Luke 9:57-62
PUTTING GOD FIRST
Introduction
ILL -- It is well with my soul
A story was told of a man named Horatio Spafford who faced many trials. He was a Christian lawyer from Chicago and a friend of DL Moody. In 1871 the Great Chicago Fire took almost everything he owned. That same year his only son died. Two years later in 1873 he placed his wife and four daughters on the luxury liner Ville de Havre sailing from New York to France for a vacation. Spafford expected to join them in about three or four weeks after finishing up some business. The trip started out beautifully. But on the evening of November 21 the ship was suddenly struck by another vessel, the Lochearn, and sank thirty minutes later, with the loss of nearly all 226 people on board. On being told that the ship was sinking Mrs. Spafford knelt with her children and prayed. A few minutes later, in the confusion, three of the children were swept away by the waves while she stood clutching the youngest. Suddenly the youngest child was swept from her arms. Mrs. Spafford became unconscious and awoke later to find that she had been rescued by sailors from the Lochearn. But the four girls were gone. Back in the United States, Horatio Spafford was waiting for news of his family, and at last, ten days later (after the rescue ship had reached Cardiff), it came. "Saved alone" was his wife’s message. That night he told a friend named Major Whittle, "I am glad to be able to trust my Lord even when it costs me everything," He took the first ship he could find to England to meet his wife. As they were passing the spot his daughters had died he wrote this hymn. The music was named Ville De Havre after the ship:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea-billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
Brothers and sisters, when we think of the word "discipleship", what comes to our minds? For someone like Horatio, at the end of the day, he could say that, "I am glad to be able to trust my Lord even when it costs me everything."
Today we will be looking at the topic of "Putting God First", looking at a passage in Luke, chapter 9, verses 57 to 62. Let’s turn to our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, 9, 57 to 62. Shall we stand and read God’s Word together? Reading from the NIV, Luke 9, verse 57.
Let us pray together.
Dear Lord, grant us wisdom and speak to us through Your Word today, as we look at what it truly means to be Your disciple, and the cost of discipleship. I pray that You will speak forth Your Word through me, and may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The context of today’s passage is a journey, a journey that Jesus is making towards Jerusalem, and as He walks along, people are coming up to join Him, even as He teaches more and more about discipleship. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus sends out the 12, and we also have His call for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him.
We’ll be looking at 3 people, their response and Jesus’ challenge to each of them. Through these 3 encounters, He also teaches us what it means to be His disciple.
The first man. Allow me to read verses 57 and 58.
1.Jesus challenges our comfort zones -- Radical discipleship involves costly sacrifice
Now instead of Jesus encouraging and working to make more disciples, in fact, it seems that He actually discouraged and dissuaded people from being his disciples.
Here was a man, all passionate and on-fire for the Lord, responding to his call to discipleship, saying "Hey Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go!" Now which church or which pastor wouldn’t want a disciple like that? Even without Jesus initiating, he comes to Jesus and says, Me, Lord, me, Lord, I will follow You! Imagine that you are giving a message, and before the altar call, you already have people coming forward to respond to the Lord.
But Jesus knew this man’s heart, and in this instance, it was his comfort zones that needed challenging.
Instead of welcoming this man to join his band of disciples, Jesus said, in v.58.
You see, Jesus was not going to Jerusalem Hilton Hotel, jetting around in his own private jet, drawing a huge income and budget, no cars, no fancy ministry, no large following. He was literally preparing Himself, heading towards Jerusalem, to fulfill the Father’s will, to take on our sin and shame, and to die a cruel death on the cross.
Throughout Jesus’ life and ministry, we see that He had no earthly security. He was born in a manger, He was persecuted from day one with Herod trying to kill him, He lived a simple carpenter’s life, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He was even buried in someone else’s tomb. We read in Phil 2:6-8.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book The Cost of Discipleship, said, "Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life." Likewise, Martin Luther noted that, "A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing."
Jesus is challenging our comfort zones, because being His disciple involves costly sacrifice.
What are the areas in our life where Jesus might be challenging us to step out of our comfort zones? What are the things we hold on to or pursue that give us a sense of security? Perhaps for some, it might be our careers, our homes, our lifestyles, our bank account, our retirement fund, our yearly holidays, our possessions? For some, it could also be the safety of our country, the clean air and water, the good public transport system and infrastructure? Perhaps for some, the comforts of the language, the culture, even the food that we are used to, or the comforts of our church and cell group? Jesus isn’t saying that in order to follow Him, we need to forsake everything, but I’ve learnt that in whatever circumstances, and with whatever God has blessed us with, we have to come before Him with open hands. And to be 100% clear that there will be areas that God will call on us to sacrifice, and it will be costly.
This first man obviously did not consider or count the costs before committing his life to follow Jesus. He was probably also not prepared for the possible hardships, suffering, persecution and rejections that Jesus warned might follow. Jesus was advising this man, "Hey, you don’t know what you are in for, will you still follow Me when you have to step out of your comfort zones, and step away from your earthly security?"
