Have You Measured the Cost?
Have You Measured the Cost?
While salvation is a free gift received through faith, living as a true disciple of Christ requires intentional commitment and sacrifice. Jesus distinguished between those who simply follow Him and those who become His disciples, explaining that discipleship transforms how we live rather than just what we believe.
Jesus outlined three essential requirements for true discipleship. First, we must count the cost - honestly assessing what following Him will require and deciding if we're willing to pay that price. Second, we must surrender everything, stepping away from the familiar and comfortable to pursue God more deeply, just as Moses turned aside to investigate the burning bush. Third, we must live set apart, being holy and different from the world's standards and values.
When Jesus spoke about hating family members, He wasn't commanding literal hatred but emphasizing that our devotion to Christ should be so complete that everything else appears secondary by comparison. Carrying our cross means dying to self - sacrificing our comfort, reputation, and plans when God asks us to. Though the enemy promises the world but delivers emptiness, Jesus is honest about the cost because He knows what awaits on the other side is infinitely greater. The time to fully surrender is now, not when we feel more prepared or worthy.
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Have You Measured the Cost? Understanding True Discipleship
Following Jesus is free, but being His disciple comes with a price. While salvation is a gift we receive through faith, living as a true disciple of Christ requires something more - a willingness to count the cost and pay it.
What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus vs. Being His Disciple?
It's possible to follow Jesus without truly being His disciple. We can attend church, know the right words, and even agree with biblical truths while remaining unchanged. But discipleship goes deeper - it transforms how we live.
In Luke 14:25-28, Jesus addresses this directly: "Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. And turning to them, he said, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Why don't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?'"
Why Did Jesus Tell People to "Hate" Their Families?
Jesus wasn't literally commanding hatred toward family members. He was making a comparison - our devotion to Christ should be so complete that everything else appears secondary by comparison. Your love for Jesus should be so strong that it almost looks like you hate everything else.
This doesn't mean neglecting responsibilities or relationships, but rather ensuring that nothing competes with Jesus for first place in your life. He shouldn't have to compete for your attention or obedience.
The Three Requirements of True Discipleship
1. Count the Cost
Before building anything significant, wise people calculate what it will require. Jesus uses this analogy because discipleship demands intentional decision-making. We must honestly assess what following Him will cost us and decide if we're willing to pay that price.
The cost isn't the same for everyone, but it always involves laying down our own desires, plans, and pride to follow His ways instead.
2. Surrender Everything
Moses provides a powerful example of surrender in Exodus 3:1-6. While tending sheep in the wilderness, he encountered a burning bush that wasn't being consumed. The key moment came when Moses "turned aside" to investigate - he stepped away from the familiar to pursue God.
"'Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush... When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses, Moses.' And Moses replied, 'Here I am.'" - Exodus 3:1-4
God didn't call Moses until Moses first turned aside. Sometimes we wait for God to move while He's waiting for us to step away from what's comfortable and familiar.
3. Live Set Apart
"'But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written, be holy because I am holy.'" - 1 Peter 1:15-16
Being holy means being set apart - different from the world's standards and values. When we truly surrender to Christ, something shifts within us. We stop merely avoiding sin and start actively pursuing righteousness.
What Does It Mean to Carry Your Cross?
In Jesus' time, carrying a cross meant one thing: death. It was an instrument of torture and execution. When Jesus tells us to carry our cross, He's asking if we're willing to die to our own desires, plans, and pride to follow Him.
This isn't about physical death, but about dying to self. Are you willing to sacrifice your comfort, your reputation, your plans if God asks you to? Jesus carried His cross and paid the ultimate price so we could walk in freedom - now He asks if we're willing to carry ours for Him.
Why the Cost Is Worth It
The enemy promises the whole world but delivers emptiness. Jesus is honest about the cost because He knows what awaits on the other side is infinitely greater. He can do "immeasurably more than you could ever think or comprehend" because He is infinite.
When we count the cost and decide Jesus is worth it, we enter into something greater than ourselves - something eternal that doesn't fade away. As Scripture says, "Fix your eyes on what is unseen, because what is unseen is eternal. But what is seen in the world fades away."
Don't Wait for the "Right Time"
There's no better time than now to fully surrender to Jesus. We often think we need to wait until we're more prepared, more worthy, or until circumstances are better. But God is saying the time is now.
You don't have to carry the same baggage, the same sin, or the same weight you've been struggling with. In Christ, you are a new creation - the old is gone and the new has come.
Life Application
This week, honestly examine what might be competing with Jesus for first place in your life. Is there something you've been holding onto that God is asking you to surrender? Perhaps it's:
Unforgiveness toward someone who hurt you
A relationship or opportunity that's leading you away from God
A secret sin you've been battling in darkness
Pride that keeps you from being vulnerable and real
Fear that prevents you from stepping into what God is calling you to do
Ask yourself these questions:
What is the cost God is asking me to pay right now?
Am I willing to turn aside from what's familiar to pursue Him more deeply?
How can I live more set apart from the world's values this week?
What would change in my daily life if I truly made Jesus my highest priority?
The invitation is clear: count the cost, surrender completely, and live set apart. Jesus has already paid the ultimate price for your freedom - now He's asking if you're willing to pay the cost of following Him wholeheartedly. The reward is a life transformed and a relationship with the God who created you for a purpose greater than anything this world can offer.
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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Good morning, Church. It is good to see your beautiful faces here this morning. You're going to have to forgive me if I look like I've just risen from the grave. That's what a youth camp does to you. It's a big weekend.
You know. What they didn't show on the video was the gale force winds and blow just about getting blown away and flooded out the whole weekend. Weekend. But even in spite of that, God still moved in a powerful way. And wow.
