Fully Devoted [We Are Access] — Pastor Jason Burns

Like, I'll follow Jesus as long as I'm in control. But you can't follow someone and be in control at the same time. You you have to make this decision. This is this is an awkward message, but I want you to hear this. You can't follow Jesus and be in control. You can only follow Jesus and obey him. [00:13:15] (19 seconds)  #SurrenderToFollow

I admire them but I have no voice in what they they do. Here's the way you can know you're a fan. This is important. Here's the question. A fan asks, what's in it for me? What am I gonna get out of it? And I think this is where a lot of American Christians are. They wanna follow Jesus for what's in it for them. They want the blessings of God. They want the miracles. They want the healing. They want all the benefits of following Jesus without also carrying the cost of actually being a follower of him. [00:10:37] (31 seconds)  #FollowersNotFans

Like somewhere along the way, we bought into this convoluted view of Christianity that you can show up on a Sunday, pray one prayer and live as if nothing has changed in your life. Like you can show up Sunday, have a moment where you encounter heaven but you live like hell the rest of your life and nothing has actually changed. And we think to ourselves, well, I'm in because I prayed a prayer. If that was the case, I would raise a trillion dollars. I would get on the radio and TV all over the world and say, everybody pray this prayer with me. It's like a fire sale that'll get you out of hell. [00:13:58] (30 seconds)  #BeyondThePrayer

And here's the thing. I want you to hear this. I I actually love our dogs, but Liz loves our dogs so much that in comparison to Liz's love for the dogs, my love seems like I hate the dogs. Are you with me? Here's what Jesus is saying. He's not saying don't love other things. What he is saying is I want you to love me so much. Be so devoted to following me that your love for me makes it look like you don't love anyone else. Like this is what it means to follow Jesus. [00:16:21] (34 seconds)  #LoveJesusAboveAll

when you start asking questions like that, here's what it reveals. It reveals that you're in it for you. It's about you. It's about what you can get out of it. And I want you to hear this. Fully devoted followers of Jesus don't ask what I get. They ask what can I give? How can I serve? What can I bring? Second question. Are we all in? This is a big deal. Statistically, it's like something like 64% of Americans today would call themselves some sort of Christian. [00:23:34] (30 seconds)  #GiveNotGet

They weren't really interested in following. They were in it for what was in it for them. Jesus said, you don't want to leave me too, do you? He asked his 12 disciples. Like like, this is a big deal. And I think if we're not careful, a lot of us will live there. A lot of us will live in the, I'll serve Jesus as long as I'm getting what I want out of it. I'll show up to church as long as it's convenient and I like the topic they're teaching on. I'll follow Jesus as long as it doesn't cost me my opinion or my political standpoint. [00:12:48] (27 seconds)  #AllInOrNot

I think it's possible for us to have a wrong picture of why we come to church. One of the ways you'll know if you're coming for selfish reasons is when you get in the car after church, you think to yourself or you say out loud, what'd you guys think about church today? Was it funny? Did you have fun? Did have a good time? I don't know. I didn't really like that second song we sang. It was kinda weird. I didn't really like it. We're not singing about you or to you. [00:22:57] (26 seconds)  #ChurchIsNotEntertainment

But according to Jesus, that's not what it means to be a devoted follower of him. You need to pray and you need to change. You need to pray and you need to obey. Let me show you one of the most troubling verses in the bible. This is Jesus again. This is Luke chapter 14. Jesus says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, what? [00:14:29] (20 seconds)  #ObeyAndChange