[0:00] Amen. All right. Well, that's a good song. It's got some stuff in it that ought to be...
[0:13] It's got some personal stuff in it, right? It does. If you were paying attention, you were singing, for me, for me. It's personal. And that's one great thing about the Lord Jesus Christ and Christianity, is we can have a family, a church family, and brothers and sisters in Christ, but you can have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's better than all of this. It really, really is. And you better have one. And I hope that your church family is not the only relationship you got. All right. Now, let's go to Luke 14. No, Luke 9. I got the wrong place. I'm going to take you to Luke 9 and then get also Colossians 3. I'm going to do a quick review and catch you up to where we ended last Wednesday night. Off of the Sunday two weeks ago sermon about bearing your cross, we took that thought and that call to disciples and really the kind of Christ's parameters for discipleship as he gives them to these multitudes that were coming after him, or at least that came to him, I should say, according to the text in Luke 14. They came to him and then he said, if any man come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me. And then we saw a companion passage last Wednesday night. Notice in Luke 9, and we'll read again these two verses 23 and 24.
[1:49] He said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. And whosoever will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. And so the disciples called to forsake all that he hath.
[2:10] In Luke 14, it was that relationship thing of hating father and mother and wife and sisters and brother and his own life also. If you can't get to that place, you can't be my disciple.
[2:22] Here he tells him to deny himself, take up his cross, follow me. And he's calling that losing your life. And if you'll lose your life for my sake, you'll find it. And now Colossians chapter 3, coupled that thought with a verse here that really, really opens something up that we can learn and apply. And we'll begin in verse number 1 again, Colossians 3, 1 through 3.
[2:47] If ye then be risen with Christ, because you're dead, you've lost your life. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections or your affection on things above, not on the things on the earth, for ye are dead. And here's the phrase we need to, we grabbed last week. And your life is hid with Christ in God.
[3:13] And there's that Christian irony. If you'll lose your life, you'll find it. But where are you going to find it? Well, it's hid somewhere. It's hid with Christ in God. God has a life. People like to say, God has a plan or a will for your life. You'll never know what that is or realize that. You'll never find that until you surrender yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ, till you deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and be willing to follow him wherever he leads. And as you surrender, God then reveals his will. You're blinded to it. It's hidden. And you'll never know it. You'll never find it. And God won't reveal it to you. He'll never, he never acts that way. He won't show you the end. He won't show you the journey. He'll just show you the first step. So last week, what we studied was your life is hid with, with Christ in God. And it was that thought that God does not reveal what he has for you until you surrender, until you lay your life down and take up your cross daily. Then after that, we saw that God doesn't reveal the end of it. He'll reveal one step at a time. And so a Sunday sermon two weeks ago was bearing your cross. Last Wednesday, it was bearing your cross one step at a time. And I showed you there that your life is hid. You'll not, it won't be revealed. You won't see the whole thing. But as you take one step following Jesus Christ, as he leads this way, you go that way. And then you go that way. And wherever he leads, you'll end up finding what his will is. You'll end up being in that place. We saw the apostle Paul in Acts chapter 6, when he was met the Lord Jesus Christ said, Lord, what would thou have me to do? And he was surrendered on the spot. And God didn't reveal to him what he would have him to do. He told Ananias a few verses later, oh, this guy's going to bear my name before kings and Gentiles and my people. And I'm going to show him what great things he's going to suffer for my name's sake. But he didn't tell that to Paul.
[5:13] What did he tell Paul? Arise, go into the city, one step, just one step. And so that's all he got. Because his life was hid. It was hid with Christ. And as long as he's with Christ and following Christ, he leads him into that life that he's to be bearing his cross into. We talked about others, the disciples, and there's a multitude of examples I could give you along these lines in the scriptures.
[5:43] The last thought from last Wednesday about carrying your cross one step at a time is that God is never in a hurry. You get in a hurry when you think, oh, I wasted three years of my life living for the flesh.
