This morning we are in Mark's gospel. So if you will take your Bibles and turn to Mark chapter eight, we will be looking at verses 34 through 38, under the heading "What it is to Follow Christ." Let me read the text to you beginning in verse 34, of Mark eight. "And He summoned the crowd with His disciples and said to them, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospels, will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels."

Over the years, I've had opportunity to counsel many hundreds of people on a variety of issues. Everything from marital strife, to relational conflict in families, immorality, anger, drug and alcohol addictions. People that lack discernment, lack an understanding of Scripture that can cause all kinds of problems. And whenever I deal with them, very often, I will set their presenting problem aside. And first what I want to know is, what about your walk for Christ, your walk with Christ? And I will often ask them that, let's set all of this aside for a moment. Help me understand, tell me, tell me about your walk with Christ. And more often than not, the answers will be very external. In other words, it will be something like, well, I go to church at whatever. So it's about church attendance. Or maybe they will leave and add something about how they give some money to the church or whatever. And when I go a little bit deeper, and ask them, Are there any areas in your life where you think you might be living in rebellion to God's Word and His will? Once again, I typically get very external answers. Well, yeah, I guess I need to go to church more. I guess I need to give more money to the missionaries. I guess I need to read my Bible more. But what you won't hear most of the time is, you know, I'm living for myself rather than for the Lord. I'm not about making disciples. I'm not really committed to raising my children in the discipline and in the instruction of the Lord. I really don't have a prayer life. I'm not very thankful, I tend to be angry and manipulative. I really know nothing of what it means to present my body and living in a holy sacrifice to God, which is acceptable to him. I really don't have an appetite for the Word of God. I don't read it very often, I certainly don't meditate upon it. And frankly, it has very little impact on my life. But the priorities that the Lord gives us, with respect to what true conversion looks like, are very different. Typically, what is missing is a real passion for God. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, right? To love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. We should have a longing to know and to serve Him, a genuine love for Christ, a desire to honor him, but most who claim to follow Christ, don't really have an understanding of these things. I will very often take them to Galatians five beginning of verse 16 that says, "Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." And sadly, those great truths are foreign to many Christians whose lives are a train wreck. It will go on to say in verse 19, "that the deeds of the flesh are evident." And by the way, these are the types of things that are typically the presenting problem, "which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarn you that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." But the Apostle Paul went on to say, in contrast to the deeds of the flesh, He gives us the fruits of the Spirit beginning in verse 22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control against such things, there is no law." In other words, a true believer doesn't need some external law, to force him or her to have these ruling attitudes in their heart. That's a work of the Spirit, it's a fruit of the Spirit. So why are these things missing in your life? He goes on to say, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. When if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." So the point is one of the things that I will have to do in working with people, and what you need to do in your own life, and when you work with even your own family members, is help them understand what it means to follow Christ. Very simple. And this is what Jesus wanted his disciples to understand. And even the crowds that were following him, typically for the wrong reasons, this is what He wants us to understand. So I wish to explain this particular passage of Scripture, under two headings, number one, the priorities of conversion, and secondly, the penalties of rejection.

Now, it's always important that you understand the context in which all of this is occurring, you will recall that Jesus along with his disciples, have been in the northern villages of Caesarea Philippi, a very pagan Gentile region. And Jesus has asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" and they've given him a list of things that people wrongly say that he is. And then he asked his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" And speaking on behalf of them all, Peter says, "You are the Christ." And in Matthew 16, verse 17, "Jesus said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." And then he warned them to tell no one about him at that time. They wanted to force him, remember, to become their military deliverer and King and to announce this publicly, at this stage in Jesus ministry would have caused all manner of chaos. And then we read that He began to teach them, His disciples that He, the Son of Man, must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed. And after three days rise again. This was a total shock to his apostles, who had just had it confirmed that he is indeed the Messiah. And then you will recall that Peter was so upset that he yielded to Satan's temptation, he takes Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him to try to prevent him from going to the cross and suffering and dying. After all, that would upset Peter's plans right to be in the kingdom. Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind on God's interest, but man," that's the context.

