Matthew 8:18-22Many things in life you agree to before you know what it really means and what it will costMarriage is one. A new job. A house. A car. My first car I owned for a year and didn’t do nothing to it- no oil, rotations, anything. No one taught me. I didn’t know nothing. It was work had no $When I became a Christian- I didn’t really know what it meant. There have been times I wanted to turn back because I didn’t realize what it was going to cost me in this lifeTelling Jesus you are going to follow him and then turning back isn’t what he wantsYou must make a decision to let the dead bury their own dead- and follow Jesus

Let the dead bury their own dead- learn to endure

19 Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”Jesus is talking to this scribe who sees in Jesus the messiahship, but Jesus is letting him know the tangible realities of both being the son of man and what it would be like to follow himBeing the son of man isn’t glorious- but to be a son of man in the biblical sense is understanding that Jesus identifies with all of who we are as human- he is a son of man- but he is THE son of man as wellEllicott describes it this way- It was accordingly, with these ideas attached to it—involving at once fellowship with the lowest of the heirs of our humanity, and yet also participation in the eternal glory of the Highest—that our Lord claimed the title, and used it with such marvelous frequencySo whatever Jesus asks of us- he identifies with and experiences with us. We don’t serve a Savior that asks us to endure with him, who didn’t endure himself. He suffered for us and continues to intercede for us before the father on our behalf. And so when this scribe comes and says “ I will follow you wherever you go” Jesus says, “but will you”? because I’m you and I’m God but I don’t even get a place to live. This Jesus life is the real deal, if its that way for me- its going to be that way for you- so are you willing to live a life of endurance following me? Do you really know what it means to follow me?John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”Jesus knew and told his disciples- in this world you will have tribulation. It will not be easyThis guy wants to follow Jesus but Jesus makes it clear- its not a cake walk- it wont be easyLuke 9:23 then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.does that sound like a party you want to be invited to? Its going to take some endurance. Its going to take some grit. Its not going to be easyCan I be honest with you? I think many have done a disservice to Christianity by trying to sell it as love, peace and blessings. People say “you’ll feel so much peace” “you’ll fill a God sized whole in your heart” “The benefits are out of this world” I think its why many fall away and don’t come back- They are not told what it really means to follow Jesus- Their life is already hard, they want a reprieve and someone sells it to themBut it either gets hard, or it lacks any teeth because they weren’t really convertedThis Christian life takes ENDURANCE if you are really try to live for Jesus- everything is at youGalatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.What does it mean to youHave you embraced the suck of following Jesus? That’s a military term- embrace the suckIts just a way to describe a horrible situation- you either fight it and complain or endureRomans 5:3 And not only that,