[5:54] Now I need to fix that and run ahead and redeem the time for the days are evil and I need to fix it. And you can't do that. All you can do is get right back to where you left off and then start taking a step and a step. You can't run ahead of Jesus Christ or you'll be in a mess. You can't because you don't know which way he's going to lead you. You can't decide what the will of God is for your life. You have to stay behind Jesus Christ. And he leads one step at a time. The Christian life is likened to a race, but as I showed you last week, that's a different metaphor. This metaphor is about death, about taking up your cross and following Jesus Christ as a disciple. And so it's not meant to be a race. It's a discipline, committing and sacrificing, a life of obedience and dependence upon God to lead you one step at a time. And so that's what bearing your cross is. And if you want to find your life, the one that God has for you, it is hidden with Christ in God. And you can lose your life and then you'll find it as you follow Jesus Christ. And so you're going to have to die to yourself and lay your heart and lay your will down, surrendered at the cross of Jesus Christ and begin to follow. And I believe it, you'll find that it's the greatest life that you never imagined it would be. Now, tonight I want to stay on that thought and show you that there are some things that are hidden from view in that life, whereas God doesn't show you where it's going to go, where it's going to end up. But there are things along the way that you'll experience as you take up your cross daily and follow him. And these things can only be general. They're scriptural. But I can't say, for instance, I can't say detailed, this will happen to you. I can't say how much, how long, or who will be involved. And an example of this is say, for instance, tomorrow, every one of us in here are going to eat. But what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat, that's to be determined.
[7:59] But I can pretty much say with confidence, we're all going to eat. And so the thought is when taking up your cross and following the Lord Jesus Christ, there are some things that are going to happen. God doesn't reveal what they are precisely. He doesn't reveal the very details of them. But we can take from scripture, there are definitely things we'll experience and get to learn and know along the way. Some people in this life, they live their lives away from what we would consider normalcy. There's people that they love to be on the water. And they're not land lovers. They love to be out at sea, just out where it's raging and crazy and adrenaline. Just some people are like that. Some people don't. Some people just are always on the move, just want to get the most out of life, see everything there is in the world to see, travel continent to continent, never stay put for long. They're just nomadic in spirit. I don't know. There's others that will make their homes and their homesteads as far away in the Alaskan wilderness as they possibly can, away from all civilization.
[9:03] They're just hermits or loners or just adventurers. I don't know what they are. But there's people that they just, they insist on being out there. Whatever their motivation is, what naturally occurs in those lives is that they experience things that the normal people will never experience. And you'll never see because you're just, you're working your job, you're in your neighborhood, just your everyday life is consumed with these things. And truth is for most of us, we want to lay our head down on a comfortable pillow at night and we want the air conditioning on. And you know, we want to live in those comforts.
[9:41] Other people, they just don't have it in them. They can't stand the thought of having neighbors. That just, they think they're getting spied on. They're paranoid like that. I don't know. But there's these people that they live way out and they get to observe things being out there.
[9:55] They get to observe. I used to go hunting. I used to get out in the woods and sit up in a tree where I'm the only one around for who knows how long. And I would see some things being in that tree that I wouldn't see being at the church or in my office or at the hospital visiting or something like that.
[10:12] Being up in that tree, I would get to observe some things in the sky, some things on the ground, some just leaves falling or wind blowing or just, just different elements. Sometimes in deer hunting, there were certain things with those animals that I get to observe that I've never seen on a video, on a, you know, on a YouTube clip of hunting or a National Geographic. I saw some things myself that I thought, wow, that's neat. I've never seen a deer do that or behave that way. I didn't even know they did that because I was out there and I put myself out there and I got to observe some things.
[10:46] The people that live out in the Alaskan wilderness and places like that, they get to encounter some things that the normal life doesn't encounter, some dangers maybe, or even some pleasures. They also get to endure some things, probably a harsher life, a harder life, more, more work, getting ready for winter, cutting wood and just certain things we don't have to deal with. They do.