And now we come here to verse 34. "And Jesus summoned the crowd, with His disciples." The term "summoned" is important. It carries the idea of making an important announcement. It's like his disciples are here and the crowd is there. Hey, everyone, please come here. I have something to tell you. That's what's going on. And here's what he said to them. "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Dear friends, here we see, number one, the priorities of conversion. Remember, now the disciples had just learned that a cross must precede a crown for Jesus. They've just learned that suffering paves the way for glory. They have just learned that humble submission and self-sacrifice, come before the splendors of heaven. And it's mind boggling to them. But now what they are hearing is that these same principles apply to everyone who follows Jesus. If anyone wishes to come after me, he must join a church. That what it says? No. He must attend church regularly and tithe 10% of gross or net? I mean, all that stuff is made up, none of that's biblical. That's not what it says, Is it? No. "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself take up his cross and follow me." Folks, this language is intentionally shocking, because it evokes the horrifying image of a death march to a public execution on a Roman cross, the willingness to die for their faith in Christ. In other words, following Jesus might cost you everything. Oh, that's not what I'm, that's not what I signed up for here. I mean, I'm here for the free stuff. All right. I'm here for the handouts. I'm following you, Jesus for the prosperity you know, the health and the wealth, and the success. I think that's why I'm here. I'm here for self-fulfillment. I'm here to boost my self-esteem. I'm not here for self-denial, whatever that is. I mean, I'm all about taking up a church but not a cross. To put it in our modern context. I'm here for reparations, not repudiation. I'll follow you as long as you meet my felt needs. Anything beyond that? I'm out. I mean, after all, you exist for me, I don't exist for you. That's the mindset. Dear friends, please understand, if you have a distorted understanding of Jesus, you will have a distorted understanding of discipleship, and you will forfeit blessing in your life, assuming you even know Christ.

Now, this type of thinking is at the very heart of apostate evangelicalism today, which is a perversion of true Christianity that has given rise to errors like prosperity theology, the prosperity gospel, and even the social justice gospels, and the satanic woke and LGBTQ culture that now demands strict adherence in our culture, and seeks to indoctrinate and seduce and abuse our children. John MacArthur put it this way, quote, "In contrast to the man centered, feel good platitudes that pervade contemporary Christendom, the Gospel preached by Jesus was a sobering call to self-denial, suffering and absolute surrender. False gospels entice their hearers with promises of material prosperity, physical healing, earthly success, self-esteem, and an easy life. The true gospel deals a deathblow to such counterfeits. The Lord Jesus calls his followers to humble brokenness, a life of self-sacrifice, and a willingness to endure hardship for his sake."

So again, Jesus says," If anyone wishes to come after Me." The original language carries the idea of literally if anyone wants to follow behind me. And here in this context, it means to place their faith in me. And by the way, that's what people would do, they would follow behind their favorite teacher, their master, so to speak. If you're going to do that, if you're going to be my disciple, and enter in the Messianic Kingdom, you've got to deny yourself take up the cross and follow Me. So in other words, this is a matter of eternal life versus eternal death. That's how serious this is. And I might add, dear friends, that this is the stuff of genuine conversion, genuine saving faith. It will be characterized by these non-negotiable, joyful, willful priorities. Let's look at them more closely. Self-Denial. In the original language carries the idea of refusing to recognize or acknowledge something or to utterly disown or disavow. In fact, it is used in Mark 14 Verse 30, Jesus said to Peter, "I truly say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will hear it is deny Me three times." Likewise, in Luke 12, and verse nine, Jesus says, "He who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." So Jesus is literally saying here, If anyone wishes to come after me, he needs to step down off of the throne of his or her life, and submit to me, as their only Lord and Master, their only sovereign. You must be willing to renounce yourself, repent of your sins, break away from your former way of life that was dishonoring to God. You've got to be willing to refuse to recognize or acknowledge everything in your life that is contrary to the Word and the will of the living God. You must surrender your personal plans and your ambitions and your will and submit yourself wholly to the purposes and the plans of the Lord Jesus Christ. James Brooks said this quote, "To deny oneself is not to do without something or even many things, it is not asceticism, not self-rejection or self-hatred, nor is it even the disowning of particular sins. It is to renounce the self as the dominant element in life. It is to replace the self with God in Christ as the object of affections, it is to place the divine will before self will."