Can I just, first of all, just say thank you. Thank you for your support for our young people. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your giving. Because without you, we wouldn't be able to serve and create an environment for our young people to encounter Jesus.
Because just as we were singing, only Jesus, he truly is the only one that matters. And so it's because of you. It's not my ministry. They're not my youth. It doesn't belong to any one person.
But we as the church, this is our youth ministry. Sowing to the next generation to see lives changed and transformed. And so thank you. Thank you. Obviously, you've been hearing about youth camp and all the preparations being planned, and we're encouraging as many people to come as possible.
The team's been working really hard behind the scene scenes, and we've really got a great group of leaders and just volunteers that are willing to sacrifice their time to really see our young people change. But to reflect for a moment on the way that God's presence moves across this weekend, it was powerful. The Lord really, in his endless grace, came and just breathed on every single person in the room. Despite the amazing weather, there was really nothing that could stop our young people from stepping into holy ground. And it was called holy ground.
And we had a big banner, as you probably saw on the screen. And, you know, we didn't just call it that because it sounded cool or I thought, oh, yeah, that's memorable, that'll be really cool. But it really represents this idea that when we step into holy ground, it's not about the room or the place where we are, but it's a signal that marks God's presence is here and dwelling among us. And that's the same for the very place where your feet are standing right now. It's the same right here today.
It doesn't have to remain at a campsite at a special weekend, but in fact, you can encounter the Holy Spirit. You can encounter God and Jesus right here today for you. And so to start the camp off, I really felt strongly that God was inviting everyone to step in, to step away from the noise of distraction and to give God our full attention.
That's the reason we. We called it holy grounds, to give God our full attention. But before I keep going, I don't want you to just hear it from me. And so I've dragged along a few faithful youth, and so they made the hard work on the way here. Just before I was leaving Peninsula, my car battery died.
And so I had to restart the car and get the battery going. I was like, oh, no, we're going to be late. What are we going to do? But thankfully, we made it safely. And so I just want to invite up Abby, Malachi, and Joe to come and share a testimony.
Come on up. Give him a hand. These are some amazing young people in our youth ministry. Perfect. Who would like to go first this time?
All right, Joe, you kick us off. Amazing. Hi, church. I'm Joe. As you can see, I'm a bit of a mess right now.
Pretty big weekend. Camp was a lot. It was both amazing and. And pretty tiring. Not much sleep, but it was a great experience.
Being able to connect with those around me. Being able to connect with other youth, to interact with them, and to share those encounters with God with them is such an amazing experience that you can't even put to words. And it helps me realize two major things, which is having a personal encounter with God and being able to identify what the church church is. I was able at camp to encounter God personally on my own, and I don't think I would have done that without the youth leaders and the pastors there. I could tell that their main focus was making sure that every individual was able to personally encounter God.
They made sure that we all had our own time to pray individually and to close our eyes and just picture Jesus and encounter him personally, to pray for ourselves and not just get caught up in the relationships there. Although the relationships and connections were so amazing, so wonderful, they made sure that they didn't distract us from having our own encounter. However, those relationships also brought forth clarity about what the church is, which is the body of Christ, the bride of Christ. The church isn't a building. It's a community.
It's us. It's the people and the connections that we make from that. And camp helped me realize that. And it was just such an amazing, wonderful holy experience that brought me such clarity and such comfort through everything that I've been through.
Good morning. As Pastor Harry said, my name is Malachi and can't of tired because I only got seven hours of sleep over both nights.
And I kind of had to sleep on the floor once somebody popped my mattress.
Anyway, the highlight about camp was always the moments of Pastor Aaron because. Because he rang a powerful word and always backed it up with scriptures. I have 1 here, Revelation 5:12. In a loud voice, they were saying, worthy is the Lamb who was slain. To receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.
I have to have another scripture, but I'll come above to read it.
You want me to.
Colossians 1, 15, 20.
Hold up. The sun is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created. Things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authority, authorities. All things have been created through him.
And for him, he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him, to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven. By making peace through his blood shall not the cross.
Hello, I am Abby.
The thing that stood out to me and really, really touched me on the weekend of church, sorry, youth camp, Is stepping away from the natural. So really stepping out of my comfort zone with my faith.
And the question that wouldn't leave my head for a couple weeks and definitely got brought up a lot of time was there's really a purpose for me and like, there's a calling for me. And I just. There's nothing else but that God has put that on my heart and hasn't left me but stepping into my faith to be set apart. We are all set apart. We all have a purpose.
But being authentic with the Lord. The Lord will meet you where you are and as you are.
Everyone was there for a reason. Everyone got touched. I feel like everyone had their own personal connection on the weekend. And we. We've got many weeks school, like bring it to school.
Like, got told to share as much as we can for ourselves and to keep strong in our faith. But here's Peter 1, 15, 16. But just as he called you is holy. So be holy in all you do. For it is written, be holy because I am holy.
We need to represent ourselves in the Lord and go on our days with the Lord by our side. Also, just a huge thank you to all the pastors and everyone who donated for the, you know, just to support the camp and just a full appreciation. Yeah, thank you. Why don't we give them another hand? Come on.
So good. So good. Hey, you know, church. That's just a fraction, a small portion of the testimonies that we have seen coming out of youth camp. I could have brought along any number of young people, but it just goes to show that God is on the move, not just in the next generation, but he's on the move in our church, that he's on the move in our steps.
He's just on the move all over the world. There's a drawing back to come closer to Jesus. A drawing to come closer to Jesus. And this morning I feel like God just wants to remind you that you are set apart just as that we just shared just then that you have been set apart. Yes, it's something that we can tend to say to a new person walking through the door for the first time.
