15 died for us.
06:17 So, are we going to stick? Are we going
06:19 to get to know the details about our
06:21 God, know the depths of his word, look
06:24 for that personal relationship, seek to
06:27 be like him, so that when others look at
06:30 us, they see him.
06:32 What costs and pains are we ready to
06:34 bear to be like Christ? As Christians,
06:37 we are fans of followers. If we are
06:40 followers, how are we be to are we to be
06:43 followers? And here are some steps from
06:46 this passage. A follower of Jesus is
06:49 captivated by who Jesus truly is. A
06:53 follower must allow Jesus to live in
06:55 him.
06:57 And a follower needs to be Christlike.
07:01 So before we get into the passage, let's
07:03 pray.
07:05 Um, dear Lord, I just ask you to be with
07:07 us here right now. Um, pour your grace
07:10 over me that I'm able to speak clearly
07:12 and eloquently, Lord, and truly speak
07:14 your word. Lord, I pray for the rest of
07:17 us that we able to listen with open
07:19 hearts and open minds and receive your
07:20 word this morning. In Jesus name I pray.
07:24 Amen.
07:28 So a follower of Jesus needs to be
07:30 captivated by who Jesus really is.
07:34 So we find ourselves today in the gospel
07:36 of Mark. Jesus was at the height of his
07:39 ministry. He was going about feeding
07:40 thousands of people and we can read
07:42 about that in Mark 81 to10. He was
07:46 healing the blind and we can read about
07:48 that in Mark 8:22-26.
07:50 See many people came to Jesus's outdoor
07:53 events. And if you would have one of
07:54 those today, it might look something
07:56 like this. Be thousands of people.
08:00 But I call them fans. And the fans were
08:03 there. Now, why do I call them fans? You
08:06 see, we read in Mark 27-30,
08:09 who Jesus asking the people, who do you
08:11 think, who these people say I am? The
08:13 response was that no one really knew.
08:15 Maybe it's John the Baptist, maybe
08:17 Elijah, maybe just a prophet. You see
08:21 the c the if the people who came really
08:23 knew who Jesus was they would have been
08:26 followers. So Jesus turned to his
08:29 followers and asked who do you think I
08:31 am? And that you in that context is a
08:33 very personal you. So he planned to say
08:35 this you who know me well. You my most
08:39 intimate friends. You my followers. Who
08:42 do you think I am? And Peter spoke on
08:45 their behalf. you are Christ or Messiah
08:48 or the anointed one. They were able to
08:50 see who he truly was and they were truly
08:53 captivated.
08:54 Though Peter still had misconceptions,
08:57 everybody had misconceptions that God
08:58 would come down and defeat and bring the
09:01 kingdom of heaven here immediately.
09:03 Even today, we have mis misconceptions
09:05 of God. A God needs to perform miracles
09:08 and wonders. And if we bring our
09:10 sacrifice or tithes to that God so that
09:12 he may perform for us, give us blessing
09:15 and give us prosperity, it's kind of
09:18 like a genie. If we rub him the right
09:20 way, he will grant us our wishes.
09:24 We all have the tendency to make God
09:25 according to our own ideas.
09:28 If that would be God's purpose to come
09:30 perform miracles and grant us our
09:31 wishes, then why did Christ so many
09:33 times demand silence after he performed
09:35 the miracle? Because with the
09:37 expectation the fans would have because
09:39 of the miracles, it will distract from
09:41 Christ's true mission. It will be a
09:43 stumbling block for those who tr for for
09:46 them to truly come to know Christ and
09:47 his purpose and become followers. You
09:51 see, the miracles were always performed
09:53 to reveal the nature of Christ and not
09:56 the purpose for which he came.
09:59 We see an incident of this
09:60 misunderstanding of Christ's mission
10:02 right away at the beginning of where our
10:04 text starts.
10:05 And he began to teach that the son of
10:08 man must suffer many things and be
10:10 rejected by the elders and the chief
10:12 priests and the scribes and be killed
10:14 and there and after three days rise
10:16 again. Jesus just performed miracles.
10:21 They all just realized that he was
10:23 Christ.
10:25 They probably wanted to go out and
10:26 party. They probably wanted to go out
10:28 and celebrate
10:29 because the kingdom is coming and
10:31 they're going to conquer all the
10:33 nations.
10:35 They will be freed from their
10:36 oppressions and everybody will bow at
10:39 the feet of Christ because he is king
10:42 and the kingdom is here and the kingdom
10:44 is now. But Jesus says this, the son of
10:47 man must suffer many things and
10:48 ultimately die and then rise again. That
10:52 must have been terrible to hear.
