Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/walkwithme/sermons/5641/are-we-really-serious-about-following-jesus/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] The 25th of August. Are we really serious about following Jesus? Jesus said, whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10 38.

[0:16] In a very famous speech in the House of Commons in 1940 at the height of World War II, Winston Churchill said, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.

[0:30] That saying has gone down in history to describe a really serious situation a person may get into. The only way out is through blood, toil, tears, and sweat. That is what our Lord Jesus is telling us the cost of following him may very well bring to us.

[0:46] Taking up the cross must have sent shivers through the hearts of those to whom Jesus first said these words. They were like a death sentence. So many of those early Christians, and so many since then, paid that extreme cost as they faithfully followed Jesus.

[1:05] Putting Jesus first in our lives leaves us open to all sorts of opposition and possible rejection, even by our own relatives and friends. But that is the reality if we are seriously following Jesus faithfully.

[1:18] It also means we should be very clear about that cost if we are to become a Christian. It isn't just a case of being nice to people. It is an honest handing over of our life to Jesus and being prepared for anything that might follow.

[1:34] Of course, along with the cost, there is the crown. Whether in this life or the life to come, Jesus will be with us each step of the way.

[1:44]  A prayer. Dear Lord, help me to be a faithful follower of yours, come what may. Amen.