But I believe that it's a truth that if you can hold onto it, it will transform your life. It will take you through every trial and every struggle because you know who you are, your identity. In Jesus, you are set apart regardless of age, regardless of background, regardless of experience. You are cold. So I've titled my message this morning.
Have you measured the cost? Have you measured the cost? The cost. See, there is a decision that we make when we decide to follow Jesus, whether we're going to remain the same or be set apart. See, salvation is a free gift.
But. And when you make a decision in your heart and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you receive him and you walk in and you enter into eternal life. It says in Ephesians 2, verse 8 that for it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God. It is a gift that we receive that Jesus has freely given us.
And we know that for everyone, that if you believe in your heart, then you will be saved. It really is just that simple. We know that. But would it surprise you this morning if I told you there was actually a cost to following Jesus?
See, I think we can navigate through life and we've gone through struggles and difficulties and we feel lost, lost and isolated. And then we encounter Jesus and we have a moment where we receive him and we recognize who he is and we have this encounter where we receive his love, we receive his power and grace and we enter into a relationship with him because he is the only way. He is the way, the truth and the life to enter into eternity. But just like any relationship with your families, with co workers, with anyone in your life, it can never be one sided. It requires effort, doesn't it?
Sometimes more effort than others. But there is a cost. There is a cost. But we tend to like things for free, don't we? We tend to like things for free.
You know, just a couple months ago, over January, my family and I, we went over and was visiting my sister in America. And we traveled to a few different places, but we ended up in la and we got to go to an NBA game. I love my boss, I love it, I love watching it. But we went to this new stadium in Los Angeles and it was one of these like new ultra high tech stadiums. It looked like it was out of the movies from like 50 years away, but it was one of these ones that uses artificial intelligence AI, everyone knows, like ChatGPT.
You write in the prompts and it pops something out and you're like, where'd that even come from? But we walked there and the stadium's full, fully artificial intelligence. And so we walk in, there's no tickets on our phone or physical tickets that you have to scan. We simply arrived and we walk through and there's cameras everywhere. Cameras everywhere.
And we walk right through the door. And then all of a sudden we're greeted and say, hi, Harry, it's nice to see you, thanks for coming. And we're like, hang on a second, how'd you know my name? I didn't tell you any of that. And so we walk in and so it's like kind of, you know, a little bit freaky.
It's like, oh, what's going on here? But they've got all these cameras watching. And so we walk in, we're like, okay, it's different, a bit different. And so we walk around. The stadium's great, but we're a little bit hungry.
And so what's the natural response when you're hungry? Oh, you gotta go get some food, obviously. And so we walk over, we go over to the food kiosk and the stand and we walk in and there's a little gate into the little section. And so we walk through and they got a full wall of food. Oh, wonderful food.
They got chicken burger, burgers. Oh, they had dim sims, they had some chips, they had some hot dogs and sausage rolls. We're like, ah, yes, this is going to do the trick. And so we do it and we grab some water as well. We each grabbed one hot dog, which by the way, these hot dogs were like this big, no joke, very tiny, very tiny hot dogs.
We grabbed these and then of course we grabbed a little bit of popcorn, because why wouldn't you? You're at a basketball game, you gotta have some popcorn as a little treat. And so we grabbed these things, three water bottles, three hot dogs and two packets of Popco corn. And then we go look around and there's nowhere to pay. There's no cash register or worker Around.
And so we start to think for a moment, well, do we just walk out of this place? Do we just take the food? And so then we walk out and we start to slowly drift to the, to the door where we walked in and we walked through and we're like, we just got out of there, we just saw the food. How does that even work? And then we were in this moment of heart and then, and then we got a notification.
That little ding. He was like, ding. I pulled out the phone and then the bank statement that said, you've just been charged $140 for three hot dogs, three water bottles and two packets of popcorn. At least the tomato sauce was free. That was good.
But no matter where you go, people want things for free. You know, we were in New York on the, on the subway. You know, if, you know, the New York subway gets really, really popular, busy, lucky. We went on a Saturday, so it wasn't peak time, but we didn't really know what we were doing. It was pretty foreign.
So we're going to the ticket kiosk and we're walking over because obviously you need to get a ticket to check in through the gate and all that stuff. And so we go to get a ticket and then a lovely lady walks over in a uniform, in a public transport uniform. And she walks over and says, hey, do you need any help? Actually, that would be really great. And she's like, where are you trying to go?
So we tell her, we say, we're trying to get to here from here. I can't remember. I don't remember the exact spot. My memory's not that good. I was just following along.
But we go. And she's, okay, you can only buy five tickets at a time. There were six of us. So you buy these ones and then buy one more. We're like, oh, amazing, thank you.
And then as we're paying and as we're buying the tickets, out of the corner of our eye, there was another lady that was buying some tickets too. And another worker came over, but this time this worker had a high vis vest on with an actual public transport logo. And so we like, oh, okay, she's walking over and she's getting a little bit closer and approaching us. And as she does, we receive our tickets from this other lady and she asks us, oh, have you got any spare change? And then we look around, we sort of look at each other.
And my brother in law, he's American, so we were like, trust the local, trust the local. And so we're looking to him, and he's looking a bit flustered and grabbing his pockets and like, oh, I don't really know. So he pulls out his wallet, has a couple dollars, and hands it to. And she says, oh, thank you. Thank you.
And just as that happens, this other lady walks over and goes, is everything all right? And then we look back, and the lady, she's gone. She's disappeared. She's jumped over the gate, the free ticket, taken the money. And we just got hustled.
