Luke 9:43-62: No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/regret.htm - William Borden - life of no reserves, no retreats, no regrets.
William Borden - what the Christian life is supposed to look like. That doesn’t mean that all of us are called to give up everything and move to another country, but it does mean we should be willing to follow Jesus wherever He leads us.
Most of us, including me, are NOT like William Borden. We have reserves - we’ve held back instead of putting our lives on the altar as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2). At times, we’ve retreated and turned back in our faith instead of continuing forward. We have regrets. We know areas in our lives where we should have obeyed and instead were disobedient.
This is NOT a message to cast judgment on ourselves. There is NO condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1). You are not saved because you follow Jesus better than someone else. You are saved because Jesus followed the will of His Father to the cross. You are saved because of your faith in His work.
HOWEVER, if you are a follower of Jesus, you should WANT to follow Him because of the sacrifice He made for you.
Luke 9 - Know who Jesus is - the King who has come to die. Jesus is going to Jerusalem to die on a cross. Know who you must be - a follower of Jesus who takes up your cross daily and follows Him. (DISCIPLESHIP)
How do I live a life of no reserves, no retreats, no regrets? How do I follow Jesus well? (We talked about this in Luke 9:18-27, but let’s revisit this because Luke’s not done talking about it.)
Brief overview of Luke 9:43-56
Brief overview of Luke 9:43-56
Luke 9:18-27 - a confession followed by a radical call to discipleship.
Luke 9:28-43 - a glorious revelation followed by a failure of faith.
The disciples claim to know who Jesus is (Luke 9:20) and Peter, James, and John have seen His glory (Luke 9:28-36), but the disciples can’t get right what it means to follow Jesus.
Luke 9:43-45 - Jesus tells His disciples of His death again, but they don’t get it. (Jesus doesn’t let them understand the full significance of who He is… yet…)
Luke 9:46-48 - Disciples argue about who’s the greatest… Maybe Peter, James, and John started the argument… “We were on the mountain… We saw Him transfigured!” Jesus takes a child to Himself, “Greatness comes when you’re willing to embrace the least of these.”
Luke 9:49-50. The Apostles not the only ones that Jesus is going to use to spread His Kingdom.
Luke 9:51-55. THE TURNING POINT. “He determined to go to Jerusalem.” Attempt to go through Samaria thwarted. Pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem through Samaria often harassed. James and John: “Do you want us to call down fire from heaven?” O.T. precedent - Elijah (2 Kings 1:10-12) - Jesus came to show mercy - even to Samaria (Acts 1:8) - not to act vindictively.
Luke 9:43-56 - showing failure after failure of the disciples. They’ve confessed Jesus as Christ but they do not comprehend what that means, and they do not comprehend what it means to follow Jesus - like Jesus taught them in the Sermon on the Plain - take up cross, suffer, show mercy, etc.
You must be willing to be uncomfortable in a comfortable world.
You must be willing to be uncomfortable in a comfortable world.
Luke 10 - Jesus sends out 72 to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The reign and rule of God within the hearts of people. 10:2 - “The laborers are few...”
Luke 9:57-62 - The reason why laborers are few.
vs. 57 - “As they were traveling on the road...” The road to Jerusalem - certain death for Jesus. Someone says, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Sounds like what you want to hear from someone… Passion, commitment, no turning back, etc. As a pastor, this is what I want to hear people say. I want to applaud that kind of decision - hold that kind of decision up as an example to our congregation… “Look at so and so… they’re willing to follow Jesus wherever He leads.”
Yet, Jesus’ response isn’t so enthusiastic. (vs. 58) Jesus knows this man does’t understand the full implications of that statement. “Foxes have holes. Birds have nests, but there are some nights I don’t even know where I’ll sleep. Is that what you want?”
Matt. 8:19 - This man was a scribe. Mk. 12:38-40 - Scribes were used to comfortable lives - they wanted honor, the best seats in the synagogues, long robes, etc. Often, attempted to attach themselves to the most popular rabbis - and no rabbi more popular than Jesus.
Jesus to this scribe - “You must be willing to exchange comfort for discomfort. Be willing to live an uncomfortable life in a comfortable world.”
Same calls to us - comfort might be one of the greatest false gods of this world. We all want a comfortable life - free from challenges, difficulties, trials, etc. Jesus doesn’t promise us that. Instead, Jesus calls us to take up our cross. That’s not comfortable. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you know some of the discomforts:
The discomfort of difficult conversations.
The discomfort of conviction and repentance.
The discomfort of rejection.
The discomfort of living by faith.
The discomfort of sacrificial giving. (Give until it hurts.)
The discomfort of living out of step with modern culture.
Followers of Jesus embrace what is uncomfortable. Why? Because Jesus is enough. We embrace the uncomfortable because our eyes are on another home… NOT this earth… But a new heaven and new earth.
You are NOT promised a comfortable life if you follow Jesus on the narrow road. ALL you’re promised is that Jesus will be with you. That HAS to be enough for you. Is that enough for you? If Jesus is not enough for you, you will struggle to follow Him well. You must settle in your heart that Jesus is enough.
Pocketknife in bag… (Discomfort of flying - why? - eyes on destination....)