[11:08] Now, such a life is attractive enough to make a TV show out of it, but the truth is most of us want nothing to do with it. We want to, we want to get the idea of what that's like from our living room and that's about it. We don't really want to go there. The reality is that very few have a desire to live that life away from what they know, away from where they're comfortable and what they've become dependent upon. Now, let's talk about taking up your cross because when following Jesus Christ one step at a time, he will lead you into territory that you've never been before. He'll take you places that you didn't plan on going. And one thing I can say for sure is he will lead you away from the life that you used to live. He will always lead you away from who you are into something that he has for you. You can picture it like Calvary, the hill of Calvary, as if you approach that cross to receive the gift of eternal life and then taking up your cross and following him is going on the other side. And you could look just like these foothills here. You could climb one and look and you just see another one beyond it and another one beyond it. And that would be what you see. You see a path you don't know which way it's going to go and there's going to be highs and there's going to be lows and you're going to follow Jesus Christ into places he purposely leads his disciples into. In that life there'll be moments where you want to cry and you want to quit because it hurts and it's not supposed to be like this when I give my life to Christ.
[12:44] But then there's other times where you want to cry tears of joy just to know God and to be able to spend your life for Jesus Christ when the reality of what that means sinks into your heart.
[12:56] And all of these things are hidden from view at Calvary. The ups and the downs, the highs and the lows, they're all hidden from view where you take up that cross.
[13:08] Now what I want to point out tonight is some of these experiences that you will encounter along the way. This is not meant to intimidate you. It's not meant to entice you. It's only meant to prepare you and to encourage you to take up your cross daily and to seek that life that God has for you. That life that's hid but it's there if you'll lose your life and you can pick it up and find a good one. So let's pray and then we'll cover a few things here. Lord it's our request that you'll still our hearts and meet with us and that your spirit would be strong in our presence that you would minister the word of God and the truth of the Christian life to each person here. And God may you find willing vessels and hearts that are open to you 100 percent and Lord rebuke us if we're holding back. Reveal it to us and have your way. I pray that you'll take advantage of this time as it's so short and as the time spent around your word together is so small compared to the world and compared to what we do out there. So Lord please take advantage of this and work in this time and may it impress somebody in here and help them. I pray this for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. All right let me say the first thing you're going to experience if you'll take up that cross and follow Jesus Christ. The first thing you'll experience and you will absolutely experience and you will all experience is loss. You will experience loss. Now it's not exciting I know. We'll get the negative ones out of the way first okay. But you will experience loss and I think you'll experience loss pretty quickly if you'll take up that cross. You remember me saying the other week that to take up that cross the first thing you have to do is lay everything else down and some people won't do that. They'll hang on as much as they can and say I'll follow you Christ. But as you find it won't take long till you realize I can't carry this cross and follow him the way he wants me to go hanging on to these things or these friends or these you can't. You're going to experience loss. And when you lose your life as he calls you to you're attempting to leave the old man behind with his deeds and follow Jesus Christ. There's loss and the loss is going to show up right away. There's going to be change. There's going to be elements of that loss and of that life that you're going to notice immediately that when you set your heart to surrender to Christ and to go where he tells you to go you're going to notice somebody immediately there's things that have got to go in this life because he is not about that and I don't need to be either. And some things you're going to have to lay down. There might even be some things you struggle with and you wrestle in your heart about letting go of to follow Christ. You won't be the first one. We've all been there. Anybody that's doing anything for God has experienced some kind of let go moment. Loss. But remember Jesus Christ is leading you away from what you were.
[16:22] He doesn't want that guy. He doesn't want that girl. He doesn't want all those things you fell in love with and picked up into your life. He wants you and he wants to make you something that he can use.
[16:33] So let go of it. Paul said I suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung. Why? Why Paul? That I may win Christ. I had to let go of some things. We read in Luke 14 the other Sunday you'll lose some relationships. It could be family. It could be friends. It could be just acquaintances. Just familiar faces and people that you've grown accustomed to seeing every day or being around and now you're just kind of in an easy happy little bubble of life and God calls you to something else or he moves your heart another direction. You're going to have to let go and it would be nice if you could take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ and everybody else wanted to go to. It'd be wonderful if everybody was just as in fire for God as you seek to be but they're not. It would be nice but God speaks to you and he says follow me and you might say hey guys come on we're going to go this way and they say we're not going that way.