ILL -- Comfort zone
A wilderness park, Bridger Wildreness Area, in the US, collected these actual responses from comment cards given to the staff members:
Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands.
Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill.
Too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness to rid the areas of these pests.
Please pave the trails so they can be snow-plowed during the winter.
Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them.
The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals.
A small deer came into my camp and stole my jar of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed? Please call me.
Reflectors need to be placed on trees every 50 feet so people can hike at night with flashlights.
Escalators would help on steep uphill sections.
A MacDonald’s would be nice at the trailhead.
The places where trails do not exist are not well marked.
Too many rocks in the mountains.
Is this perhaps how we sometimes approach God in our Christian journey? We need to step in faith out of our comfort zones, because being His disciple involves costly sacrifice.
2.Jesus challenges our commitments -- Radical discipleship involves absolute surrender
Let us look at the second man. This time, Jesus issues the call, "Follow Me." And the man’s reply is, "let me go bury my father first." Now on the surface, this seems like a legitimate reason to delay following Christ, for taking care of your parents was one of the most important duties as a Jew, but yet Jesus’ reply is shocking. Now Jesus is not calling us to dishonour our parents, or give up our responsibilities to our family, but what He is saying is that if we’re going to follow Jesus Christ, then the claims of His Kingdom come before ANYTHING and ANYONE else. And that at the end of the day, if we are pressed into a choice between Christ and anything or anyone else, Christ comes first! And indeed, some have lost family in order to follow Christ.
When Jesus says, let the dead bury their own dead, it is actually a play on the words, meaning, let the spiritually dead bury the physical dead, but as for you, You! Follow Me! There are others who can attend to his father’s burial, the demands of the Kingdom are more urgent, His call cannot wait!
Jesus here challenges the man’s commitments, because being His disciple involves absolute surrender.
All of us have commitments, we have family commitments, work commitments, financial commitments, study commitments, even church and ministry commitments. Are there times where God has called on us to follow Him, but somehow because of all our ongoing commitments, we actually delay or put off obeying the Lord?
ILL -- Total commitment
A conversation is said to have taken place between a hen and a hog when they passed a church and observed the subject of the pastor’s sermon: "How Can We Help the Poor?" After a moment’s reflection, the hen said, "I know what we can do. We can give them a ham-and-egg breakfast!" The hog protested, saying, "The breakfast would be only a contribution for you, but for me it would mean total commitment."
For some, as long as I’m coming to church faithfully, and tithing regalarly, maybe once in a while I help out in an event, I’ve done my Christian duty, don’t come and disturb me, anything more than that, please leave it to the full-time staff or those who have less "commitments". You see, the commitments by themselves are not wrong, but when we start to use our commitments as excuses when God speaks, when we delay, deny or even disobey the Lord when we know clearly His will and leading, we need to ask ourselves, does God have first place in our lives anymore? Have we cluttered our lives with our own agendas and priorities that God is crowded out, and we never stop to discern what He wants us to do or be? What are the areas that He might be calling us to surrender to Him?
Jesus is challenging our commitments, because being His disciple involves absolute surrender.
3.Jesus challenges our conditions -- Radical discipleship involves lifelong allegiance
Looking at the last man, ah, now this one responds himself to Jesus, like the first man, however, there’s a big "BUT". We read in verse 61. You see, we have 3 people in this passage at different stages of their Christian journey. One is all ready to follow Jesus, the next, not so sure yet (note he doesn’t actually say that he would follow Christ), and you have this last guy, who wants to follow Jesus, but FIRST wants to say good-bye to his family. Now for those familiar with Bible stories, and probably this man was too, this parallels the calling of Elisha by Elijah, in 1 Kgs 19. Let me just read verses 19-21 for us.
So again, this man appears to have a legitimate reason to say good-bye to his family. If he knew his OT history well, even Elisha was given a chance to say good-bye to his family by the great prophet Elijah. However, Jesus replies, in verse 62.
Jesus challenges our conditions, because being His disciple involves lifelong allegiance.
The issue here was not that this man could not go and say bye to his family, but that he came to Jesus with conditions. Excuses, the great "BUT" or "IF ONLY". Ok, Lord, I will obey You, but ... I will do what You want, if only ..." Time and time again, we read in the Gospels, when Jesus called his 12 disciples, they dropped their nets, they dropped everything they were doing, and immediately followed Jesus. No turning back, no regrets, no conditions.
As I prepared for this message, I was also reminded of those recorded in the Bible who looked back, we remember Lot’s wife in Genesis, Demas in 2 Tim, and the saddest of them all, the people of Israel, in fact a whole generation, who spent 40 years wandering in the desert, and even after they entered the promised land, time and time again, they would turn back their backs on God and return to their sinful ways.
We want to be like Paul, who in Phil 3:13, says.