We just got hustled. She just saw a group of tourists. And we thought we were getting some free help and some free advice, but we just got hustled. But it's true, isn't it? If you can get something for free, then you want it.
If I were to offer you 500, no strings attached, would you take it? Probably out of respect. That's right. But we've brought this into our relationship with Jesus, haven't we? Sometimes we can get caught up asking for forgiveness without surrender, where we expect a relationship with him, but we're not willing to be obedient.
Where we call Jesus our Savior, but we don't treat him as our Lord, as the King of Kings, the Creator of the universe. And so if we think about salvation, how can it be that salvation is free? But following Jesus costs us something. And I want to explore this idea in Luke 14 this morning. But he conveys this idea to us that there is a cost to following Him.
There are difficulties that we face when you choose to follow Jesus if you want to be his disciple, which means just to just touch, be, learning his ways. And so if we want to follow the ways of Jesus, if you've given your life to him and to serve him, to receive his transforming love and power, there is a cost that we must pay. And so what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? What does it mean to live as a disciple of Jesus? If you'd like to turn with me this morning, we're going to go to Luke 14:25, and we're going to read.
It's on the screen and it says this. Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. And turning to them, he said, if anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. In verse 28, it says, Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.
Why don't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it. For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying the person began to build and wasn't able to finish. See, the first thing that a disciple, a true disciple of Jesus must do is count the cost. Just count the cost. We see in the passage in Luke 14 that there's a massive crowd.
They call it a multitude, which is a lot of people. A multitude of people following Jesus as he's on the road to the heading to Jerusalem. And instead of soaking in all the attention and going, oh, this is pretty good, isn't it? He turns to them. And in fact, he turns to them and he challenges them and convicts them and says, if you want to follow me, there is a price that you must pay.
There is a price that you must pay. If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. And we hear that. I think for a moment, Sorry, Jesus, you said what? What did you say?
Because it sounds like you're telling me to hate my family if I want to follow you. Should we actually hate our family? Should we actually hate our own life? Actually hate our brothers and sisters, the people around us? Well, no, obviously not.
See, Jesus is making a comparison. See, hate, as we know the word is a pretty strong word. We don't use it often, but when we do, it holds a lot of passion behind it. Sometimes we can throw it around a bit, like a wet sock and say, like, oh, I hate pickles. Or, you know, I hate when you get holes in your clothes or anything like that.
We can throw it around a bit flippantly. But there are also times when we get frustrated or people wrong us or talk behind our backs, or we get frustrated, or people, you know, we lose an argument or we get. There's a clash and we get offended. There can be this response where it's easy for us to let frustration and anger stir up within us. So how can it be that Jesus turns to the crowd then and says, you must hate your family.
That surely can't be the right way to live as a Christian. Well, what he's saying here is that our devotion and our obedience to Jesus should be without reservation. There should be no strings attached. There are no exceptions. In fact, in comparison to the world, your love for Jesus should be so strong that it almost looks like you hate your family.
That your love for Jesus should be so strong that it almost looks like to the world world that you hate yourself.
But Jesus is not saying, detest all these people and hate them with all your guts. He's not saying that. He's simply saying, by comparison, everything else in your life is of a lower priority than your faithfulness and obedience to Jesus. There are always things and expectations and dreams that we have, that we pursue in our lives that will try and take first place. These are not bad things, things.
But if they take priority over Jesus, then we've missed the mark. Because your relationship with Jesus shouldn't be a competition. Jesus shouldn't have to compete for first place in your life.
To be his disciple, it means to have enough courage to say, jesus, you are my everything. See, we must not find comfort and satisfaction in these things. And it is so easy to do. But our love for Christ should be all consumed. In scripture, it says that God is an all consuming fire.
It should impact and touch every part of your life. There should be nothing that remains the same. In fact, when we do love Jesus and prioritize him, there is something that shifts within us. Because what happens is when you pay the cost, when you're willing to lay those things aside, we adopt the nature of Christ, so we adopt his nature. And so we become, become like Christ.
And when we do that, that makes it easier to love other people rightly. See, when we receive Jesus love, what looks like to the world is a little bit upside down. We know in our hearts that this is what God has called us to do. To build something that's everlasting, that doesn't fade away. And then Jesus continues in verse 27 and he says, whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
He says, whoever. To this big crowd of people, he extends an invitation. And it's the same invitation for us this morning.
What does it mean to carry a cross though? What does it mean to carry a cross and to follow Jesus? Well, at the time, for the people there, and even we know now that carrying the cross almost always, in fact it did always lead to death on the cross. No one carried across for fun, as a little bit of a recreational activity, the cross was an instrument for torture, humiliation and death. The most brutal of deaths.
That if you were told that you had to carry your own cross, you knew what it meant to carry the weight of where you're going. You know, it's a one way ticket, there's no going back. So when Jesus tells us to carry our cross, what he's saying is that you must die to your pride. You must Die to your desires, die to your plans and follow Jesus. You have to be willing to sacrifice it.
God never forces us to give up our all. He'll never force force it. But he asks you, are you willing, if I ask you to give this up, are you willing to pay the cost? Are you willing to carry your cross if I ask you? There is a great cost and it is not like a lukewarm shower.
But it's a challenge and a call for a generation and a people and a world to not live in self comfort, but to choose obedience to follow Jesus no matter the cost. Jesus carried the cross with, he drank the bitter cup and he carried the weight of all of our sins. The whole world. The whole world. And we know this.
At Easter we just celebrated this and remembered what Christ has done for us. But he paid the debt on the cross so that we could walk in freedom. So that you could walk in freedom.