10:54 Rejected by the ones in power, by the
10:56 ones in influence. It's like someone
10:57 saying to us right now, you'll be
10:58 rejected by your bosses or by your
10:60 family or your friends, by those in
11:02 powerful position, by those in
11:03 influential positions.
11:06 And you know, if those people reject us,
11:07 many others will reject us too.
11:11 It was so hard to hear for Peter who
11:13 could not grasp this. It was absurd. It
11:14 was embarrassing. It was shameful. So as
11:18 we read, Peter took him and rebuked him.
11:21 It's the same kind of word that they use
11:22 for rebuking demons, silencing them. So
11:25 Jesus, I mean, so Peter silenced Jesus.
11:29 He must have said something like this.
11:31 Hey Jesus, stop talking this nonsense.
11:34 The Messiah must not die. Stop talking
11:37 like this. And we read an account of
11:38 this in in Matthew 16:22. He says, "Far
11:41 be it from you, Lord. This shall never
11:43 happen to you."
11:46 It's the same thought that Satan used to
11:49 try to convince Jesus in the desert,
11:51 saying that there's another way that
11:52 Jesus could rule without suffering,
11:55 without sacrifice.
11:57 That's where the human mind and divine
11:59 mind clash. So, we immediately see
12:01 Jesus's response. But turning and seeing
12:05 his disciples, he rebuked Peter and
12:06 said, "Get behind me, Satan, for you're
12:09 not setting your mind on things of God,
12:11 but things of man."
12:14 You see, not having our mind set on
12:17 God's purpose is having our mind set on
12:19 Satan's purpose. Get behind me, Satan.
12:23 Now, I'm not talking about having a
12:24 satanic possession or demonic influence
12:27 or a satanic I'm just talking about
12:29 having a Satan-like mind. This mind is
12:31 one that goes against God. And here we
12:33 clearly see that having a human mind
12:35 rather than a godly mind is a Satan-like
12:38 mind. How often do we excuse ourselves
12:41 of being merely human? How often do we
12:43 say, "I know I'm not being godly right
12:46 now. I'm just human."
12:51 We always, well, maybe we all need to
12:52 realize that when we're just being
12:54 human-minded, we sometimes can be rather
12:56 evilminded.
12:59 We always look for the quick fix and
13:01 that just scratches the surface of the
13:04 problem. God always looks deeper. God
13:08 knows our true problem in life. And the
13:10 problem is sin.
13:13 You see, once we understand that God who
13:15 hates sin loves a sinner so much that he
13:18 humbled himself to become man and lived
13:20 a sinless life and died for us in our
13:22 sins. Once we truly grasp this, we must
13:26 be captivated and not ashamed.
13:29 Not ashamed that our righteous deeds are
13:31 worthless or filthy or like filthy rags.
13:34 Not ashamed that we are sinners and need
13:36 salvation in our life. Not ashamed that
13:39 God had to come down himself for us, get
13:41 punished and beaten and hung on a cross
13:44 for us in our sins. Not ashamed like
13:46 Peter was that we might be persecuted
13:48 and unpopular and rejected. Not ashamed
13:51 but captivated by his amazing love for
13:54 us. In order to be a true follower, the
13:57 impact of Christ's death on the cross
13:59 for us must really captivate our
14:00 imagination. It must wow us. It must so
14:04 deeply impact us inside that we are
14:06 forever changed.
14:09 So how then do we respond?
14:12 A follower of Jesus must allow Jesus to
14:15 live in him. The text reads,
14:19 "And calling to the crowd to him with
14:22 his disciples, he said to them, if
14:24 anyone would come after me, let him deny
14:26 himself and take up his cross and follow
14:28 me. For whoever would save his life will
14:30 lose it, but whoever loses his life for
14:32 my sake and the gospel will save it. For
14:34 what does it profit a man to gain the
14:36 world and forfeit his soul? For what can
14:38 a man give in return for his soul? For
14:41 whoever is ashamed of me and my words in
14:43 this adulterous and sinful generation of
14:44 him with the son of man also be ashamed
14:46 when he comes to the glory of his father
14:48 and his holy angels.
14:51 What does it mean to lose our lives? You
14:54 see many of us look at our lives this
14:56 way. We draw a big circle and we put me
14:60 inside.