Jesus Himself, we are reminded, in v.51, knowing that the time was approaching for Him to be taken up to heaven, He resolutely set out for Jerusalem. In the KJV, it says, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what comes to mind when you think about Jerusalem today. As we think about the Middle East, and the tension between Israel and Palestine over Gaza, we might think of war, and bloodshed. Likewise in Jesus’ day, Jesus and even Paul, towards the end of their life, was led to Jerusalem, and the one thing, that one word that would come to their mind, was DEATH! They knew that they were going to Jerusalem to die! But yet, Jesus set his face steadfastly towards Jerusalem, towards the cross.
Brothers and sisters, when God speaks, when God reveals His will to us, when God calls us, what are the conditions, the BUTs that we give to Him? Ok, sure Lord, I will follow, I will obey, BUT first let me gain some experience in the working world, first let me take care of my aged parents, first let my children grow up, first let me wind up my business. You see, all those things will come, the preparations, the arrangements, but Jesus is first and foremost interested in one thing, our HEARTS. Where does our allegiance ultimately lie? Who is SUPREME in our lives, in our hearts? Not only that, are we steadfast in our allegiance to Him, forgetting what is behind, and pressing on. For Jesus, it was fixing His eyes on the cross in Jerusalem, but for us, it’s fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross.
ILL -- Lord of all, or not at all
J Hudson Taylor -- A Man in Christ by Roger Steer
How are we going to treat the Lord Jesus with reference to this command? Shall we definitely drop the title "Lord" as applied to him and take the ground that we are quite willing to recognise him as our Saviour so far as the penalty of our sin is concerned, but we are not prepared to own ourselves "bought at a price" or Him as having any claim on our unquestioning obedience? Shall we say that we are our own masters, willing to yield something as His due, who bought us with His blood, provided He does not ask too much? Our lives, our loved ones, our possessions are our own, not His: we will give Him what we think fit, and obey any of His requirements that do not demand too great a sacrifice? To be taken to heaven by Jesus Christ we are more than willing, but we will not have this man to reign over us.
The heart of every Christian will undoubtedly reject the proposition, so formulated; but have not countless lives in each generation been lived as though it were proper ground to take? How few of the Lord’s people have practically recognised the truth that Christ is either Lord of all, or is not Lord at all! If we can judge God’s Word, instead of being judged by that Word; if we can give to God as much or as little as we like, then we are lords and He is the indebted one, to be grateful for our dole and obliged by our compliance with his wishes. If, on the other hand, He is Lord, let us treat him as such.
Lord of all, or not at all (x3).
Jesus is challenging our conditions, because being His disciple involves lifelong allegiance.
Conclusion
In closing, let me share a story with you.
ILL -- Producing disciples
Picture a large manufacturing plant in your town or city that produces shoes. The management has invested great sums of money and many man-hours into the plant to produce the finest shoes possible. Money has been spent on salaries for the employees, machinery for shoe making, and materials from which the shoes are to be made. The plant is now in operation with hundreds of workers scurrying to and fro. Machines are running full blast, and activity is at a maximum.
One day the president asks the production manager, "How many shoes have we produced so far?"
"None," the manager answers.
"None?" the president exclaims. "How long have we been in operation?"
"Two years."
"Two years? And still no shoes?"
"That’s right," the manager says, "No shoes, but we are really busy. In fact, we have been so busy that we are all nearly tired out. We’ve been very active at our jobs."
The management would probably be very concerned, fire somebody, try to find out what the problem was.
If we now put a cross on top of that building and transform it into the church on the corner--your church, we find much activity going on. Men and women are working hard. The budget is higher this year than ever before. The objective, however, is to produce disciples. Has all that money and man-hour in your church gone into the production of disciples for Jesus Christ?
What kind of disciples are we producing, and what kind of disciples are we becoming ourselves? Disciples that come before the Lord, with our comfort zones, our commitments, our conditions, or disciples who understand that being a disciple of Jesus Christ, involves costly sacrifice, involves absolute surrender, involves lifelong allegiance?
I’d like to give some time for us to respond to God’s Word today. Perhaps God is speaking into your hearts, into your lives right now. What are the areas in our lives that needs challenging? In the area of our comfort zones, what is God saying, hey following Me is going to cost you dearly, are you willing to make those sacrifices? In the area of our commitments, what is God saying, others can take care of those things, but you, follow me, and go and proclaim the kingdom of God. In the area of our conditions, what is God saying, no more excuses, no more BUTs, put your hand to the plow, and never look back.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word to us today, teaching us what it means to be Your disciple. You never promised that the road would be smooth and easy, in fact you promised suffering and persecution, but yet we are filled with assurance for we know that You send us out with all authority given to You, and You promise us that You are with us always. Help us Lord to surrender our lives and our hearts to You, and You alone, that we can say with confidence, that You are the Lord of all, the Lord of our lives, and that we choose, we choose, to follow You, all the days of our lives, pressing on towards the goal, fixing our eyes on Jesus, and fulfilling our destinies and God’s purposes now and always. In Jesus’ name, amen.