And so now he asks, are you willing to carry your cross for him? You each have a cross and it doesn't look like the the same as the person next to you. It's different. But Jesus invites us and asks us, are you willing to carry your cross for me? See, because the reality is, is that we can follow Jesus and not be his disciple.
We can stand in the camp and not be a soldier. We can walk into a church building and we can attend, but we can get caught observation serving instead of stepping in. You can walk into a group of people with a smile on your face, but still not be surrendered to Jesus. A disciple counts the cost and says, Jesus, you are worth it when you count the cost. We make a decision in our mind.
We've counted the cost. We've estimated what it means. We've estimated, we've valued it, we've weighed it up. But then we need to actually be willing to pay for it.
And so if you're taking notes this morning, point number two. I always tell young people to take notes because the shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory. I love that saying. But point number two is surrender. Point number two is surrender.
And so if counting the cost of following Jesus is making a decision in our mind, then surrender is a decision that we make in our heart. Heart. And I want to take you to a passage of scripture this morning that's really been burdened on my heart, particularly for our youth camp and our young people and youth. But I really believe that this is a call and a cry from God for his people to return to Him. And so I want to take us to Exodus 3, verses 1 to 6.
Where we meet Moses. You've probably heard of Moses before. He's a mighty leader in the Old Testament, leading Israel out of captivity and out of Egypt, and leading them where they should go in the wilderness and. And preparing them to enter into the promised land. But before he did any miracles and signs and wonders, he was just a humble shepherd tending to the flock.
In verse one, it says, now, Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it did not burn up. So Moses thought, I will go over and see this strange sight.
Why the bush does not burn up. When the Lord saw Moses. Well, when the Lord saw it. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, that Moses had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, Moses, Moses. And Moses replied, here I am.
Here I am. We can look at this moment, and on the surface level, it doesn't really appear to be anything special. See, Moses wasn't a great popular man of great influence. He'd grown up in the palace, and he was very well learned. But he finds himself at this time, and at the time, he's 80 years old.
Scholars estimate that he's about 80 years old at the time. And so this is his first encounter with God at 80 years old, he's tending to not even his own flock. He couldn't even call it his own sheep. It was his father who sheep. So he's humbly just doing the work.
He's just being obedient to where he's being called in the moment. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the angel of the Lord appeared to him from within the bush, and it was burning, which probably wasn't too surprising since it was in the desert and it was probably pretty warm. So things were probably on fire for a little bit. But there was something different about this bush, see, because while it was burning, it was not being consumed. It was not being consumed.
And I wonder, what would you do if you saw a bush that was on fire or if you saw a fire, what would your first response be? Well, very naturally, it'd probably be to run into the other direction. I'll leave that for someone else. I didn't see that. I didn't see that.
Or sometimes we can respond and Be like, oh, I need to extinguish this fire. This fire is not good. It could be dangerous. It could be dangerous. But the thing is, it's dangerous to get close to, to Jesus.
See, for Moses, he got a little bit curious and he saw the fire and sometimes the fire in our life, our first instinct while it is to extinguish it. Moses wants to challenge us. And by his example, he goes and gets a bit curious that he decides in his heart, in one moment, he says that whatever the cost, I want to find out what this is all about. What is the meaning of this? What is the meaning, meaning of this?
In other translations, it says that Moses turned aside, that he stepped away to go over and look at the bush. But this idea of turning aside when we read is this physical act of physically stepping away from what we were doing to go investigate something else. And so he's turning aside, stepping away from the natural, stepping away from the familiar. And he decided that whatever the the cost, he would surely find out the meaning. But sometimes we go through life and we go to church and we get in a rhythm and a routine and we treat it as a religious action, as a little check in the box.
We see the bush burning, but we just start to ignore it. We don't take the time to step in to get curious. See, as Christians, there are things that we do. If you've grown up in church or you've been around for a little while, then you'll know that Christians might pray, that we worship, that we sing about Jesus and we lift our hands, that we read the Word, that we encourage other people.
But if I can challenge you for a moment and help you realize that Christians don't just pray.
Bushes don't just burn. There's something that requires a response in our attention, that when a bush is burning, there needs to be a response. Christians don't just put pray because church. I don't know if you realize this, but prayer is the second greatest miracle outside of the death and resurrection of Jesus, because we're actually communicating with the living God, the God that created the heavens and the heavens and the earth. He's the alpha and omega.
There is no finish to him. He's eternal. You actually get to talk with him. That's pretty special. That's pretty special.
So we need to get curious and pay attention. Bushes don't just burn. There is a response when we step into the presence of God, when we encounter the Lord Jesus, when we decide to be his disciple. Some things you call routine and religious God desires to meet you in. Because God can meet you in a church service like this one.
He can meet you in a connect group at Grossnights. He can meet you on your way home from church, from work. He can meet you, meet you as you're in your room, lying asleep and lying awake in bed. He can meet you when you're all alone or in a group of people.
God can meet you in the mundane moment, just like Moses, he was just working. He was just doing the work when no one was watching. God can meet you there. Don't underestimate the position that God has placed you in. In this season where you are right now for the rest of this year.
It doesn't have to appear as some mighty mountaintop moment of victory, but God commit you in the valley in the hard place too, and he desires to walk with you and take you out of it. But will you surrender? Will you surrender? See, when Moses turned aside to see, it says in verse four, when the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush. Moses, Moses.
When the Lord saw that he had gone over, there was a proper response, a proper order. God didn't call out to him and say, moses, come over here. But he appeared. The Lord appeared and Moses turned aside to look and stepped a little bit closer. And when he did, when he took the step, when he paid the cost, then God's gracious call came forward and said, moses was Moses.
