NR/IC 01-07-07
This morning, I would like to look at one verse from our Gospel reading – verse 59 where Jesus said: "Follow me."
In Mt 16, Jesus elaborates on what he means by following him when he said: If any one would come after me,he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mt 16:24)
And in those words you find the heart of the Christian Gospel.
In the Great Commission of Mt 28, Jesus tells his church to go and make disciples – that is people who will follow him
Keith Green, the husband of Melody Green who wrote our second hymn: “There is a Redeemer” once said this:
“Going to Church no more makes you a Christian than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger”
You can go to Church every Sunday and take communion whenever it suits you, but that isn’t a divine insurance policy against the fires of hell. Indeed some people make an idol of Holy Communion – which Jesus NEVER EVER intended it to be!
Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong in taking communion, - in fact it is very good to do that - but that in itself doesn’t make you a Christian.
You can even become a vicar and know how to do all the right religious things and be pastorally very caring - but still not enough to be a Christian.
Let me give you a couple of examples from history:
1. John Wesley had been an Anglican clergyman for many years before he became a Christian. He had been a missionary in Georgia – and still was not a Christian.
His conversion experience happened on the evening of 24th May 1738. Wesley had gone very unwillingly to a non-conformist meeting in London where someone was reading Martin Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans.
Let me read to you what Wesley himself wrote about the transformation that occurred as he listened to Luther’s preface:
“About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."— The Journal of John Wesley.
2. You might find this hard to believe but one vicar, William Haslam became a Christian through his own sermon – and from that very experience the 19th Century Cornish Revival was born
William Haslam was a high church Anglican vicar in Cornwall in the 19th Century.
In 1851, he had gone to stay with a friend of his, Mr. Aitken who had challenged Haslam that he wasn’t a Christian - that is tht Haslam wasn’t converted.
During that week, Haslam was so shocked that he had nothing to offer his congregation.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday of that week passed and on Sunday Haslam was so distressed that he was quite unfit to take the service.
Let me read you Haslam’s own words
“Mr Aitken had said to me: ‘If I were you, I would shut the church and say to the congregation: ”I will not preach again till I am converted. Pray for me!”’…
The sun was shining brightly and before I could make up my mind to put the service off, the bells struck out a merry peal and sent their summons far away over the hills.
Now the thought came to me that I would go to church and read the morning prayers and after that dismiss the people.
There was no Holy Communion that day and I had deputed the clerk to elect the hymns, for I was far too ill to attend to anything myself.
The psalms and hymns were especially applicable to my case and seemed to help me so that I thought I would go on and read the antecommunion service and then dismiss the people.
And while I was reading the Gospel, I thought, well, I will just say a few words in explanation of this and then I will dismiss them.
So I went up in the pulpit and gave out my text. I took it from the Gospel of the day “What think ye of Christ” (Mt. 22 v. 42).
As I went on to explain the passage, I saw that the Pharisees and scribes did not know that Christ was the Son of God or that He was come to save them….. Something was telling me, all the time: ‘You are no better than the Pharisees yourself- you do not believe he is the Son of God and that He has come to save you, anymore than they did’.
I do not remember all I said, but I felt a wonderful light and joy coming into my soul and I was beginning to see what the Pharisees did not.
Whether it was something in my words, or my manner, or my look, I know not; but all of a sudden a local preacher, who happened to be in the congregation, stood up and putting up his arms shouted out in Cornish manner ’The parson is converted! The parson is converted! Hallelujah!’ and in a moment his voice was lost in the shouts and praises of three or four hundred people. “
It is easy to be involved in Church but not committed to being a disciple of Christ.
It is easy to believe in Christ intellectually and give him an hour of your time on Sunday but that is not enough.
Jesus calls each one of us to follow him 24/7. He doesn’t want us just to be “involved in Church” – he wants disciples “committed to follow him”
What is the difference you might ask.
Let me give you an analogy.
Take bacon and egg; in bacon and egg
the hen is involved but
the pig is committed .
Following Christ – being a disciple of Christ should impinge on the way you live
St Paul in Galatians 5 highlights the difference in lifestyle between the unconverted and those who follow Christ:
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
We live in a post Christian culture. Choosing to lead a Christian life is not easy. It runs contrary to our culture.
Jesus recognised this when he said in Mt. 7:13
13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Most, if not all, of us here today are Christians and so, in some way or another we have chosen to follow the Christian way of life.
So I would like to ask the question:
If you decide this morning to heed Jesus words and follow him, what level will your commitment be?
We have three choices in our level of commitment - so far as the will of God in our lives is concerned.
1. We can decide to put His will foremost in our lives some of the time
2. We can decide to put his will foremost in our lives most of the time
3. We can decide to put his will foremost in our lives all of the time.
Conclusion:
I’d like to leave you with a poem that is a real challenge to the way we can live our Christian lives
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Let me read it to you in closing:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And - sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could.
To where it bent in the undergrowth,
Then I took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way - leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
I wonder which road you would take
- the well travelled road of self will or
the road of following Jesus, come what may.
Because it is that second road that Jesus calls us to travel this morning.
So let us bow our heads and pray
Lord Jesus, you call everyone of us to follow you – and yet we know that the interests of self will get in the way.
Send your Holy Spirit among each one of us to stir us up in our complacency and make us truly your disciples.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen
