October 5 & 6, 2001 Sermon

October 6 &7, 2001

"First Call"

Andy Hein

Matthew 16:24
24: Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Jesus has been shaped and reshaped into many different forms over the years by a lot of different people. For some people, Jesus has been reshaped into the form of a rabbit's foot, pulled out of their pocket any time they get into trouble or need some kind of special luck. For other people, Jesus has been shaped into a utilitarian genie who must jump at every whim when they rub the magic lamp. To still other people, Jesus has become a life insurance policy that they signed some time ago when they raised their hand or came forward for an altar call at a worship celebration. Unfortunately, many times God is changed more than we are changed. It's a shame to know that our faith won't impact the world. If our faith doesn't turn us upside down, how will our faith ever turn the world upside down?
The events of this past month have made me focus on what's really important in life. It's caused me to evaluate my core beliefs in who God is and what I believe God to be. In fact, the events of this past month have brought America back to God. We've seen it through community prayers. We've seen churches at record attendance with standing room only. Often when tragedy comes to our lives, it brings us back to our beginning - our very first call. It has helped me realize how it is that I got here. Why I'm here and where I'm going.
Maybe I should back up just a moment and introduce myself to you. For those of you who don't know, my name is Andy. I have been given the privilege of overseeing the student ministry here at Ginghamsburg Church and I'm very excited about that. My wife, Kellie, and our 11-month-old son are in Charleston, South Carolina, still. I miss them very much but hopefully they will be joining me very soon. I come by way of Charleston by way of southern California where I grew up and spent most of my life and here I am now in Tipp City, Ohio. And excited to be here, believe it or not.
My wife and I love working with teenagers, with students. But we love even more to see God's hand move in student's lives to the point where they would turn away from following the pressures of their peers and authentically follow the call of God. There is nothing more exciting to me than to see a young person's life radically changed by the call of Jesus Christ. Together with the leadership of Ginghamsburg Church, my wife and I, after a lot of prayer, believe that this is the right place and the right time for us to be here. We're excited about the future of the student ministry here and I believe that there is an awesome new horizon for the youth here. I don't say that because I think that we have something awesome to bring to the table. I say that because I believe God's dream for the youth of this church has yet to be realized - that we have just scratched the surface.

Matthew 16:13-16
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Students, I want you to listen to me closely. Don't miss what I'm going to say. Don't miss what God is about to do because you're assuming that what is now is the way that it's always been. We are excited about the future of youth ministry here. But I am not here now to speak to you about youth ministry. I could. I would love to. But I think that what is on most of our hearts are the issues that the recent tragedies in America have stirred up. Questions about our faith. Why is it that I am here? In fact, I think that the most basic question that we could answer is the question that Jesus asked his disciples 2000 years ago, when he said, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter replied in Matthew 16:16, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.'
I imagine that most of us here in this room would agree with Peter's response. God in human form. I want you to understand what Jesus communicated to his disciples just a few verses later. In Matthew 16:24 we read, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.'" They had the right answer of who Jesus was but he needed to remind them of what was involved when they signed up to follow Him. They had forgotten. So Jesus was saying, "Listen, guys, let's go back to that first call that I gave you. That first call when you left your nets and you left your family and friends to follow me. I think you've forgotten what I said it would be like." Often we forget what it is like to follow Jesus. Jesus said, "If anyone wishes . . ." That's an all-inclusive call. Jesus was giving this call not just to his disciples, but to the crowd that had gathered as well. "If anyone wishes to come after me . . ." It was not just an all-inclusive call, it was a reminder to the disciples because the disciples had forgotten why they had signed up to follow Jesus in the first place. What is this all-important lesson that Jesus is trying to teach his disciples, to remind his disciples? It is one thing to have a lesson taught to you. It's quite another to have that lesson learned. So Jesus went back to this lesson again and again and again. The lesson was the cost of discipleship or what it means to be a true authentic follower of Jesus. Let me ask you, are you a disciple of Jesus? Are you a follower of God? I didn't say, "Do you go to church?" I didn't say, "Do you tithe or do you take communion." Because many people believe but are not disciples. There are a lot of fair weather followers of Jesus in the church today. When we forget our first call as Christians, we lose our true authentic identity and we can't live as God intended for us to live. It is important for us to remember our first call. Jesus wants to remind us today so that we can reaffirm what it is that we're really here for. You've come to church. You've made an effort to be here. You've come this far. It is apparent that you want to seek the truth. Don't stop short and not understand and not grab hold of the ground rules that Jesus is about to set forth for us in becoming a success in knowing God.