Moses. Moses. See, some of you may be here this morning and you've been waiting for an encounter with God, or you've been desperate to experience the transforming power that other people may be talking about. Or you're going through a hard season and you're desperate for just God to come alongside you and lead you out of it. But you're still following the crowd.
Just like in Luke 14 we saw the large crowd was following Jesus. The large crowd. Moses had to surrender to what was familiar, to pay the cost and give up what was comfortable and step out. God is ready to call you by name because he knows you by name and he calls you his own. He protects the vulnerable.
He gives strength to the weary. He loves the unlovable. He's close to the brokenhearted. He forgives the sinner. He frees the cat captive.
He gives grace to the humble. And he's the author and perfecter. And your story isn't finished. Are you willing to surrender your all? It is not our obligation, but a simple posture to give God our attention.
Our attention. Jesus challenges the crowd to say, will you step away and follow me and pay the cost? A lot of people will count the cost, but never actually surrender. See, because. Because it cost Moses something to surrender his life to God, didn't it?
And maybe you're in this place and you've been walking this tightrope of pursuing God and pursuing what the world has and trying to make something for yourself and trying to figure it out, not in a prideful way, but just to provide for all the needs that come up. And when struggles come and hit you by surprise, our first natural response is, what can I do? But Jesus asks us, and he invites us and challenges us to turn our eyes to Jesus, to turn aside and look to God because He's there. He's there with you. Maybe God hasn't been a priority in your life, but you're desperate for things to change.
It's time to surrender. It's time to surrender. The final thing that a true disciple must do, they must first catch, count the cost, then they must surrender. And number three is to live set apart. A true disciple lives set apart.
Abby shared it just before the scripture in First Peter, chapter one, verse 15, 16, and I'll read it again. It says, but just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written, be holy because I am holy. The Lord says, be holy, for I am holy. See, if you're here this morning, God wants you to know that you are called.
I said it in the beginning. You have been set apart. It's not just for the other person, but you have been called the person next to you, the person behind you. Each and every one of us have been called by God for a purpose that is beyond the everyday struggle and the slog of just getting through.
You have not been called to be stuck in the same sin, to repeat the same patterns of destruction, to live a divided life with one foot in the world and one foot following Jesus. We use this word holy, and it suggests this idea of a partners to be apart from. To be set apart. And so when we call God holy, we confidently affirm that God is separate and different from his creation. God's different from you and I.
He created us in. In his own image, but he's separate. So because of his divine nature and the perfection of his character, he invites us to partake in the same holiness. Because when he brings judgment, it is not a brutal judgment, it is a holy judgment. It is separate from the world standards.
When he says, I will give you, I will show you how much I love you. He's saying, it's a holy love. It is separate from the kind of love that you may have experienced in the past that may have brought hurt and distraction and caught you off guard, but it's a holy love. He invites us to live separately from the world, to come to him and to share with his apartments from the world. See, a true disciple of Jesus doesn't just count the cost.
They don't just surrender all their struggles and just lay down their their life. They don't just believe in something different because it sounds like a good idea. A disciple lives differently in action. When you decide to follow Jesus, something shifts in your life and you stop avoiding sin and instead choose to pursue righteousness to run towards Jesus. See, you know, sometimes we get so caught up in, oh, how do I hide this and keep this away?
Well, first of all, God sees it all. God knows you. And he says, despite all of that, I see who you truly are, who I have called you to be. And so instead of avoiding the sin that you've been hiding, instead of avoiding the sin that you've been battling with in the darkness, God says, run towards me and I will take care of all your needs. Perhaps the breakthrough and the prayers that you've been hoping for are not a matter of your own strength and your own ability to find solve it.
But it starts with the decision to run toward Jesus. Because we know in scripture it says that his power is made perfect in our weakness. So God doesn't need you to be strong. God doesn't need you to prove anything to him. God doesn't need you to carry the same sin, the same weight that you've walked in with.
Sometimes we desire to experience all the good God, all that the Lord has to offer, and we avoid counting the cost. Counting the cost is not always convenient. It's not always flattering, it's not always easy. But it is the gateway to a life marked. As a disciple of Jesus, Jesus invites us and he encourages.
Are you willing to count the cost? Just like the man that sat down to build a temple? Will you not first sit down so that you know that you may finish it, so you may know that you can complete it? And it's not anything that we do. But when we count the cost, we say the sacrifice is worth it.
Giving up my own desires, giving up my own thoughts for another, for what Jesus has done for me.
And I'm not asking you how long you've been coming to church or how long you've been a Christian. Or how long you've even believed in Jesus. Because I can tell you right now that the crowd believed in Jesus because he was right there. They could see him. I'm not asking you how much you know of Scripture.
And you know how well you can answer a question when someone asks you. Because believe it or not, it's possible to come to church. It's possible to know the right words. It's possible to know about God. It's possible to agree with what, everything that I'm saying and be encouraged by the testimonies of young people that have had an encounter with Jesus.
It's possible to agree with those things. And while all these things are possible, it's also just as impossible not to be transformed by it. To not be the disciple, to not be transformed. You know, all across our youth camp, the whole time, we had, you know, we had all the fun games and we had, you know, great, great food, and we had. We had great praise and worship.
We had powerful times of ministry and lifting up hands and praying over our young people and commissioning them to step into their culture and to be. To live set apart, to not carry the same thing that they walked in with.
But what we did and what we believe is we said the whole camp, it's time to lean in. It's time to lean in because the reality is that time is short. Time is of the essence. Jesus is coming back. Jesus is coming back.