[17:38] You've got a decision to make. You're going to follow Jesus Christ or are you going to hang on to relationships? You must follow. You're not going to be able to take anybody with you. It's going to be a decision they have to make but know this. If God calls you to lose relationships and people that are close to you and that you even love or have become accustomed to or if God calls you to that know that what's hidden from view is that there are other people you'll beat down that road that Christ leads you to. There are other people that are on that road that are disciples of Jesus Christ that have suffered loss just like you and you'll get to link up with them and you'll have a bond with them that's stronger and better than the ones you left behind. You'll experience loss. You'll lose security. You might lose comforts. You might have to move away. You might lose closeness to family and friends and to familiarity to what you consider home where you grew up where you're comfortable where you know your way around and you know things. You might have to lose that following Christ. Many have crossed not just state lines but not just continents but some have crossed oceans to follow Jesus Christ and they've suffered loss and they don't know what it's like to be at home over the holidays and now I'm just pointing out kind of some of the extremes there but you know when you mark it down you will experience loss if you take up your cross daily and follow Jesus Christ. Turn back to John chapter 15.
[19:23] The gospel of John chapter 15. Something else you'll experience is suffering. You will experience suffering. It's not pretty but there's so much about suffering in the New Testament you're a fool to overlook it and to listen to somebody who never mentions the suffering or the low points of the Christian life. Suffering is real and it's of the Lord. There's emotional suffering.
[19:56] Christ told his disciples that they'd be hated and he even told them they'd be accused, falsely accused. You know how that feels. There's emotional suffering. There's physical suffering. He told his disciples they'd be persecuted, scourged and even killed. You can read it in Matthew chapter 10. He describes that to them very plainly. Now in John 15 here's a few verses. You'll see some of this. Verse 18 where he says if the world hates you you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world but I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you the servant's not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying they'll keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake because they know not him that sent me. A little bit later look at verse look at chapter 16. These things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues where the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God's service. And these things will they do unto you because they have not known the Father nor me. These are Jewish disciples that Christ is ministering to and preparing before he goes to the cross. The very same ones he told to take up their cross and follow him. And they're going to experience suffering. The apostle Paul was threatened with afflictions and bonds. And his response to that was none of these things move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself. Why Paul? That I might finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have received of the
[21:42] Lord. He knew suffering was coming. And he embraced it and he went headlong into it. John the Baptist was imprisoned. Was beheaded for the ministry which he had received of the Lord. The Bible characters are plenteous. The examples in the text here. And church history. Study your brothers and sisters that have been and gone before you. Church history is bathed in the blood of martyrs and the sufferings of the saints that have given their lives to Jesus Christ to follow him. Paul said all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Suffering's coming. You'll suffer. Look at Philippians chapter 1.
[22:30] Oh you may not be asked to be tied to a stake with your hands behind your back while they heat the coals underneath your feet. And you may not get put on a rack. Maybe we're beyond those days at least in this window of church history. But you'll suffer something. Philippians chapter 1. And look at verse number 29.
[22:59] Paul writes to this church saying for unto you it is given. So it's a gift. It is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake. There's a gift of God. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And if you follow him daily there's another gift he'll give you. It's the gift of suffering.
[23:25] Look at those two things. There's no money in that. There's no promise of wonderful times. It's just it's given to you on the behalf of Christ to believe on him and to suffer.
[23:38] Is that the is that embodying the entirety of the Christian life? Get saved and suffer? There's where he puts it. You'll experience it. It'll be on that road.
[23:48] Paul said if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him. He said the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. He said that.
[24:01] Look at chapter 3 in verse number 10. This is Paul talking personally about his walk with Jesus Christ following Christ himself. And he said that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death.
[24:18] Verse 11. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I'd already attained. Either were all the perfect. But look what he said. I follow after. He's walking the same road. The road Jesus Christ leads him.
[24:34] One step at a time. And in that he's finding out what it's like the fellowship of his sufferings in that life. And you know the apostle Paul. He's been down. He's felt it.
[24:47] Come back to chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians and look at this passage. It's where we were on Sunday. This past Sunday in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And look at the end of the chapter.
