8.2.09
DISCIPLESHIP – DOING THE FATHER’S WILL - Luke 9
INTRO
How many of you here are observing Lent in one way or another. Some people observe Lent merely out of ritual or as a tradition. I was astonished and somewhat bemused when Liz told me of someone she knows who is giving up swearing for Lent!
Lent – what do we make of it? Should we not be in the spirit of Lent all year around?
Lent is one of the oldest church traditions. It is a way of preparing ourselves spiritually to remember the events of Easter week in the manner of Jesus’ fast in the wilderness for 40 days.
POINT
Many of us dismiss Lent because we see it as a church tradition. And yet it is a good opportunity for fasting in one way or another. King David said ‘I humbled my soul with fasting’ (Ps 35:13). Fasting is a spiritual discipline and the observance of a fast during the 40 days of Lent can be a discipline that both humbles the soul and focuses the mind – enhancing our appreciation of what Jesus Christ has done for us in his death.
RECAP
Our series on the Drama of Scripture continues with the ministry of Jesus as it moves towards its conclusion, and it coincides with season of Lent.
Jesus had taught and preached in Capernaum. He had then gone to preach in Samaria and now -
Luke 9:51 tells us that Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem (set his face as a flint)
READING – Luke 9:51-62
QUESTION
• What might it have been like to journey with Jesus?
• Are there parallels in the Christian life between the ministry of Jesus and our own way of living as Christians?
We might not have been able to join with Jesus on his physical journey, but there is a sense in which we can join with Jesus on a spiritual journey in this season of Lent.
POINT
Travelling with Jesus was quite extraordinary
(quote Nicky Gumbel)
‘He went to a party and turned water into wine’ We could also add that he took one boy’s picnic and fed 5000 – went to the seaside and walked on water… went to a hospital and healed the sick…went to a funeral and raised the dead.
Did Jesus have a strategy? Yes.
THE JOURNEYS OF JESUS
• The first part of Jesus’ ministry was in the region of Galilee around Capernaum.
• After about two years Jesus journeyed outside Jewish Galilee into Gentile territory.
• Opposition grew. Jesus turned his attention to instructing and preparing his disciples to carry on his work.
• Then he embarked on the final phase of his journey to Jerusalem and to the cross.
POINT
It was just before Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem that we read about Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, and the account of Jesus being transfigured on the mountain.
READING Luke 9:18-35
Although Jesus was unique, the people of the day had various theories about who Jesus was.
Jesus asked Peter two questions:
Luke 9:18 ‘WHO DO THE CROWDS SAY THAT I AM?’
Some thought he was:
- John the Baptist – (Risen from the dead)
- Elijah – A miracle worker (whose appearance was expected)
- One of the prophets – Any one of those who challenged the idolatry or moral standards of the people.
POINT
People today have opinions about Jesus.
Some say Jesus was just a good man.
CS Lewis made it clear that Jesus could not be ‘just a good man’. For he was either:
Deluded, a blasphemer or the Son of God. A good man cannot say he is the Son of God when he is not. The alternatives are either insanity or deceit, either of which lead people astray.
QUOTE: C.S. Lewis:
"It is a very foolish thing when people say,
"I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,
but I don’t accept His claim to be God."
Jesus was unique.
BUT THEN COMES THE SECOND QUESTION:
“BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?” WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?
Peter replied:
“The Christ of God” Luke 19:20
POINT
This was pivotal. Not long after Jesus was transfigured on the mountain witnessed by Peter, James and John. And soon after that he resolutely set out for Jerusalem. His call to all who would follow him was this:
Luke 9:23
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
QUESTION
WHAT PARALLELS TO DO WE FIND BETWEEN THE LIFE JESUS LIVED AND LIFE HE CALLS UPON US TO FOLLOW?
Is there a pattern that we can observe as disciples of Christ?
THE PATTERN
1. THE CALL TO BAPTISM
POINT
Jesus’ ministry began with his baptism. He set himself apart and devoted himself to doing the Father’s will for which he had been sent.
APPLIC
It is the privilege of each believer to follow Jesus in this initial step of faith – devoting ourselves to do the Father’s will with the rest of our lives – Making a statement before others in our actions: 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2. OVERCOMING TEMPTATION
POINT
The Holy Spirit led Jesus in the desert to be tempted of the devil.
APPLIC Every believer will go through times that will test whether or not we truly love and worship God and will not yield to the temptation to sin.
3. EMPOWERMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR LIFE AND SERVICE
POINT
Jesus returned from the desert in the power of the Spirit. In the power of the Spirit he began his ministry.
APPLIC
The baptism and fullness of the Holy Spirit is ESSENTIAL for every believer to be motivated, equipped and empowered to live the Christian life and be effective in his or her witness for Christ.
4. WITNESSING TO OTHERS DESPITE OPPOSITION
POINT
Jesus preached the Kingdom first to Jews and then Samaritans. Then Greeks came who wanted to see Jesus.
In similar fashion Jesus told his disciples that they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8)
APPLIC
Every Christian is a missionary. Our call is to make the Good News known whether among our family and neighbourhood, our workplace, our nation or in the world at large. Jesus did say that we too would be persecuted, and often we find ourselves at the other end of the hostile attitudes and behavior of those who oppose us and our message. But Jesus said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the advancing kingdom.
5. TAKING UP THE CROSS
POINT
Jesus resolutely set the course of his life towards Jerusalem where he knew he would face arrest, trial, sentence and death by crucifixion on a cross – a sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus said:
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [24] For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. [25] What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? [26] If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:23-26
APPLIC
• I believe we focus too much in our Christian lives on the love of Jesus for us, and not enough on the love of Jesus for the Father.
• Jesus was motivated as much by the love of the Father, if not more so, than he was by his love for us.
• Jesus’ call to us is that we choose the way of self-sacrifice in the Christian life as an expression of our love for God the Father.
• Jesus calls upon us also to join with him in his love for the Father in the way we live our lives:
o Being known as Christians;
o being willing to dedicate ourselves to God in our way of living that becomes characterized by self-denial and willing obedience;
o and being prepared to suffer if need be for our faith
CONCL
Let’s remember that in the drama of Scripture each one of us has a part.
We might not all go down in history, but we are all history makers!
We are among those whom Jesus wrote about who preach the Gospel in the whole world.
And by God’s grace we will be among that great gathering described in the Book of Revelation who in the presence of God will worship the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world.
And so at this time let us follow the exhortation of the writer to the Hebrews:
Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
