This is not what I wanted to look up and see when I pulled into church today, the snow, the sleet, and the slick roads. I commend you for being here today, and why dont you just give yourselves a round of applause. I was nervous and scared thinking there wouldnt be many people to talk to today, but there are a few more than I anticipated-not the normal, but better than I anticipated and hoped. The earlier service was as well. Weve gotten a little soft this winter. Weve not really had much in the way of snow, and we toughen up as the season goes by. Sometimes we are a little bit of pansies when winter first starts. This really is about the second snow we have had. Im glad you guys are all tough. Were continuing in our Clinker Brick series this morning. For the sake of those who are new, I want to talk to you about what a Clinker Brick is. This series is called Hand Me Another Clinker Brick. A clinker brick is a brick that is damaged, either when it was manufactured or somewhere along the construction site it became damaged like this brick (holding one up) which is missing a corner. A mason would look at this brick and say, Oh, this is no good. This brick is damaged, and he would cast it aside. There are those who see the value in clinker bricks, see the beauty in them since no two are exactly the same. Theyre actually used for other purposes; maybe a wall would be made of clinker bricks. Sometimes, as in the case of a church in New England, the entire structure is built with clinker bricks. What that means is that though we have flaws, though we make mistakes, God sees fit to use us to build His church because we will never be rid of our shortcomings-to the day we die. We should not use that as an excuse or be content with that. We should strive to have those imperfections removed, but we also know at the same time we will struggle with sin and our sin nature until the day we die. We were born, and we will die, a clinker bricks. People have flaws. Were not talking here about defects that were born with or illnesses. Were talking about defects of character, bad behaviors and attitudes-sin that we harbor in our lives. Each week were looking at a different person in the Scripture, a different clinker brick. Were talking about them and ourselves. This week will be no different. Were talking this morning about Defining Discipleship. Anyone here today ever bit off more than you could chew on a project or undertaking? You start; maybe youre going to remodel your home. Youre tearing up the carpet and the floor, and all the sudden you think, What am I getting myself into? Maybe youve gone to run something like a marathon. About halfway through that marathon, you think, What in the world am I doing? Sometimes people will go into marriage, believe it or not, not really counting the cost. They will be three years into a marriage, or sometimes three weeks, and theyll go, What was I thinking? Ive encountered that on many occasions. People do not fully contemplate… Maybe a business venture… You invest a lot of capital to start something off, or you put a lot of money into an investment that starts to go south. You say, What was I thinking? I can remember back in 1989 as I was laying the foundation to start our church. I resigned from the position in Rockford. This church did not exist. I was thinking to myself, What am I doing? Im going to work for a church that does not exist. I would think, I must be nuts. I must be crazy. We all have bit off seemingly more than we can chew: to start up a new ministry or whatever it might be. Financially, you name it. Jesus wanted those who were seeking to be His followers to understand the commitment they were making before they made it. He wanted them to grasp the importance of the decision to be His disciples. To become a disciple of Christ was not something you would do casually or flippantly and without weighing what was at stake. It was a decision He wanted you to make sure that you really pondered and thought it through. Thats why, as a church, we value seekers who come through and who ask questions, who investigate, who take time and ponder this important decision. We would rather have that and have them make a quality, sound decision to follow Christ than [to make] an impulsive, emotional decision which doesnt last. Wed rather they really think through their commitment. Jesus talks about this in Luke 14, if youd turn there please this morning. Were going to begin reading with Verse 25 (page 1034 of pew Bibles), Large crowds were traveling with Jesus… Thats where were going to pause for a second: large crowds. Jesus was not into large crowds. Jesus did not care about large crowds. Jesus was not interested so much in a quantity as quality. He wanted fully-devoted followers. So He is going to separate the men from the boys, those who are really serious and those who are just following Him because theyre curious; want to see a miracle; its the latest thing to do; its the latest fad to follow Jesus. I went to a large high school in