15:03 We then look at our family and see what
15:05 can my family do for me. We then look at
15:09 our work and see what can my work do for
15:11 me. We look at our friends and see what
15:14 my friends can do for me and what can my
15:17 desires do for me and what can God do
15:20 for me. It's a very self-centered
15:22 approach and we all look at it like this
15:25 or some of us do.
15:27 But then what we do is we invite Jesus
15:30 to come live with us. And when he first
15:33 comes, we figure he's just going to take
15:34 an extra guest room in our house and not
15:36 much inconvenience inconvenience is
15:38 going to be caused. Sure, as a guest, he
15:40 gets to be first in all things. But in
15:42 the rest of the areas, we are still king
15:44 and we decide on how to arrange our
15:46 living conditions. It's called the God
15:48 first approach. And many of us have been
15:50 living our lives this way. And that's
15:52 not enough. You see, we put God first,
15:56 then we put our family, then we put our
15:58 work, our friends, our desires, and
16:02 ourselves last. This is still
16:04 compartmentalizing God. This is putting
16:07 God in a section where we want him to
16:09 be. This is telling God, God, you fit
16:12 into this room, but don't touch the
16:14 other areas of my life.
16:17 You see, when we invite Jesus to live in
16:19 us, it's asking him to come and
16:20 renovate. ask him to take over, ask him
16:24 to come in and bang down the walls is
16:27 something we call the God in the center
16:28 approach. We draw a big circle and put
16:31 God in the center and then we ask this
16:35 God or Jesus,
16:39 how is my family supposed to look like?
16:42 How is this room supposed to look like?
16:44 How is this library called work supposed
16:46 to look like?
16:48 How is this entertainment and friends
16:51 going to look like?
16:53 Lord, how about this closet full of
16:55 desires? What shall I do with that?
16:58 And God, what about me? What about my
17:02 bedroom? Where I do, where do I lay my
17:05 head and where do I rest?
17:08 If we allow him to take allow him to
17:11 live with us, he will take over all the
17:13 areas in our lives and he will grow big
17:15 and he will go over all the areas in our
17:17 lives.
17:19 So what does it mean to lose our lives?
17:23 It is saying I no longer want to
17:25 associate with the person that I am. I
17:28 realize my sinfulness. I realize I
17:30 cannot earn this. I abandon my
17:33 self-effort. I abandon all
17:35 self-confidence. I abandon all
17:37 self-will. I abandon my own ambitions,
17:41 my own agenda, my own plans. It's the
17:45 will to say, "Lord, I don't want to be
17:47 who I am any longer. Lord, I want to
17:50 change. Renovate me. Renovate my house."
17:56 Tish Bonher says this, "To deny oneself
17:60 is to be aware of only Christ and no
18:02 more of self. to see only him who goes
18:05 before and no more the road which is too
18:07 hard for us.
18:09 Allowing Jesus to live in us is letting
18:12 your ambition be m is saying let your
18:14 vision be mine, let your will be mine
18:16 and let your purpose be mine.
18:19 To let Jesus live in us requires us to
18:21 give up anything that we want or seek
18:23 that will hinder in doing the will of
18:25 God. It means we must take our wants and
18:27 desires down from the throne and place
18:29 Jesus on it and give him the governing
18:32 power in our lives. Which brings us to
18:36 the last part. Be like Christ.
18:41 A disciple is not above his teacher, but
18:43 everyone when he's fully trained will be
18:45 like his teacher. Luke 6:40.
18:50 How are we Christlike?
18:53 Do we love like him?
18:56 Are we serving others like him? Are we
18:60 serving others like he serves us?
19:03 Why not?
19:05 Because we have idols in place of him.
19:09 Becoming Christlike is the journey of
19:11 ridding ourselves of our idols.
19:14 Idols keep us from our main mission in
19:16 life.
19:18 So what are the idols in our lives that
19:19 keep us from being like Christ? Mark
19:22 Driscoll in his book, Who Do You Think
19:24 You Are? has a nice deliteration of
19:26 idols and probably all our idols can fit
19:29 in one of these categories. Items,
19:31 duties, others, longings and sufferings.
19:35 The first category is items. What does
19:37 that mean?
19:39 What it means that consumerism is now
19:41 our religion and restores our pagan
19:43 temples.
19:46 We worship items. Our houses, our cars,
19:48 our phones, our clothes. The list is
19:50 long.
19:52 I think it's items. It's a clear-cut
19:54 case and we don't have to dwell on it
19:55 much.