And we don't need to live in fear. We don't need to live afraid or worry, worried. But when you count the cost and you say, Jesus, you are worth it, then we enter into something greater than ourselves, greater than your own life, greater than your future, greater than even your family. And it's something greater because it's into eternity. It's something that doesn't fade away.
It says in second Corinthians, it says, fix your eyes on what is unseen, because what is unseen is eternal. But what is seen in the world fades away. But his love always remains. It remains, remains the same. See across the camp, if you know me at all, or maybe you haven't, but I'll share with you now anyway.
But I'm a great planner. I love to be organized. I love to be organized. And this was my first youth camp that I had the opportunity and the honor to really lead our team in creating an environment for our young people. But it's the first time I've done anything like this.
And there were moments where things were going great and the young people were loving it and enjoying it. But I just couldn't. I just couldn't shake this weight of just like I wasn't worthy of doing it. Like I couldn't do it. It's too many people.
People aren't going to listen to what I have to say. There's people that don't want to be there. Maybe God, maybe you're not going to show up. Maybe nothing's going to change. And I've just, you know, spent many, many countless days and hours sleeping overnight and staying up late, getting only minimal hours of sleep just to put all this on.
And God, what if it's all for nothing? What if? What if? What if? And these lies from the enemy start stirring up and the enemy wants to say, hey, if you just give in to what you desire, then I could give you the whole world.
You could have everything that you could ever possibly. The enemy promises the whole world. He did it to Jesus. He did it to Jesus. And then we have Jesus here, and he confronts the crowd and says, you know what?
There's actually a cost. If you want to follow me. It's actually not going to be all that easy. It's not going to be all that easy. And while you can enter into eternity and salvation with him, there's a price that we must pay.
But see, the difference is that Jesus is not afraid of telling you the cost, because he knows that what awaits on the other side is something infinitely greater. Because we ask and we pray to a God that can do immeasurably more than you could ever think or comprehend. He is infinite. He is infinite. He is the God of the ages, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that led the Israelites out of Egypt.
The same God that did all that in the Bible is the same God that lives inside of you and has set you apart. He's the same God. He's the same God. And so we do all these things, and now on the other side of camp, we can celebrate and be victorious. But in that moment, there was a decision that I had to make.
Am I willing to pay the cost? Is the cost worth it? Is the cost worth it? Because it would have been a lot more comfortable just to sleep in my own bed in my own house. It would have been a lot more comfortable and easier to do that and say, well, maybe.
Maybe we'll try again next year when things are a little bit more prepared. Maybe I just have to wait until it's the right time. No, God is saying, the time is now. There's no better time than now. There's no better time than now to give your life to Jesus.
To count the cost, to surrender. To surrender to him. So this morning I want to give us a moment to get honest before God.
What is the cost the Lord is asking you to pay? What is the thing that you're holding onto? The thing that you know in your heart that you maybe haven't surrendered to God fully? The. The thing that you've.
That's been competing for first place. Maybe it's holding onto bitterness in a relationship. Maybe it's being the first to forgive someone even though you might be in the right. Maybe it's, it's stepping away from, from that promotion that might seem good in the moment, but it's going to lead you away from Jesus.
Because church, we need to prioritize Jesus. We need to prioritize Him. He is number one. Seek first his kingdom and all else will be added onto you. Count the cost.
You don't need to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. But when you put your faith in Jesus, he will take care of all your needs. He will provide. Maybe it's being real and vulnerable about a struggle, a sin in the dark place that you've been dealing with. Maybe it's time to confess and get real.
Because the prayer of a righteous person is powerful. Says that in James. Says that in James. Will you keep following Jesus at a distance or are you willing to lean in and surrender? I tell you the truth.
The testimonies we heard this morning from our young people are just an example of a generation that is ready to surrender, that is ready to count the cost. Ready to count the cost. And it doesn't have to stay in this next generation. But it's the same for you this morning. It's the same for you.
It's the same invitation. It's the same invitation. There are no exceptions. You haven't missed the boat. You haven't missed the boat.
It's too late for me to change. Because in him you are a new creation. In him the old is gone and the new has come. That's the. That's why we sing with baptisms.
That's why we declare who Jesus is. Because you don't have to carry the same baggage in the same weight. The same is available for you. You've been called. Will you accept it?
This is not a moment to get caught in the emotion of church. Sometimes we can get carried away in the wishy washy and we prioritize the atmosphere. But God desires to devotion over emotion. Jesus invites you to Make a real decision to change how you live tomorrow.
A real decision to change how you live tomorrow. To not stay the same, you don't have to stay the same. And so if it's okay, I just want to invite you all to bow your heads and close your eyes. I just really believe that, that in this place Jesus just wants us to lay our all at Him. You know, on our youth camp on the Friday night, I challenged our young people and I invited them to write down what they wanted, to surrender to God and to physically get up and place it at the altar as a sign, as a physical sign of saying, God, I'm not holding on to the same thing, that I don't need to carry the same baggage.
Because God, you provide all my needs, that you are my strength, that you gives strength to the weary. That he blesses those that come to him, that he will fill you when you hunger and thirst for him, he will fill you with a promise. And so maybe you're here and you're thinking, you're hearing me speak and you're going and you're feeling and you go, what do I need to hand over to you Jesus? What is the price that I must pay? What do I need to surrender to him afresh this morning?
And so I just want to pray and I want to give you a moment. And so if you're in this place and there is something that you need to hand over to Jesus to count the cost, to surrender, to live set apart and to live differently. I just want to invite you to put your hands out the front of you, no one looking around. This is just for you and God, just between you and God. Eyes on Jesus.