Rockford. I remember freshman basketball: 60 guys tried out that first day. We hardly touched a basketball except for a drill. All we did was run, exercise and run. The next day 40 guys showed up. All we did was exercise and run until we wanted to throw up. The next day, 25 guys show up. We ran until we dropped. Then, the coach says, Okay, now that the guys who werent serious about it are gone, now well get down to playing some basketball. So Jesus is going to give a defining moment, an address to say, Heres what it means to be My follower. This is not something you want to be casual about. Really think about the decision youre making. …and turning to them He said: If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be My disciple. That verse has been very misconstrued and misinterpreted over the years. Well talk about it again in a few moments. (Picking up on Luke 14:27) And anyone who does not carry His cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will you not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who do not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple. How many of you this morning consider yourselves to be disciples of Christ? Let me see your hands. How many of you read that definition and then start to wonder, Am I truly a disciple? Yeah, one of us (as in one persons hand went up). I read that and it scares me. …in the same way, he who does not give up everything cannot be My disciple. And I say, I havent given up everything. Ive given up some things to follow where I think He wants me to go. I ask you this question quite literally this morning: how many of you think it sounds good to you to sell your homes, quit your jobs, leave your families and friends, and move to Illinois? How many of you think that sounds like a good idea, and you are wanting to do that? One of you wants to move to Illinois (again, one hand went up-congregation laughing). Nobody else wants to move to Illinois, right? It doesnt sound good. Im going to be quite frank and honest with you. How I felt about moving to Wisconsin was about how you feel about moving to Illinois. I didnt want to. I didnt know any of you. I loved my home and my church, my job; my friends and my family were there. I didnt want to move here. I gave up some things. I didnt want to come here any more than you want to go there. Now that Im here, I like it. Now that Im here, I dont want to go back. I didnt want to go. I didnt give up everything. My family is with me. I gained more than I gave up. Thats the way God works. He is more of a giver than a taker. But…He says, Unless you give up everything… Are we to take that literally? Because if we take that literally, we are all in trouble this morning. If being a disciple of Christ means you give up everything you have to follow Him, there is not a person here who could raise their hand by that definition and say, Im a disciple because nobody here has given up everything to follow Him. Let me explain this passage: Jesus often speaks in extremes or hyperbolae to illustrate a point. For instance, I might say to you, Today, Chicago Bears will kill the Saints to advance to the Super Bowl. I dont mean it literally. I dont mean theyre literally going to kill them. Its an expression to illustrate a point. It almost sounds like blasphemy, doesnt it? Theyre going to kill the Saints. Plus, theyve been crowned like Gods team now, so you almost feel like youre anti-American by not pulling for the Bears. If the Bears lose, and I hope they dont, but if they do, I will pull for the Saints in the Super Bowl like the rest of you. Its kind of like us against America right now. Before you got me off track, what I was saying is what He says is unless you hate your mother and father and children and brother and sister-even your own wife… does He literally mean hate? Does Jesus want you to hate people? No. Jesus says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Jesus is not contradicting Himself. He is not contradicting the Scripture. What Jesus is trying to say here is your earthly relationships, even the closest relationships, have to be superceded by your relationship to Him. He is to be more important than any earthly relationship, even more so than your family. Hes talking here about a level of commitment. He says, Im not just going to be one of your choices. Im not just going to be the slice of the pie. I want to be the pie. I want to be the focus of your life. Is your relationship with Me your most important relationship? When He says, Pick up your cross and follow after Me or you cannot be My disciple, we should not understand that in a literal sense. Jesus does not want you to cut down a tree, strip its bark, make a cross beam, nail them together, strap it on your back and carry it everyday everywhere. He doesnt mean that. The cross represents sacrifice. The cross represents humility. So Hes saying to His followers, Listen, if you follow Me, its not about advancement. You have to be willing to lay down pride. You have to be willing to die to