Following Jesus Even When It Hurts

We are in a series of messages on the Christian Life Friends. Our previous two messages dealt with the doctrines of repentance and regeneration. Today's message will cover discipleship, but first I want to read you some comments on discipleship from a good friend, William McDonald, who is now in glory.

Bill wrote, We often think it must have been a wonderful experience to travel with Jesus when He was here on earth. We can see Him and His disciples sauntering along, enjoying a continual Bible conference, but it wasn't like that. It was more of a scalding experience in which the disciples learned their own sinfulness and failure, and in which they were called to a pathway of persecution, suffering, and death.

Well, I like those comments of Bill's because they ring true in the Christian experience. William McDonald's book, True Discipleship, is a Christian classic selling over 2 million copies, and it was Bill who was the one who encouraged me to write my own book on discipleship, giving me the advice to not state the obvious and to take the gloves off. And when I preach, friends, I like to take the gloves off not to knock you out, but to get your attention.

And I want to get your attention today, friends, with this message on discipleship because the Christian life is one of the greatest adventures in the world. You get to taste of heavenly things. You get to see prayers answered.

You get to see people saved, and you get to see yourself become a person you never dreamed was possible. The Christ life is the only life, friends, worth living for. But one thing I've learned as I've followed Jesus along the narrow way, that the rewards far outweigh the tough times.

Our Bibles tell us to count the cost. And if you have a close walk with Jesus, friend, in a life of discipleship, you will soon learn the cost of following a crucified Christ. But the blessings will far outweigh the sacrifices we make for him and the gospel.

The title of my message today, friends, is Following Jesus Even When It Hurts. It will help you to better understand what discipleship means by realizing that the Christian life is a constant state of trial. God did not design us merely to put us into this world to enjoy it and to be happy.

But through our conduct under the trials of life, God will discover our proper character, and we will discover more of ourselves in him. God's eye is fixed upon us as he monitors every minute of every day and observes how we react to the circumstances he providentially places us in. Whether we be in a time of good health and prosperity or a time of poor health and adversity, his eye is continually upon us and his spirit continually active in trying our hearts and proving our faith.

God means to try us under the trials of life to bring himself glory and to make us more like his precious son, the Lord Jesus. How we react to him in given circumstances is what we call the Christian life. And God means to try us.

That's a fact seen through my Bible. God tested the children of Israel in the wilderness that he might try them and prove them and know what was in their hearts. I'll never forget the story told by the missionary James Stewart, who was one of the most greatly used evangelists who saw revival after revival in Europe during the Second World War.

He told the story of a farmer in Scotland who had a burden to see his fellow neighbors saved and brought to Christ. So he asked James Stewart to come hold meetings in his home on his farm to reach his neighbors. Well, this farmer's wife was a woman who put all her time and effort into making a lovely home, and she was dead set against having her beautiful home open to hold evangelistic meetings.

But under persuasion from her husband, she finally relented. And the first night of the meetings, it snowed a big snowfall and visitors tracked and trampled mud and snow all over her lovely carpets. James Stewart said that God moved in that meeting in a remarkable way, and several of the farmers were brought to Christ that night and saved.

But the lady of the house locked herself in a room in anger that her carpets were filthy and ruined from the people. James Stewart slowly went over to her room and knocked on the door, and she told him in an angry voice to go away and leave her alone. And he said to her, woman, what is a carpet compared to Calvary? But this woman never forgave him.

Some folks will only follow Jesus so long as it doesn't cost them anything. So what if that farmer's wife had her carpets ruined? What is that compared to Calvary and the salvation of souls? Discipleship means following Jesus even when it hurts. Even when it hurts your reputation.

Even if it means letting loose of something valuable to you. I remember when a ministry I knew was hurting financially and I wanted to give them help, but I couldn't. I was out of money at the time.

So I prayed that God would supply the funds to get this ministry out of its crisis. Well, as I prayed, heaven seemed as brass as my prayers seemed to rise no higher than the ceiling. Then a certain safe kept coming to my mind, a hidden safe down the hallway in my house that was in a closet where I kept a stash of gold coins.

I'd like to go into my closet from time to time and open that hidden safe and get out those gold coins and roll them over in my hands. I took great pleasure in knowing I had a stash of valuable gold hid away. Well, I kept praying for that ministry and I literally became sick physically because I knew God was saying to me to go get those gold coins and take them to a coin dealer and sell them and take that money and give it to that God honoring ministry.

Oh, how it would hurt me to unlock that safe that day and to hold those one ounce gold coins in my hands knowing I would never see them again and also realizing the personal sacrifice of accumulating that gold. But I knew if I was to follow my Lord in a life of discipleship, here was the testing ground. His words from Matthew 10 37 rang in my ears.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Well, I took the gold coins and sold them that day and gave the money to that ministry that was in need.

Following Jesus even when it hurts has its rewards that we may not see now but one day future. They'll be showered down upon us for faithfulness to God and the gospel of the Son of God because what counts costs and what cost counts. Let us pray.