Eyes on Jesus. Just put your hands out in front of you as a sign of surrender. It's a physical act, physical act. Because sometimes the enemy can get inside of our minds and make us doubt. What we need to do can make us doubt and say, oh no, people will think differently of you.
But guess what? God doesn't control your body. He's not the master of your body. Because Jesus has called you to be set apart. He paid the price for your sin.
He rose again from the grave and he defeated death on the cross so that you may live in freedom. You are free and so you can lay everything down, you can break the shackles and pay the price and know that you have everything that you need. So if you're in this place and you want to surrender, just lift your hands out in front of you and I'm going to pray. I'm going to pray that there's going to be a releasing a weight. It says, come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.
A rest that doesn't escape from distraction, but it's a rest that gives us the power to endure it with the God that loves you and that calls you by name. And so, Lord Jesus, I just pray this morning, God, we thank you that there is a cost to following you. I thank you, Lord, that you challenge us to lay down our lives in response to what you have done. How could we not, for all you have done? Because you are the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.
You created the heavens and the earth and that you created and designed us for a unique purpose. That is greater. That is greater. And so right now, God, I pray for every single person in this place with their hands outstretched. Lord, would you just bless them and just release a fresh peace, Lord God, a peace that transcends all understanding.
Not to worry about the future, but to be confident in who Jesus is right now. That you are justified by the Lord Jesus. And so we give you all the glory, Lord God, in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Amen.
Now to stay in this moment for a minute. Don't miss the this moment. And maybe you're here this morning and it might be your first time coming to a church service, or maybe it might be your first time in a long time walking into this space and stepping out. And it's a big bold step. And so I want to say thank you.
Thank you for your courage. But maybe you're in this place and you're hearing what I'm saying and you're feeling drawn to surrender your all for Jesus for the first time. So it's to surrender your all to give your life to Him. Maybe you've never made that decision before. Maybe you've been around for a little while, or maybe you know that you've stepped away from God, but you know that he's calling you to return to Him.
And so in this place, just, just again, just with every head bowed and eyes closed, just no one looking around, I just want to give a moment that if that's you, I just want to invite you to raise your hand just so that I know who I. I'm praying for that if you're in this place and you want to give your life to Jesus for the first time. I see that hand. Thank you. Thank you. I see that hand.
Hands all over this place. Hands all over this place. Thank you, Jesus. That is You. God is calling you into a new creation.
He's calling you to step away from the old and enter into the new. Because you have measured the cost and there is a price to be paid. But Jesus says, in me, in me, you have been justified. You don't need to carry that. Thank you.
Thank you, Jesus. So I'm just gonna lead you in this prayer and if we all repeat after me as one, as one voice, as one voice, we're just gonna pray. Dear Jesus, I give my life to you. I step away from the old, I step away from my sin. And I look towards you, my Savior, my Lord, my King.
I want to believe in you and I will serve you and I will pay the cost. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Amen. Praise God. Thank you, church. I want to encourage you, don't leave the same. If you prayed that prayer for the first time, we've got Bibles to give you.
We'd love to give you a Bible and do this journey with you because you're not meant to walk alone. Whether you pray, been in church for a long time, or maybe just for a short time. We're built for community. God designed us for it. And so I want to encourage you to get connected in if there's anything holding you back.
We're a pretty welcoming church, so I'd encourage you go grab a Bible and we'd love to connect with you and do this journey with you. So thank you, church. Bye bye. Pastor Puller, how cool is that? You have the lights up.
What do you reckon, Steve? He did all right, didn't he? He's my boy. That's right. He's my boy.
Tell you what, for his first camp, smashed it. Absolutely blitzed it 150. I just got a few, a few, few small announcements in that if you have a child at the, at the youth camp, I believe they're making their way over very soon and that between now and one o', clock, I believe also there was a group of people that I left last. Where are they? Oh, they did a runner.
But I want to actually honor Jocelyn Murta.
Stand up. Stand up. Where's Ray and Shona? Ray and Shona. Go on, stand up.
Ray and Shona. These guys here, they volunteered all weekend in the food area and their kilos of food cooking for the people. So thank you guys very much. Next week, Church, don't forget pastor agents back expansion 26 update. You don't want miss out.
Amen. Let me pray for everyone and then we'll close the service, Father. We thank you. We thank you for the word this morning, Lord. You are building your church, Father.
Have your way, Father. Yes, there is a cost, Lord. But there is a greater reward, a greater name in Jesus, Father. And we thank you, Lord. Bless your people.
Bless this house. In Jesus name we pray. Church Amen. God bless you. Have a good morning.
Holy Holy is the Lord Almighty? All of heaven, Lord, now and evermore? King of glory Hallelujah. Dwight. Now we never more Holy?
Holy is the Lord Almighty? All of ever more now and evermore? King of glory Hallelujah. God remain.
Jesus only Jesus the name above all names so worthy to be praised? Jesus only Jesus? Forever glorified? Forever lifted High.
Related Bible Verses
EPHESIANS 2:8 (NIV)
"For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God."
Click here to read on Bible.comLUKE 14:26-27 (NIV)
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."
Click here to read on Bible.comLUKE 14:28 (NIV)
"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Why don't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it."
Click here to read on Bible.comEXODUS 3:1-2 (NIV)
"Now, Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it did not burn up."
Click here to read on Bible.comEXODUS 3:4 (NIV)
"God called to him from within the bush, Moses, Moses. And Moses replied, here I am."
Click here to read on Bible.com1 PETER 1:15-16 (NIV)
"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written, be holy because I am holy."
Click here to read on Bible.comMATTHEW 11:28 (NIV)
"Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest."
Click here to read on Bible.com