[24:58] Verse number 16 through 18. Something you'll experience is suffering. In verse number 16. Paul says, For which cause we faint not.
[25:13] But though our outward man perish. Because it's experiencing loss. Because like we studied on Sunday. Troubled on every side in verse 8.
[25:25] And perplexed. And then in verse 9. Persecuted and cast down. Because all that comes out on the outward person. And all the struggles. Though our outward man perish.
[25:37] Yet the inward man's renewed day by day. For our light affliction. Which is but for a moment. Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal way to glory. While we look not at the things which are seen.
[25:49] Like the pain. Like the loss. Like the suffering. We don't look at those things. What are we doing Paul? We're looking at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal.
[26:01] The outward man feels that pain and the perishing and the sorrow. And he doesn't look at those things. Because the inward man is renewed daily. As he follows Jesus Christ.
[26:11] Looking unto Jesus. You can't see Jesus Christ with your eyes can you? He's one of those things which are not seen. And so is the eternal.
[26:22] The eternality of the souls around you. And so is the judgment seat of Christ that is in front of you. You can't see that one either. But if you look at it. If you look in faith at it.
[26:34] It will help you to continue on. So there's suffering. You'll experience that. God didn't show it to Paul when he saved him.
[26:45] He didn't show him all the things that he was going to suffer for. But he had it down that road. And he led him right down that road. And he's got the same for you. He's not going to show it all to you right away.
[26:55] When you trust him. When you surrender to him. But step by step. He'll lead you. You'll experience the loss. You'll experience the suffering. But then there's some good things that you'll get to.
[27:07] Something else you'll experience down that road. It's hidden from view. Until you go. You'll experience a fellowship. And a closeness. A dependence upon Jesus Christ.
[27:19] When you spend time with Christ. When you spend your life with Christ. You don't even notice it. But your words are starting to match his words.
[27:33] Your thoughts. You're starting to think like he thinks. You're spending all the time with him. And not with them. And you're changing from where you were. To who he's having you to be. One step at a time.
[27:44] There's a conformity to Christ. That's something that's hidden. You don't see what you're going. What God's going to turn you into. How he's going to change you.
[27:55] And make you like unto his son. But it's down that road. One step at a time. As you follow Jesus Christ. Before you know it. You're becoming more like him.
[28:08] And you can't. You can't predict it. You don't know how God's going to change you. You surrender your life. You spend time with him. You put on the new man. You walk in the spirit.
[28:19] And as Romans 13 says. You're putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. One step at a time. I remember when I was just kind of young. And getting my life right with God.
[28:31] I remember as a young man. Kind of having. I wouldn't call it fantasies. Of what God has for me. It wasn't that at all. But it was just kind of like a. Just a imagination.
[28:43] Like what is. It was just blank. Just blank. Just like I'm teaching it. This is it. It was. There was nothing that I could see in view. Of what God wanted me to be doing. Or what my life would be.
[28:54] 20, 30, 40, 50 years down the road. All I knew was. Go to Bible school. There was one step he gave me. That was it. I remember. I remember. I remember. Way back there.
[29:05] Just kind of getting right with God. Just kind of. With the zeal. And the. The cleansing of the spirit. Just excited. And thinking like. What. What. What am I going to do for the Lord.
[29:16] You know. I didn't have. In my heart. No limitations. A blank check. Here God. Take it. Do whatever. Let's. Let's do this. I'm on board now. Finally. And I kind of.
[29:27] In my stupidity. In naivety. Maybe just. In pride. Just thought. You know. It's going to be big. I know. I wasn't thinking. Billy Graham crusade. Big.
[29:37] But. But it was. In my heart. It was going to be something. You know. It was going to be something. God was going to do something. That was just. You know. Way back then.
[29:48] And just. Young and dumb. And stupid. And. And just open. You know. And. It was hidden. What God did have for me.
[29:58] One step at a time. I can look back. And see the road. I can see the directions. And the decisions. And I can see him leading. And changing. But back then. I had no idea.
[30:10] But one thing I know is. The fellowship. And the closeness. Has changed me. From what I was. And I. Like Paul. We read it. Didn't really spend time on it.