19:59 How about duties?
20:01 I'm a father. I'm a firstborn. I'm a
20:05 responsible child. I'm the funny one.
20:07 Every time it gets difficult, I tell a
20:09 joke. That's my job. I'm a committee
20:13 member. I'm the worship leader. I'm a
20:15 mother. I'm a businessman.
20:18 Duties become idols when we are doing
20:20 the right thing with the wrong mindset.
20:22 It is not to show the world God but to
20:25 show the world how glorious we are.
20:28 Idols can be a good thing but a good
20:30 thing in a God place
20:34 and a god good thing in the god place is
20:35 a bad thing. What are your duties? What
20:39 are your responsibilities that come
20:40 before God?
20:42 How about others? This is probably the
20:44 most common idol. This can be
20:47 individuals or groups. What do they
20:49 think? What do they want? What do they
20:53 say? What do they need? I want them to
20:56 like me. I want them to approve of me. I
20:58 don't want them to punish me. I want
21:00 them to bless me. I want them to never
21:02 leave me, never forsake me. I want them
21:05 to say, well done, good and faithful
21:07 friend.
21:09 I want them to say, "You're always
21:11 welcome here. You're one of us." If they
21:14 praise us, our life is worth living. And
21:16 if they criticize us, we feel like
21:18 dying. We are putting others in a place
21:21 where God belongs.
21:25 Longings.
21:27 This is not biblical hope. This is naive
21:30 optimism. Today is bad, but tomorrow I
21:33 will be great. Today I'm sick. Tomorrow
21:35 I'll be healthy. Today I'm unemployed.
21:37 Tomorrow I'll have a job. Today I'm
21:39 single, but tomorrow I'm going to meet
21:40 somebody. Today my life is is a wreck.
21:43 But tomorrow is a new day because when
21:44 God closes the window, he opens the
21:46 door. It's not in the Bible, but I say
21:47 it because it sounds good.
21:51 Maybe we are spiritual and we start
21:52 pulling verses claiming the promises of
21:55 God. Have faith. God wants you to be
21:57 rich, healthy, and successful.
21:60 We so easily turn to a self-help teacher
22:02 and a false prophet and let him give us
22:04 an idol
22:07 or give us a god who gives us our idol.
22:10 We must be careful for what we long for
22:11 is most probably not God. Longing is
22:14 putting false hope that in the near
22:16 future you will feel complete because
22:18 you have received something, achieved
22:20 something, done something or are with
22:22 somebody. It's not hope in God.
22:27 Suffering and here's the hardest one.
22:30 We suffer emotionally.
22:32 We suffer relationally.
22:34 We suffer spiritually. We suffer
22:36 financially. We suffer physically. And
22:39 when we suffer is usually because we
22:42 commit sins or others commit sins
22:43 against us.
22:46 We can have our worst day be our
22:48 defining day. I'm short. I'm tall. My
22:51 husband or wife cheated on me. My
22:53 friends betrayed me and I'm suffering
22:55 and I'm hurting. We like to play victim
22:58 in our own lives. And it's so easy to
22:60 make that the center of our day, the
23:02 center of the moment and grab all
23:03 attention on us. With self-centered
23:06 contempt, we say, "I'm a failure. I'm a
23:08 loser. I should have been able to do
23:11 better. I should have been able to keep
23:13 that relationship. My friends don't want
23:15 me because I'm worthless. God must be
23:18 punishing me. What have I done? I
23:20 deserve this. I'm a terrible person. I'm
23:23 a failure.
23:25 Do we have any of these idols?
23:28 You see, with the attitude of denying
23:30 ourselves and the desire to be like
23:31 Christ, we rid ourselves from our idols.
23:34 And that is picking up our cross.
23:37 Many people interpret the cross as some
23:39 burden they must carry in their lives. A
23:40 strange relationship, a thankless job, a
23:43 physical illness. That is your
23:44 circumstance, not your cross. With self
23:48 pretty pride, we say that's the cross I
23:50 have to carry. Is such an interpretation
23:52 is not what Jesus meant when he said
23:54 pick up your cross.
23:57 To pick up our cross is not to focus on
23:58 our circumstance, but to focus on God in
24:01 spite of our situation and circumstance.
