COUNTING UP THE COST

Sermon Notes, September 13, 2015

Rev. Garry McGlinchy

            Rev. McGlinchy’s sermon was titled “Counting Up the Cost.”  The scripture basis was Mark 8:34-9:1, where Jesus tells His followers about the cost of following Him, the way of the cross.  There are a couple of things about Jesus: He is brutally honest—“to follow me you must lose your life;” and He never calls us to do anything He hasn’t already done.

Following Christ: 

             Jesus calls us to denial of self.  That means not just getting rid of things that separate us from Him, but living a Christ-centered life.  Spend time with Him; do you take your Bible with you on vacation?  Read the Bible daily.  Talk to Him (that’s praying).

            He calls us to take up our cross.  That is not referring to life’s irritations.  It is what we actively do for Him, our path to the cross.  We should willingly offer ourselves to do hard things.  As Dietrich Bonheoffer says in his book The Cost of Discipleship, when Christ calls you to follow Him, He calls you to come and die with Him. 

 

Cross-Bearing is:

·         Always voluntary—you willingly choose to follow Him.

·         An act of love—take the love of God to the end of the earth, to the unlovable, to those living in the margins.  It involves denying and sacrifice.

·         For others.

·         Hard.  It is a load to bear.  Jesus wants us to follow Him wholly.

We are to voluntarily follow Him to the ends of the earth.  Then we will hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  Verse 38 reminds us that if you’re ashamed of Him here, He will be ashamed of you on the day of judgment.

Here are the lyrics to the song “The Cost,” from Rend Collective of ThankyouMusic:

I'm saying yes to You
And no to my desires
I'll leave myself behind
And follow You
I'll walk the narrow road
'Cause it leads me to You
I'll fall but grace will pick me up again
I've counted up the cost
Oh I've counted up the cost
Yes I've counted up the cost
And You are worth it
I do not need safety
As much as I need You
You're dangerous
But Lord You're beautiful
I'll chase You through the pain
I'll carry my cross
'Cause real love is not afraid to bleed
Jesus take my all
Take my everything
I've counted up the cost
And You're worth everything