[30:21] In Philippians 3. He admitted. I haven't attained. And I get it Paul. I haven't attained. But I can see a difference. To the glory of God. I can see a real big difference.
[30:32] Of walking with Christ. And how it's changed me. And it's changed my mind. And my mouth. And yeah. The old man's still there. But he's not nearly as strong. As he used to be. Something else you'll experience.
[30:45] It's down that road. It's hidden. You can't see it right now. But once you start down that road. You'll experience contentment. Your flesh will scream things at you.
[30:57] Saying you can't live without this. You can't possibly give that up. But following Christ. And walking with Christ. And living the life that he has you live.
[31:09] You start to find you didn't need that after all. And that wasn't as important. It's not as important today. As it was then. And who was right. Me or Christ. It turns out he was right.
[31:21] And you begin to walk with him. And what you experience and feel is a gratification. A sense of satisfaction. That. It's not pride in this moment.
[31:32] But it's that. I had a choice. And I chose to follow Christ. Amen. And in choosing to follow Christ. I made the right choice.
[31:44] And that feels really, really good. To know that you're not. That you didn't choose against him. And deny him. And reject him. And in doing that.
[31:54] You become content. It's a sense of fulfillment. That I'm doing what God wants me to do. What else is there to do in this life? I'm not rich. Nobody knows my name.
[32:06] But. I've said yes to God. There's a fulfillment in that. That goes all the way down. It's contentment.
[32:18] Look at Hebrews chapter 13. And on your way get Philippians 4. Philippians 4. Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13. You cannot manufacture this contentment.
[32:33] It resides in the new man. That is walking with Jesus Christ. It's a complete assurance. And a knowledge. That you are obeying God.
[32:44] Because there's other options in life. But. You chose the right one. You've denied yourself. Like he asked you to. Hebrews 13. Is the first place we want to read.
[32:56] And notice something about contentment. And how it's connected to. Following Jesus Christ. Verse 5. Let your conversation be without covetousness.
[33:08] And be content with such things as ye have. For he hath said I will never leave thee. Nor forsake thee. That's somebody who's walking with Christ.
[33:19] That Christ promises. I'm never going to leave or forsake. I know we take that with the eternal security of our souls. And our salvations. I get that. But this is a walk with Jesus Christ.
[33:29] And in that walk is a. Be content. With such things as ye have. And that's what you will absolutely grow to be. Is content.
[33:41] Look back at Philippians. And see this. As Paul says it here. The contentment. Is conditioned. On following Jesus Christ.
[33:53] One step at a time. Philippians chapter 4. And Paul says it this way. In verse 12. I should read verse 11. He says.
[34:03] Not that I speak in respect of want. For I have learned. I have learned. In whatsoever state I am. Therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased. And I know how to abound.
[34:14] Everywhere and in all things. I am instructed. Both to be full and to be hungry. Both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ. Through Christ. Through Christ.
[34:25] Because I'm following Christ. I can do all things. Because that relationship. Is all that I need. And if he gives me this. Praise the Lord. If he takes it away. Praise the Lord.
[34:35] Because I'm with him. And I can do anything. I'm content. He said. I had to learn that. Verse 11. And in verse 12. I'm instructed in these things.
[34:45] Paul didn't have that naturally. And you won't either. And you won't understand it. Until you're there. Following Christ. Along the way. You learn by experience. That you can do all things.
[34:56] Through Christ. Which strengthens you. Not apart from him. But by following him. And you become content. With what he decides. He says. Let's go here.
[35:07] Oh. You remember me saying. I don't know if you remember this. But the other Sunday. Some people look at that cross. And say. There's no money in that cross. And there's no security. In comfort. It's not for me.
[35:18] But when you. When you follow Christ daily. And take up your cross. And submit. Eventually. You don't need money. You don't need security. Because you have him. He's there. It's.
[35:29] It's. He's all you need. You're content. Content to serve him. And then. Then. Just flip over to Colossians 3 again. And we'll. We'll quit. Where we were at the beginning.
[35:41] Colossians 3. Point out one more thing. From this passage. You remember verse. Number 3. For ye are dead. And your life is hid with Christ.