24:05 It is not working late hours. It's
24:07 coming to church on Sunday morning in
24:09 spite of the late hours we work. It's
24:11 not our financial situation, but it's
24:14 glorifying God in spite of our financial
24:17 situation. The question is, are you
24:20 willing to follow Jesus in spite
24:22 whatever situation you're in? Are you
24:24 willing to follow Jesus if it means to
24:26 lose some of your friends? Are you
24:27 willing to follow Jesus if it means
24:29 alienation from your family? Are you
24:30 willing to follow Jesus if it means to
24:32 lose your reputation? Are you willing to
24:35 follow Jesus if it means losing your
24:36 job? Are you willing to follow Jesus if
24:39 it means losing your life? It is walking
24:41 the path of continuous denying yourself.
24:44 It's what sets us apart. It's what
24:46 transforms us and changes us. If denying
24:50 ourself is the mindset, the Holy Spirit
24:53 inspired mindset that comes from a
24:55 captivated heart, then picking up our
24:57 cross is the implementation of that
24:59 mindset into our daily life.
25:02 It's the journey of becoming Christlike.
25:06 And it's hard. We will pursue holiness
25:09 and we will fail.
25:11 But when we try and we fail, we will
25:13 fall to our knees and realize that we
25:15 need a savior.
25:17 We can't do this on our own.
25:20 And then our minds and hearts will be
25:21 ready to follow him. We will be
25:24 followers.
25:26 You see, many follow him without denying
25:29 themselves and picking up their cross.
25:31 That is fan behavior, not follower
25:33 behavior.
25:35 You can't be a follower if you don't
25:36 invite Jesus to live in you, renovate
25:38 you, and become like him. You're just a
25:41 fan who tries to do what he does.
25:45 In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus speaks to
25:48 fans. And he says this, "Not everyone
25:52 who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter
25:53 the kingdom of heaven, but only the one
25:55 who does the will of my father who is in
25:57 heaven." Many will say to me that on
25:60 that day, Lord, Lord, did you not
26:01 prophesy in your name? And did you not
26:03 drive out demons and in your name
26:05 perform many miracles? Then I will tell
26:07 them plainly, I never knew you. Away
26:10 from me, you evildoers.
26:13 Away from me, you fans. Who are you?
26:17 You're not my followers. I can't
26:19 recognize you. You look nothing like me.
26:27 I believe that Chief Bonher says it best
26:30 when it comes to being a true follower.
26:33 When holy scripture speaks of following
26:35 Jesus, it proclaims that people are free
26:38 from all human rules, from everything
26:40 which pressures pressures burdens or
26:43 causes worry and torment of the
26:45 conscience. In following Jesus, people
26:48 are released from the hard yoke of their
26:50 own laws to be under the gentle yoke of
26:52 Christ.
26:54 Those who follow Jesus' commandment
26:56 entirely, who let Jesus yoke rest on
26:58 them without resistance will find the
27:01 burdens they must bear to be light. In
27:04 gentle pressure of his yoke, they will
27:07 receive the strength to walk the right
27:09 path without becoming weary.
27:12 Jesus commandment is harsh, inhumanly
27:15 harsh for someone who resists it. Jesus
27:18 commandment is gentle and not difficult
27:20 for someone who willingly accepts it.
27:23 His commandments are not burdensome.
27:27 1 John 5:3.
27:30 And before I conclude, I can ask the
27:32 worship team to come back up.
27:37 I would like to say this.
27:40 As true followers, we know who Christ
27:42 is. And captivated by the love he has
27:46 for us, we reciprocate with denying
27:49 ourselves, letting him be the center of
27:52 our lives. And with his strength, we
27:54 walk the journey of becoming like him.
27:57 We do the painful things. We rid
27:59 ourselves from our addiction and habits
28:01 and idols to look more like him. We will
28:04 stick with him without being weary. And
28:07 it will be easy and we will have joy. As
28:10 true followers, our lives are marked by
28:12 obedience. We obey God's word. We obeyed
28:16 with joy. We obeyed with love. We obeyed
28:19 with gratitude. We obeyed gladly. As
28:23 true followers, our lives are marked by
28:26 a desire to worship him. So, let's be
28:31 completely committed.
28:33 Let's be followers.
28:35 Let's pray.
28:37 Dear Lord,
28:41 captivate our hearts.
28:43 Show us who you truly are.
28:48 And when it happens, Lord, we invite you
28:49 to come into our lives and live with us
28:52 so you can renovate our hearts and
28:53 renovate our souls and renovate our
28:55 minds.
28:57 Lord, help us to get rid of all the
28:59 idols in our lives.
29:02 Help us to look more like you.
29:05 for Christ I pray.
29:08 Amen.