yourself. Following Me is not about power. Its about humility. Its about sacrifice. You have to crucify self if you want to be My disciple. Thats what He means when He says pick up your cross. He did not literally mean hate. He does not literally mean pick up a cross. For most of us, He does not literally mean give up everything and follow Him. What He is talking about here is willingness, about the attitude of a disciple-an attitude that says, Everything I have belongs to You, God. I will go where You want me to go; I will say what You want me to say; I will do what You want me to do; I will serve where You want me to serve; I will give what You ask me to give. Jesus, oftentimes, would have people who wanted to follow Him, and Hed say, No, you stay right here. If we all sold everything we had, who would fund the Gospel? There are some people who work and make investments to give resources for the Gospel. Thats why they work. God doesnt expect the whole church to sell everything it has to follow Him. What Hes talking about here is an acknowledgment that everything you own belongs to Him. When you have that understanding, the giving is not a sensitive subject anymore. Serving is not a touchy subject anymore. When the church talks about giving a tithe or ten percent of our income as required in the Scripture, a lot of people get upset with that. If youre truly a disciple, you know its not your money. Its Gods money-100 percent of it. Its all His. He allows us to keep 90 percent. When we talk about serving, its not about you giving your leftovers to the Lord. Its about you giving your best to the Lord. (In a grumbly voice) Oh, the church always wants you to volunteer for everything under the sun… You understand that everything you have, your gifts, your talents, they come from God. God wants you to offer them back, to give them back. If youre a disciple, you understand that. That does not urk you; that does not irritate you. You know why youre on this planet: to serve Him. I said (this is) not for everybody because there are some people He has called to radical commitments. I want you to flip over a few pages to Luke 18:18 (page 1039); we find the story of the rich ruler. Hes been a good man; hes lived a good life. Hes also accumulated a lot of worldly goods. He just wants to know, Am I good enough? Have I made the grade? Is there something else I have to do or is what Ive done good enough? He comes to Jesus and asks Him a question, …Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call Me good? Jesus answered. No one is good-except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother. All these things I have kept since I was a boy. [Hes a] pretty good guy. Hes saying in regards to this brick, if this brick were his life, hes saying, You really cant find any flaws in me. Theres no clink here. There are no stars here. Every command Ive been given to do, I have done. I have done exactly what God has asked me to do. Now, is there anything else I need to do? Hes hoping Jesus is going to reply and say, Just keep doing what youre doing, and youre in. Jesus doesnt do that. Jesus gives a very unexpected reply. He says, You still lack one thing. [The man would reply] You know, one thing isnt bad. If all I have to do is one more thing, thats good news, really. Hes done all but this one thing he has to do. If youre in some sort of project, maybe one of those some assembly required things that takes you a couple of weeks, you get to the last step, and all you have to do is one more thing. Maybe youve been filling out forms for the some government bureaucracy, and they say, This is your last form. You say, All right! Were at the end of the tunnel here. One more thing, and then were done. Youre running your marathon. You have your last mile, one more mile. So, one thing isnt bad. He says, One thing. Sell everything you have... Everything you have… …and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow Me. Notice, Jesus says one thing you lack, and then He listed three: Sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and follow Me. What He was saying here was the essence of discipleship. Sell everything you have... Youll do what I tell you to do. …and give it to the poor…. Youll give what I tell you to give. …and come and follow Me. Youll go where I tell you to go. Thats a disciple. He doesnt do it. It says, When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. He was not willing to give up the stuff of this earth for the Kingdom of Heaven. That didnt seem like a good deal. He saw God as more of a taker than a giver. He weighed those two on the scale, and he found Jesus offer wanting. He was consumed with the here and now. You see, a true disciple lives in the here and now, but their true focus is on eternity. Its on the Kingdom. Then he walked away. Let me ask you a question: where are these mans possessions today? Where are these things he was unwilling to sacrifice? Where is his nice home? It is dust. His nice furniture, his jewelry and his possessions, theyre