I. The Personal Costs
The first ground rule is to understand the personal cost. "If anyone wishes to come after me, let them deny himself or herself." Jesus says this because he knows our great barrier to discovering God is our focus on ourselves. Is it any wonder why there is such an emphasis on self in this culture today? We hear of self-love, self-esteem, self-image, self-worth, self, self, self. We are focused on ourselves. We even hear it from the pulpits where preachers will say, "You need to love yourself before you can love anyone else." That's not what the Bible says. The Bible assumes that we love ourselves. The Bible teaches that we need to deny ourselves, not love ourselves. "But you don't understand - I really don't love myself. I really hate myself. In fact I think my problems all stem from chronic low self-esteem." "No, they don't. You love yourself." "No, I hate myself." "No, you love yourself." Let me prove it to you. Before you came here tonight you took care of yourself. You bathed yourself, hopefully. You fed yourself. You clothed yourself. You made yourself look presentable. Why? Because you love yourself.
If I took a picture of this group right now and put it up on that back wall and you looked at that picture, who's the first person you're going to look for? "Oh, I'm going to look for you, Andy." NO. You're going to look for yourself. And if it's a good picture of yourself you're going to say, "Oh, I like that picture." It doesn't matter if everyone else is all weird - "Oh, that's a great picture." Why? Because you love yourself. Let's do some therapy. Can we admit that we really do love ourselves? Let's say this together: I love myself. Ready? I love myself. Very good. That's great therapy to admit that. Because Jesus is saying we don't have to learn to love ourselves. What we have to learn is to deny ourselves.
What does it mean to deny yourself? Have you ever thought about that? I think what Jesus is trying to say is I deny myself when I accept the fact that there is nothing that I have to bring to the table to affect or add to my salvation. Nothing. No amount of good works, good deeds, no amount of money, nothing that I could bring to the table to add to my salvation. I don't care if your good deeds exceed those of Mother Teresa - if you piled your good deeds all together and they reached higher than Mount Everest. If this table here before us were a scale, and you placed all of your good deeds on this side against the good deed of Jesus here with the elements of the bread and the cup, your good deeds wouldn't tip that scale one bit. To deny yourself means to admit that in yourself is sin - to see yourself under condemnation without any hope of ever being able to change your situation. And realizing that, knowing that you need someone from outside of yourself, you reach out toward heaven and grab hold of the lifeline that is there. And that lifeline is Jesus Christ. Jesus knows that it's not those who think they're somebody who come to God, but those who know they're nobody. That's why I think Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount, the greatest sermon ever given, with these words: "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Until we know how guilty we are we'll never really understand how precious his forgiveness is. Until we realize how poor we are we'll never see how great his riches are. And until we see how lost we are we will never experience how wonderful it is to be found. So then, our first call is a call to abandon our own selves. A call to abandon our own desires to add something to our salvation because we are good. Something that we could bring to God that he would accept.

II. The Way of the Cross
Saying no to self is the first step to God but it also becomes the life pattern or the way of the cross. Jesus says, "If anyone wishes to come after me let him deny himself or herself and take up the cross." There is a way of the cross. There are a lot of misconceptions about taking up the cross today. I've heard people say, "Oh, my mother-in-law is my cross." "My cross is the person sitting next to me right now." And no doubt they are probably saying the same thing if you are saying that. Or, "My cross is my boss." Or, "My cross is listening to you preach right now." We've lost the meaning of the cross. We wear them as fashion accessories, often without even giving any consideration to its meaning. What were the disciples thinking when Jesus said, "Take up your cross"? What were they thinking way back 2000 years ago on this road overlooking the region of Galilee? I'll tell you what they were thinking. In that very area, not too long before they stood there, the Romans had crucified 800 Jews. They saw poor souls with at least the cross beam of the instrument of their death strapped to their backs. They saw a people marching toward their death - and not a very easy death at that.
Jesus was saying you must perceive following me as putting on the instrument of your own death. I heard a great preacher once put it this way. Go ahead and write your own funeral in your Daytimer. You may have heard that before here. No, we're not in a culture today where we may have to give up our life as a martyr for following Jesus. That could happen. There are places in the world where that is happening right now. But let me tell you there still is a reproach to bear if we authentically follow Jesus - if we live out our first call.
What does it mean to bear your cross today in this culture? Well, let me give you a few examples from my own life, opportunities that I have had to take up my cross. I've got to admit to you that not all of these have been successful. So God ends up giving them as opportunities again and again. Let me give you a few. When my good is attacked, when my wishes are crossed, my advice is ridiculed and I refuse to let anger rise in my heart, I take up my cross. When I bear disgrace, irregularity, annoyance, or stand face-to-face with folly or insensitivity and endure it as Jesus did, I take up my cross. When I am content with any food, money, clothing, climate, society, solitude, interruption or career change by the will of God, I take up my cross. When I see others prosper with their needs wondrously met and rejoice without envy though my needs be greater and remain unmet, I take up my cross. When I receive correction from one of less rank than myself, with humility I take up my cross. Let me ask you a question, have you taken up the cross lately?