You must live with Gospel urgency instead of self-centered hesitancy.
You must live with Gospel urgency instead of self-centered hesitancy.
vs. 59 - “Follow me...” This time an invitation. The invitation is not rejected, but the man delays the invitation.
His request seems reasonable. “Let me bury my father.” Likely that his father was not dead yet but more likely in his declining years. It could have been years before his father would die. Man felt an obligation to his family - an obligation that hindered him from obeying Jesus. Jesus knew his situation. Jesus knew the health condition of his father, yet it didn’t stop Jesus from inviting this man to join him on the road to Jerusalem.
Why the hesitancy? Family loyalty, religious duty, and perhaps personal gain. A self-centered hesitancy. If this was a firstborn son, he awaited his inheritance. To walk out on his father might put his inheritance in jeopardy.
“Let the dead bury their own dead.” (vs. 60) - A shocking statement. Perhaps Jesus meant "let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.” Or, “Let your spiritually dead family members take care of your dying father. I’m inviting you into a life-giving work, an eternal work. Follow me.”
Simple application: Don’t put off what Jesus is calling you to do today. Obey now. There’s a Kingdom work that Jesus is calling you today.
When Jesus calls, you say yes. You don’t say, “Wait, Jesus. I need more time.” We need a wartime mentality. Those in our congregation who serve in our military or who serve our community as first responders know what it means to live “on call.” When deployment orders come, you don’t respond, “Graduation is coming up for my son, can I wait until after graduation?” No, you go. You follow orders.
We need a wartime mentality in our faith. Kingdom work to be done, and we need to be ready to answer the call of Jesus as soon as He calls. We must be always ready.
We try to find safety in waiting rather than joy in obedience. But… what are you waiting for? Do what Jesus has called you to do now.
NOW… Put off sin. NOW… forgive that person who has hurt you. NOW… Seek forgiveness. NOW… share the Gospel with that person God has impressed upon your heart. Today is the day God has given you to serve Him.
How do I live a “ready to serve” life?
I must pray for Gospel opportunities.
I must train for Gospel opportunities.
I must look for Gospel opportunities.
I must seize Gospel opportunities.
Are you living “ready to serve?” Or… are you waiting and don’t even know what you’re waiting for?
(The work at Gethsemane - or other churches… Wait until we have more people/resources? NOT when the need is NOW.)
You must think right about relationships.
You must think right about relationships.
One more potential follower. “First, let me go and say good-bye to my family.” Reasonable request. Elijah allowed Elisha to say good-bye to his family (1 Kings 19:20). Elisha was plowing when Elijah called him.
Interesting that Jesus uses the imagery of plowing. “If you look back, not fit for the kingdom.” I haven’t done plowing, but I’ve cut lots of grass. Hard to cut a straight line if you’re always looking back. (Teaching Hudson to cut grass.)
Hard to walk the narrow path if you’re always looking back. J.C. Ryle said, “Those who look back want to go back.” This was the case with Israel when they looked back to Egypt. Lot’s wife looked back.
But… So harsh… Don’t say good-bye to family? Jesus to this man - “If you go say good-bye, you likely won’t follow me.” Jesus knew the man’s family might try to convince him to stay. Jesus experienced this from His own family. He was labeled as crazy by His family because of His lifestyle.
Bottom line: when you determine to live for Jesus as Luke 9 describes, you will invite the questioning of people that you love:
“Aren’t you taking Jesus too seriously?”
“You’re becoming too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.”
“You want to be a pastor? Don’t you know you won’t be able to support your family doing that? Do you want to subject your wife/children to that kind of life?”
“You want to move your family overseas and be a missionary? You want to take my grandchildren from me? Aren’t there plenty of lost people right here?”
The pull of family is strong… Jesus’ point: If you follow Jesus, you must be willing to detach yourself from the will of your family and cling to the will of God. If you follow Jesus, His will takes priority over your life, even if the people you love don’t agree with you.
I don’t want you to stand in the way of what God desires to do in the lives of your family members. Reminders for you:
Those you love most don’t belong to you. Your children don’t belong to you, grandchildren, etc.
It is sinful to hinder God’s work in the lives of those you love most. Instead of hindering, affirm, pray, help those you love to be discerning of God’s will.
Give those you love the wisdom of God more than you give them your opinions. We all have opinions about how our loved ones should live, but they need godly wisdom. They need you to pray for them, support them, point them to others that can help them discern God’s will.
We don’t know what happened to these three men. We don’t know if they followed Jesus or not. But, we do know what Jesus did. He went to Jerusalem to die. Nothing deterred Jesus from going to the cross.
Jesus was willing to give up what many of us are not willing to give up. He was willing to give up comforts, family, a home, and ultimately His life. He was willing to give up His life by going to a cross and dying the death that you deserve and rising again from the dead so you cold be given the gift of life.
On the night before His death… In Jerusalem… Jesus knew His journey was coming to an end… In the upper room - He took the Passover meal
Have you embraced the gift of life that Jesus freely gives? Turn to Him today.
Follower of Jesus, what is Jesus calling you to do now? Are you living ready to serve? Are you willing to live for His will rather than the comforts of this world? This morning, ask Jesus to help you live surrendered to His will.