Now, you must understand that what Jesus is saying is absolutely devastating to the Jews, because it meant that all of their self-righteous efforts to impress God and gain salvation were of no avail. You will recall in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter five and verse three, Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Blessed are those who have an overwhelming sense of their impoverished state, the impoverished state of their spiritual condition. Those who cower like a beggar in spiritual bankruptcy, who know that they have nothing to offer, but their sin. But I might also add that for the Jews, as well as the Gentiles, to follow Jesus meant you basically had to give up everything in life. For the Jews, it would cost them their job, their careers, typically their family, their friends, they would be disenfranchised from the Jewish community, even for the Gentiles. They were part of trade unions, and they all had their own little gods, little deities that they had to worship. And that often included all manner of sexual deviance as part of their worship, they'd have to give up all of that.

Dear friend please hear this, to deny yourself and follow Christ means that you are to make God and his glory, the very center of gravity in your life around which everything else must orbit. That's what it means to follow Jesus. It exchanges, self-reliance for total dependence on Christ. It's actually the end of self-exaltation, and a commitment to worshipping Christ in Word and deed. Paul said in Ephesians four verse 22. And following, "in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit and that you be renewed in spirit of your mind and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." My, how fundamental this is to Christianity, yet sadly, it is so foreign. How sad to see so many professing believers live as if God doesn't even exist. They live for themselves. Christ is not even a priority. They don't even understand who Christ really is. I was reading some Barna statistics recently, I learned that more than half of born-again Christians don't believe Jesus lived a sinless life. That means they're not born again. By the way, fewer than half believe they have a unique God given calling and purpose in life. Quote, "A downward trend was also observed among those who say the Bible is unambiguous in its teaching about abortion falling from 58 to 44%. Those who say life is sacred fell from 60 to 48%. And the number of born-again Christians who say God is the basis of all truth fell from 69 to 63%. Over basically a two-year period, the share of born again believers who say they are deeply committed to practicing their religious faith fell from 85 to 50%. While the share of those who say they read or study the Bible, at least once a week fell from 60 to 55%." And folks, that trajectory is going down rapidly. Of course, this is music to the ears of the Neo Marxist progressive Democrats in our country who hate Christians more than cancer. This is what happens when the Bible is no longer seen as the inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, all sufficient Word of the living God. Churches end up not teaching it, compromising it, trying to appease the culture. They feel like they have a better strategy for evangelism rather than preaching the gospel. That's so offensive. What we must do is somehow appeal to the culture. If they like us, then maybe they will like Jesus too. This is why so many mainline denominations have descended into an abyss of apostasy and utter irrelevance. Like the Southern Baptist Convention that now embraces every aspect of the Neo Marxist social justice movement, radical feminism, the transgender insanity, and every other aspect of the perverted LGBTQ cults that God calls an abomination in his eyes. These people are not followers of the true JESUS. They are followers of Satan doubly blinded by their own depravity, as well as the father of lies and they will therefore, never enter the kingdom of God unless they repent and believe in Christ and be saved. The concept of self-denying, surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ, as he has revealed himself in the Word of God is utterly foreign to the unregenerate. And sadly, many churches are led by ungodly men and women that are ill suited to shepherd the flock of God. And we even see it in our government where leaders are equally ill-suited incompetent, immoral, for the most part corrupt buffoons that are leading millions of equally greedy fools over a cliff of perceived utopia. I mean, we as someone has said, we have the chimpanzees running the zoo. Our culture has turned into a drag queen burlesque show put on by the government.

This reminds me of the shameless leaders of Jerusalem and Judah that led the people in overt rebellion against the Lord, the blind leaders of the blind Jesus called them. Isaiah spoke of this and Isaiah three beginning in verse 11. He said, "Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him for what he deserves will be done to him." "Oh my people," he says, "Their oppressors, are children, and women rule over them. "Oh my people! Those who guide you lead you astray and confuse the direction of your paths." So the first priority of genuine conversion is self-denial, a call to surrender to the Lordship of Christ.