III. The Daily Call
Living our first call to follow Jesus involves a cost. But I want you to understand that there is also a cost to not follow Jesus. Our first call was not just a call that we agreed to some time ago and then go on with our life as usual. It becomes a daily following, to follow the call every day. If we say we belong to Jesus, if we say we belong to the light, we ought to walk as Jesus walked. Putting our footsteps into his footprints as it were. I have this image in my head that if Jesus is walking in a certain way and we are accurately following Jesus, as the world sees us you know who they might mistake us for? Jesus. Wouldn't that be awesome? Hey, there goes . . . that looks like Jesus. Why? Because he or she is walking like Jesus. That's the desire of my heart.

Matthew 9:9
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

John 8:31
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

I love the way Jesus called people to follow him. Take Matthew for example, a few chapters prior to this. Matthew was sitting at his tax collector's table, doing very well I might add. Jesus walked right up to Matthew and said two words, "Follow me." I love that. Most of the times when I try to recruit leaders and servants I'm like: "Hey, let's go out for coffee and maybe we could talk about the possibility of you . . . one time maybe . . . you know, no commitment here . . . of trying to help out with the students." No, that's not Jesus' way. Jesus came up to Matthew and commanded him, "Matthew, I command you to follow me." Guess what, folks, Jesus is saying the same thing to you and me. I command you to follow me. Literally that command - follow - is the perfect present tense, meaning to literally follow me every day. Every day. He doesn't say, 'I command you to follow me on Saturday night, that's all I ask.' No, every day - seven days a week, 24 hours a day. It is a decision we make at one point but then we remake it over and over and over again. That's why Jesus, in John 8:31, says, "If you continue in my word then you are my true disciples."
This first call to follow Jesus is interesting because it is a call to follow in companionship. In intimate relationship. To follow Him closely. Jesus is not saying, 'I want all of you to follow me closely, except you. Why don't you stay about 12 steps behind me, that would be right.' No, he's saying, "Everyone come right next to me. I want people to know we're friends." That's an awesome thing. What an invitation. Matthew got up from his table, left his lucrative deals and followed Jesus immediately. He never made any mention of what it cost him to leave and follow Jesus. Probably because he found true riches. Sure it cost Matthew some things to follow Jesus. You and I might lose some things to follow the Lord authentically. You might lose a career but you'll gain a destiny. You might lose material possessions but you'll gain spiritual fortunes. You might lose your temporary security but you'll gain eternal life. You might lose emptiness and loneliness but you'll gain fulfillment and companionship. You might give up all that this world has to offer but you will gain the One to whom the world owes everything. Yes, as I've said there is a cost to follow Jesus. But the cost not to follow Jesus is greater. We are a forgetful people. I'm a forgetful person. I forget what my initial call really entailed. I might not forget what I believe, Jesus and who he is, but I forget what he has called me to be - how he has called me to follow. We forget and when we forget we lose our true identity. We can't live out authentically who God has called us to be. You might identify with that.
This is our time to remember. To remember our first call. The call that Jesus has given each one of us. To deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Him. As I said in the beginning, this country has suffered an attack by really just a handful of men who are motivated by hate. The attack shook not only the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon but it also shook our hearts as Americans. The extent of the economic loss may never be really fully comprehended. We have experienced firsthand the enormous loss of life, grief and wreckage by men who were motivated by hate. What the world has yet to experience is a full-blown attack from people armed with the love of Christ to being new life, to bring joy, to bring reconciliation and restoration. Imagine the awesome potential sitting here in this room if we were to remember our first call and lay down our life, take up the cross and authentically follow Jesus to the very end. Let me tell you, it would turn the world upside down.