gone with the winds of time. What about his money? Where is that? Where is his gold? Where is his silver? Its gone. What about eternity? Eternity is just as real and as present and alive as the day he asked the question. He chose wrongly. A disciple, when it comes to choice between earth and Heaven, chooses Heaven. The temporal and the eternal, [and the disciple] chooses the eternal. He began to look at what it was going to cost him, what he was going to lose, instead of what he was going to gain. Before were too hard on this rich ruler, before we point a finger at him and shake it, there have been times you and I have walked away. There have been times you and I have listened to God tell us to do something, and we have not done it; or to say something, and we have not said it; or to go somewhere, and we have not gone there; or to serve in some capacity, and we have not served. You and I are guilty of this same thing, arent we? A true disciple lives on earth, but his or her focus is the Kingdom. Were going to listen to a song called Not of this World right now by a group called Petra. (You can find lyrics at http://www.christianrocklyrics.com/petra/notofthisworld.php) If youve been coming here for awhile, you know that I am working on a canvas in all four services. How many of you think you know what it is yet? Nobody? How many believe me when I say that by the time Im through, some of you might even want this picture? Nobody? Its true. This blackness represents sin. It represents our clinker brickness-remember thats a word we invented? See this rich ruler thought he was pretty together. He thought he had it all right. Jesus says, Youre lacking one thing. What was the one thing he lacked? The one thing he lacked was: The word of God says you shall have no other gods before me, so love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. Who did he love the most in his life? Himself. What did he value more than anything else? His possessions. Sometimes, thats you and I. Sometimes, were just like that guy in the story, just like the rich young ruler. We value the wrong things. We value the things of this earth, the people of this earth. Were not willing to pick up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow after Him. I want to share a couple of examples for you of people who I think have lived out this passage in radical ways. One is a man by the name of St. Francis of Assisi? When you think of St. Francis, you probably think of a monk with a robe and his head shaven. Thats accurate. …living in the woods and loving nature and birds, and thats accurate. What you dont know about Francis of Assisi is that he began life as the son of a well-to-do clothing merchant in Italy. It was assumed he would grow up to be the heir for the business. That was the custom. You did what your father did, so he would be the next in line to run the successful clothing business. He had money, and he spent it. He spent it on himself, pretty lavishly. He spent it on his friends. He was very popular, very talented, very gifted, a great personality, a lot of money, so he attracted a lot of friends. He was generous with them; he was generous with himself. Really, he was a clinker brick in that sense because he didnt use his money for good things. He used it only for Francis and the benefit of Francis. Then things began changing. He began to see the needs around him, and he began to have a desire to help the poor. That desire increased over time to the point where he actually began to focus, not so much on himself, but, upon the needs that were around him. He started rebuilding a chapel that had become dilapidated and was in ruins. He started to give excessive amounts of his money, really, his fathers money to the poor. He once went so far as to tell his friends he was getting married. They said, Francis, you dont have a girlfriend. Who in the world are you marrying? He said, Im marrying the finest lady of them all. They were all baffled, much like you are about this painting over here. He said, Im marrying Lady Poverty. His giving to the poor bothered his father so much that he though maybe his son had lost his marbles, so he locked him up in the cellar. He literally locked him up and would not let him come out. He went to the bishop-he was there for a long period of time-and he said, You have to come and speak to my son. Hes crazy. Hes giving away all of my money to the poor. You have to do something about this. The bishop talked to Francis. Francis explained his conviction and that he was going to take a vow of poverty. He was going to give away everything he had. The bishop said, Thats fine. You can give away what you have, but this is what belongs to your father, so you have to make a decision. Either you renounce the business, or you choose to be a part of the business and follow after the footsteps of your dad. Francis did something very peculiar. He renounces everything. He takes all of his possessions; he puts them in a pile; he literally strips down to his birthday