Secondly, it is cross bearing. That's what he says "take up his cross." Again, this was a horrifying statement, utterly repulsive, in every way. Because the cross was a symbol of excruciating, dehumanizing cruelty, and death. So this was a call to potential martyrdom. And many professing Christians today are like the shallow heart of temporary belief that Jesus described earlier in Mark four beginning in verse 16, where he said, "these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they heard, hear the word immediately received it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; and when affliction or persecution arises, because of the word, immediately they fall away." These are the people who hear the gospel and quickly and favorably respond. I mean, they're absolutely enthusiastic. They're giddy with joy. There's all kinds of drama and emotion. But the gospel seed merely fell on the shallow topsoil of emotion that concealed the impenetrable layer of selfish unbelief. So the plant seed quickly sprouts up, but it's unable to establish any root below the surface. How many times have we seen some superficial profession of faith that simply cannot withstand the storms of persecution? So people cower. As soon as they are required to make a decision to honor Christ, they cave. They're like wilting lilies. They're exposed, therefore, to be nothing more than some superficial Christian in name only. They love themselves more than Christ. There's a dead faith that cannot save. You know, potential martyrdom is somewhat foreign to us because we still live under the safety of the Constitution. And they're still some measure of law, even though all of that is changing rapidly. But I've been in parts of the world where that is not the case. I remember my times, especially training pastors in Siberia, the churches that I went to, such dear people, people just like us. And what I would hear is that virtually every single person in that church had a loved one that had been killed by the communists. And there were places where we would drive by and they would say, Oh, by the way, let me stop and show you. You see that that large wall out there in the woods, that's where some of my family members were shot. You see that big ditch over there? That's where many of our church members a number of years ago, were shot and killed.

You see, Christianity cannot coexist with socialism and communism, you must understand that. Mark my words, this is, this is coming, more and more to America. The left is obsessed with pitting a perceived victim group against a perceived oppressor group. So they can be considered the society's redeemer group. This is classic Marxism. And now it's morphed into what many call cultural Marxism. Folks standing for Jesus and following Jesus in the years to come, it's going to cost us far more than what it does now. Remember, Satan is the consummate counterfeiter, and it should be no surprise to any of us that Karl Marx, who was satanic to the core, wanted to fundamentally change human nature. And naturally, Satan, the master counterfeiter wants his version of regeneration. Biblical regeneration is where we become a new creature in Christ. We have a new nature that Christ gives us. Satan wants to do the same thing, only change people into his image that American citizens, especially evangelical Christians, cannot see. The evils of Marxism invading our country is a testament to the satanic evil behind it. The left's never-ending obsession with social justice, and redeeming marginalized people groups, no matter how statistically rare they might be, like transgenders that make up less than 1% of the population. All of this should be a clue that something nefarious is at play.

Folks, are you willing to suffer for the glory of Christ? The answer will be yes, if you've truly been born again, because that willingness is a work of the indwelling Spirit of God. Remember, even as God has his standard of righteousness, Satan has his standard of unrighteousness. And like God, he will punish those who violate his godless law. And the plan is simple. We see it playing out in our culture, legalize unrighteousness and criminalize righteousness, then prosecute those who refuse to obey. This has been and still is the priority of cultural Marxism. As I have written before, this can be summarized by eight sequential terms that naturally build on each other first begins with criticize, find fault with the oppressor group and criticize its members relentlessly. Then scandalize; falsely accuse the oppressor group to build a case against his members, through the manufactured outrage of cancel culture. Then dehumanize, demean the oppressor group members in terms so horrific, they should no longer be considered human and thus deserving of inhumane treatment. Then propagandize. Silence the dissent of reasonable voices by indoctrinating the public with lies that appeal to their emotion. And then organize. Remember Barack Obama, he was a community organizer. This is the mindset behind all of that; organize, which means mobilize disenfranchised individuals into a collective group think that are rabidly committed to fundamentally transforming the current social structure and eliminating natural moral principles held by the oppressor group. Then legislate. Enact laws the oppressor group will refuse to obey, then use coercive control to force its members to comply. And when they don't, incarcerate, imprison those who violate the laws that were structured to entrap the oppressor group, and free the oppressed group. And then eradicate. Kill them. Communist countries killed approximately 140 million people in the 20th century. As I've talked with my friends in other parts of the world that have suffered under Marxism and communism, this is exactly the path that it takes.