[35:53] In God. And so as you follow Jesus Christ. You. He begins to one step at a time. Reveal. What he has for you in life. In verse number 4 now.
[36:04] When Christ. Who is our life. Shall appear. Then shall ye also appear with him. In glory. One thought is that.
[36:15] In that. Discipleship. Program. Of Jesus Christ. Christ is your life. And as you follow him. And are led by him. Because you're dead to yourself. And you're.
[36:26] You're finding out what was hidden. Is now becoming the life you're living. You're walking with him. Following him. Taking up your cross. Nothing's about you anymore.
[36:37] But about Christ. Because he's your life. But then he says this. At the end of verse 4. When he shall appear. Then shall ye also appear with him. In glory. And so the last thing I want to say. That you'll experience.
[36:48] Following Jesus Christ. Is reward. It's something again. That's. It's hidden. The disciples life is rewarded. You can't see it.
[36:58] Until you surrender to it. And take up your cross. And follow him. And there's no real vision. Of what God has prepared for them. That love him. But he said he got something prepared.
[37:10] Didn't he? And he said when he's going to appear. You're going to appear with him in glory. And in the moment. It's hidden. And Jesus Christ says follow me.
[37:23] Now I believe it. Sadly many Christians. Don't stray very far. From the comfortable Christian life. They don't want to get out there. To where they'd encounter. And experience.
[37:34] And see things. That very few do. They want to stay where it's cozy. And some will attend church. They'll attend. As long as there's nothing better to do.
[37:46] Nothing more important on their heart. Than being here. Some will do that. Some will be faithful to church. As long as it doesn't hurt. As long as it doesn't cost them too much.
[37:59] And some will follow Jesus Christ. Until it does cost them something. And these then. They haven't lost their lives. Until you lose your life. Where we started.
[38:09] Back in Luke chapter 9. And take up your cross. And follow him. You will never ever know. What he has in store for you. Consider this.
[38:21] There is a God in heaven. Your God. By him all things consist. In him we move. We bring. We have our being. If he doesn't exist.
[38:32] You don't exist. Now if that God. Cares enough. Personally. To know you. And to have something. That he could. A place. A thing. A something.
[38:43] In this life for you. Not just. You don't have to figure it out. You don't have to chase some dream. Or some star. And hope it works out. But he actually has a. Path for you.
[38:54] A path for you. To walk on. Only you. He's got your name on it. He knows your heart. And if that God. That. That is everything.
[39:05] Has something for you to do. And you to become. Why wouldn't you want that? What is it that you would want. More than that? Why would you be afraid of that?
[39:19] He calls you. To deny yourself. Take up your cross. And follow me. And yes.
[39:30] There will be loss. And you don't know what that will be yet. Yep. There will be suffering. And just be prepared. When it happens. And give glory to God.
[39:43] And then there will be all the other things. Along the way. There's going to be. The peace that passeth understanding. Along the way. There's going to be joy.
[39:54] That might remain in you. That your joy might be full. Along the way. There's hope. That maketh not ashamed. Along the way. There's the love of God.
[40:04] That is going to be shed abroad. In your heart. All of these virtues. Appear. And begin to abound. And the fruit of the spirit. Begins to grow. And flourish.
[40:17] When you deny yourself. And take up your cross. And follow him. So. Following Jesus Christ. Bearing your cross. One step at a time.
[40:28] There's some real good truths. And lessons about this here. And it's. Tonight. It's just getting you to understand. That there's stuff hidden. And I can give you a little bit. Of what that is.
[40:40] But maybe not the specific detail. Of what that will look like. For you personally. But just be prepared for it. And be encouraged. You're not the first one. Or the only one. That God's.
[40:52] Calling into that. So. I hope that makes sense to you. I hope you receive that. I hope it helps you. And if it does. Then. Do something with it. So.
[41:03] All right. Let's have a word of prayer. And then we'll be dismissed. And. Be in prayer for Keith. And his. Still in the hospital thing.
[41:13] And. And for his wife as well. And let's be dismissed. Father. Again. We are.