suit; he takes all of the clothes off his back, including his undergarments, and he lays them on the ground. [That was] very symbolic because his father was a clothing merchant. He said, I give these things back to you, Father. I am devoting myself fully to God. He walked in the buff into the woods. He eventually does get a robe and puts it on. He walks around, prays, and he sings hymns. Hes happy. People start asking, Why are you so happy? You lost everything. You gave up everything. How can you be so happy? He started telling them about God. He started telling them about his vow of poverty. Pretty soon, there are about 11 other guys who join in and form this Little Brothers of St. Francis. They would become the Franciscan Monks. A woman, Clare, would also devote herself to the group, and she would start the Poor Clare Nuns. They would be blessed by the Pope, and he would bless their order. He (Francis) spent his time like a hermit in the woods. Then one day, a scripture impacted him. It was Matthew 10. It talked about going on and ministering, getting rid of everything-even your shoes. You go around and minister to people, and thats what he did. He began to devote himself to ministering to the poor. He began to minister to the sick and the lepers. They did good things. They werent just living in isolation by themselves. They eventually began to use their spirituality and their love for God in the real world and do some amazing things in helping the poor. Here is a guy who literally lived out the commands of Luke 14. Is there anybody like that today? Is there anybody who has a radical faith like that? Most of us, Hes not going to call us to give up everything, but are there some that He still speaks to in that way? How many of you have ever heard of a song called Our God is an Awesome God? How about a song called Oh God, You Are My God, I Will Ever Praise You, Step by Step Youll Lead Me, and I Will Follow You All of my Days? That and many other songs were written by a man by the name of Rich Mullins. Rich died untimely at the age of 42, about 10 years ago. Prior to that, he wrote songs for Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and other leading contemporary Christian artists. He launched his own solo career. When he wrote Awesome God, his sales took off. His career took off to the top of the charts. He became a household name in many Christian families. His music was played on the radio all the time. One of the last things I did, one of my last responsibilities in Rockford when I was a youth minister there, was [to schedule Rich Mullins to sing before an evangelist spoke at the Metro Centre]. The churches of Rockford banned together, 150 churches strong-thats pretty impressive, to bring in an evangelist by the name of John Guest. He was an Episcopalian, so the mainline churches were in favor of it; but he was strongly evangelical, so the evangelical churches were in favor of it. Catholic, Protestant, mainline and contemporary-150 strong-onboard to bring in a person. It was an amazing thing. We rented out the Metro Centre, which holds about 7,000 people. We came close to filling it every night of the week. We would bring in a Christian artist, and then John Guest would speak and give an invitation to receive Christ. I was in charge of the two youth nights, Wednesday and Saturday. The Saturday night one was the same night my son was born, so I was trying to direct everything from the hospital. It was an interesting day. I just said, I hope he comes any day but Wednesday or Saturday because those are pretty intense days for me. I was in the hospital directing traffic from there. My favorite artist was Rich Mullins. I loved his music. We had deep pockets. We could write a check, so we could ask anybody. I said, We have to get Rich in here. He is so anointed and has such a strong message. Lets get Rich. The chairman, as we were listening to Rich warm up, saw Rich with the long hair, unshaven, and a bit sloppily dressed. His first impression wasnt too good. He kind of looked at me like, Are you sure you know what youre doing here? Is this the right guy? I said, Trust me, Dennis, by the time hes through, youll know hes the right guy. He did; he ministered to us. Just in talking with this guy, I noticed he was very much a part of this earth, but his focus was on the Kingdom. He had some radical ideas and radical thoughts. He was a great guy. I spent time with him. We took him to an interview on QFL. We took him out to eat and spent a lot of time with him, getting to know him. One thing that was interesting is the check; he asked that we make it out to the Kid Brothers of St. Frank for $2,500. I still have the contract-I was looking at it this week. I thought to myself, Who? What is the Kid Brothers of St. Frank? How come Im not making it out to Rich Mullins or some promotional company or agent? I didnt find out until later that Kid Brothers of St. Frank…St. Francis, St. Frank-its the same guy. Rich Mullins was a huge fan of St. Francis of Assisi. Rich