Dear friends, let me ask you, are you going to continue to stand for Christ when they come to take your children away because you refuse to bow to the LGBTQ ideology? Do you realize that they are already saying that they want laws that would require us to put our children on puberty blockers until they have a chance to really determine what gender they want to be? Are you going to stand for Christ when they threaten to fire you at your job because of your faith? Are you going to still follow Jesus when you go to the bank and you didn't have enough social credit points to maintain an account and you can't borrow money? Will you still deny yourself and follow Christ? Are you willing to pay any price for His glory, and for the blessings that are yours, that are mine, because we're united to him forever? Will you say with the Apostle Paul in Second Corinthians four, verse 17, "Momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison, While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Dear friends, when, not if, but when persecution comes, and it really gets severe, will you still patiently endure? And without any equivocation, say with the apostle Paul, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain?" Because that's the stuff of genuine conversion. If you truly belong to Christ, again, the answer will be absolutely, "I will do that." I will struggle but by God's grace and His power, I will stand firm because once again, we can't do that on our own. That's the work of the Spirit of God within us.

This leads us to the third mark of genuine conversion and that's joyful submission. "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." Remember what Jesus said in John 10, in verse 27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow Me." You see, this is referring to what I would call joyful submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is an indication of true knowing. This is what validates genuine saving faith. This is the great miracle of regeneration, where the Spirit of God supernaturally infuses to the spiritually dead, the life of his spirit, and causes us to be born again. There's a spiritual resurrection that takes place. You must understand dear friends that the renewed heart is a radically new heart. It is a heart that finds the majesty of Christ saving grace and transcendent glory, irresistibly compelling. It is overwhelmed by the magnitude and the glory and the greatness of our God. And there is absolutely nothing that will prevent that person from bowing the knee to some other idol. It is a heart that "counts all things to be loss, in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord" as the Apostle Paul said. You see faithful following of Jesus, and joyful obedience is not some kind of onerous duty. But rather, it's a passionate desire. That's the joy of our heart.

I appreciate the definition of regeneration, offered by a 17th century Scottish pastor, young man by the name of David Dixon, and I understand that he preached 27 sermons on this subject in a town called Irvine resulting in a mighty work of the Spirit of God in that realm. Here's how he defined regeneration. "Regeneration is the work of God's invincible power, and mere grace, wherein by His Spirit accompanying his word, he quickeneth, a redeemed person lying dead in his sins, and renewith him in his mind, his will and all the powers of his soul, convincing him savingly of sin, and righteousness and judgment, and making him heartily to embrace Christ and salvation and to consecrate himself to the service of God in Christ all the days of his life." You're not going to hear that message preached very often in our culture today. Dear friends, if you have no desire to joyfully submit to the Lordship of Christ, to be obedient to His will, as He has revealed Himself in His Word. If that's just not in your agenda, you have no basis to claim genuine saving faith. You do not know Him and He does not savingly know you. And as a result you love the world and the love of the Father is not in you, right? First John 2:15. Jesus said in John 8"31, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine." In other words, persistent disobedience proves that you have never come to saving faith in Christ. And unless you do, you will perish in your sins. In Matthew seven in verse 21, Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven, will enter." First John two beginning in verse three, "By this, we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, 'I have come to know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word in him, the love of God has been truly perfected. By this, we know that we are in Him, the one who says he abides in Him, ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." Folks, this is what it means to follow Jesus, the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the redeemed.

So there we have the priorities of conversion, self denial, cross bearing, joyful submission. And then Jesus contrasts that, with secondly, the penalties of rejection. Notice what he says in verse 35. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life, for My sake and the gospel's will save it." The term "life" here is the Greek word "psuche", which can refer to physical life, but it can also refer to the soul, the being the personhood, of an individual, personhood that exists beyond the boundaries of time and space. So what Jesus is envisioning here is personal martyrdom, for those who follow him. And again, this has happened countless times. But for those who really love Christ, and have been born again, who have been radically changed, that very real possibility, is something that we would willingly accept, even though we don't want it. But a person who clings to this life on their own terms for their own agenda, the glorious reward of eternal life, the glories of heaven, will not be theirs. Please understand, discipleship here is more than just kind of merely acting like Jesus. It rather includes a determined willingness to surrender oneself completely to the Lordship of Christ and endure persecution and even death for his glory, the glory that will be shared by those who have been redeemed.

So I'm going to ask you, are you trying to save your life on Earth by living for yourself? If so, you will lose your life eternally. That's what Jesus is saying. And dear friends, only a fool would exchange an eternity in heaven for a few fleeting years of self-pleasure and an eternity in hell. Like many of the Jews and all other false religious systems, the Apostle Paul once tried to save his life, through religious rule keeping and good works until he was radically converted. And in Philippians three, verse eight, he declares, "I counted all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." So again, with this in mind, Jesus is saying, "For whoever wishes to save his life," to save his soul is going to "lose it." "But whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world." In other words, all that you could possibly hope for in life, and then forfeit your soul.

He goes on to say, "For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" But friend, I want you to answer that question. What will you give in exchange for your eternal soul? What is the value of your soul? A soul made in the image of God and given immortality, a soul that was purchased not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Charles Spurgeon said, quote, "Do you think that which hell craves for and that which God seeks for is not precious?" The answer is, of course, it's precious.

Dear friends, if it is precious to God, should it not be precious to you? What will you exchange for your soul? Earthly fame, fortune, pleasure. That's about all there is. How long are you going to pursue that? 60 years, 70 years, maybe 80 years depends upon how old you are now. But know this, according to Hebrews 9:27, "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." Like the old Baptist preacher RG Lee once preached, "There's payday someday."

Dear friends, what more can I say to warn you of the penalties of rejecting Christ and His gospel invitation. Jesus then closes this section and he says, "For whoever is ashamed," the term ashamed, by the way, in the original language means to feel embarrassment or to reject or despise, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. This adulterous and sinful generation adulterous carries the idea here of spiritual harlotry. And certainly this was indicative of the Jewish people with their mechanical ceremonies and rituals in the lifeless, hypocritical, external traditions of apostate Judaism. You know, as I was thinking about this, I am so eternally grateful that God is not ashamed of me, although he has every reason to be. He's not ashamed of me because of any merit of my own. But because Christ has purchased my redemption with his blood, and I am forever hidden in him, along with all of you who know and love Christ. For this reason, in Hebrews two the writer says in verse 11, "For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 'I will proclaim your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation, I will sing Your praise.'"

But oh dear friends, to see what Christ has said here, what a horrifying thought that the Son of man, when he comes, is going to be ashamed of all those who are ashamed of him. And by using the title Son of Man here in this text, and linking it with the glory of his Father, and with the angels, Jesus is clearly harkening back to Daniel's prophecy of when Christ returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We read of that prophecy in Daniel seven beginning in verse nine. This is what Jesus is thinking of here. The Prophet says, "I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His vesture was like white snow, in the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriad upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat down and the books were opened. Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words, which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away. But an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time. I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." Dear friend, I ask you, do you want him to be ashamed of you when he comes? If you're here today, and the priorities of conversion are foreign to you, if you can honestly examine your life, and you have to say, my goodness, none of this even shows up on my radar. Then I would humbly suggest to you that you are ashamed of Jesus, and he is ashamed of you. But there is hope. And that hope is in the Gospel. And he extends to every one of you, every man, woman, boy and girl, not only in this sanctuary, but wherever, he extends to you the offer of his forgiveness and grace, if you will, but repent of your sins and cry out to Him, to save you, to forgive you, to change you. And when that happens, everything about you will change. Little by little, you will become more conformed into the image of Christ. And these priorities of conversion will not be onerous. Oh, we we will struggle with it. But we have the power source within us to do all that He has commanded. Aren't you thankful for that? Let's pray together. Father, we are so so grateful for your all-sufficient grace. And although each of us fail miserably as believers, we thank you that by the power of your spirit, little by little, you continue to conform us into the image into the likeness of Christ. Give us strength, give us wisdom, give us discernment. Father give us boldness that we might be salt and light in this decaying and dark culture in which we live. Lord, help us to love our enemies enough to boldly proclaim the gospel, that they too might be saved. And finally, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We long to see you face to face. For it's in your name that we pray. Amen.