Mullins had taken, like Francis, a vow of poverty. He had every penny he made given to a charity that ministered to the Navajo Indians. Thats where he lived. He lived on the Navajo reservation. He worked for a church. A small church on the reservation paid him a pittance of a salary, just enough to buy food. This is a guy who could have been, or would have been, a millionaire with the royalty from the songs he wrote, the royalty from his albums which sold number one best sellers-the royalties from all of his concerts; he kept not one cent. He lived with the Navajos in the same one-room, made of wood-basically the size of your bathroom-and he taught the children music. He shared the Gospel with the Indians on that reservation. That was his life. His music was just something that was a way to help these people. He said, My real job is I teach music to a small group of Navajo children. [He was] quite an interesting fellow, wasnt he? That was Rich Mullins. What a great guy! You say, What are you doing, Pastor? Are you trying to tell us we need to sell everything we have and strip into our birthday suits and walk into the woods? Or [should we] go live in a one-room place somewhere? Is that what youre saying to us? Yeah. No, no, no, no. What Im saying to you is a disciple has two things: a disciple has a willingness to do whatever God has called him to do, and a disciple has a focus on the Kingdom. Those two men are examples of people who made radical decisions to follow what God had called them to do, whose focuses were on the Kingdom of Heaven, not on this earth. Imagine, as we close our service this morning, we decide as a church that we are tired of the cold. We love Wisconsin, but were tired of snow and cold and dreary skies. Were going to all move to Florida, and were going to start a church in Florida where its sunny and warm. Were all going to live there. This is just hypothetical now. Were not some sort of a cult who travels together. For the sake of an illustration, were going to say we do. We all load up our cars, and we meet here at the church. We take off for sunny Florida to live. Thats our destination. We drive for several hours, and we pull into a rest area. We use the bathroom; we stretch; we get a drink; we talk a little bit. We load up in our vehicles, and we continue on driving. We drive a few more hours, and we pull off at the next rest area. We notice something. Youre not there. Where are you? We wait, but you never show up. I say, We cant leave without them. Theyre part of us. So we all get in our cars and turn around and go back to the last place we saw you, which is at that rest stop. Low and behold, there you still are. Only, youve unpacked your car; youve set up a tent; youve got stakes in the ground; youve inflated some furniture and put that in your tent; youve built a little fire to stay warm; youve got some books and a little radio and a TV with rabbit ears youre trying to tune in. You see me and you say, Hey, how are you doing? I say, What are you doing? Why are you here? Why are you making a home here? You say, Well, I kind of like it. I didnt plan it. I know we were just here for a moment. I know were on our way to Florida, but it just started to feel like home for me after awhile, so I decided Im going to stay. Youre going to live in a rest area? Yeah, I kind of like it. Theres a bathroom right there. Theres a vending machine thats always full. People come and go. Its an exciting place. Its scenic; there are trees, and I kind of like it here. I think Im going to call this home. I would say, Are you nuts? Weve got something so much better ahead of us. This is not our destination. This was just a temporary stop. Our destination is Florida where its sunny and warm. Were going together as a community. Its going to be great! Come on! Oh, I know. Maybe someday, but right now I really want to set my home up here. That would never happen in real life. You wouldnt do that. The government would not let you do that, in case Ive given you any ideas. Sometimes we do that here. This place, this earth, is just a temporary stop. Its a pit stop. In the span of eternity, were here for a rest area stay. Its just a short visit. Were on a destination to a much better place. Dont get side-tracked. Dont think the temporary stop is where you need to be putting up your tent and making your home, focusing here. Keep your eyes on the destination. Follow the Lord. Thats what a disciple does. Hes willing to go, willing to serve, willing to give whatever God calls him to do, to say or to give. Follow where He leads, and His focus-though He is on earth-His focus is the Kingdom. The Kingdom is a much better place, and its for eternity. Lets stand together as we close in prayer. Next week, well continue in our series on Clinker Bricks. Then the following week as well, on communion Sunday, we will conclude our series on Clinker Bricks, and we will find out what in the world is going on with this portrait. (Pastor has added a layer of black each week to a canvas.)