What the Gospel Demands
Text: Luke 14:25-34
This morning I want to talk to ya’ll about something that the Lord has been laying on my heart for some time, it’s just that I didn’t have a clear picture of it. And I think that it’s pertinent and relevant, and very important for us as Christians today to understand what we’re going to be going over the next few Sundays.
And I’ll say right now; that what I’m going to be preaching on the next couple of weeks might make you feel a little uncomfortable… maybe not, but it might. I can also tell you that it’s probably something you wouldn’t hear in most churches. Not because it’s wrong, or unbiblical… quite the contrary. It’s very biblical… you wont hear it because it’s unpopular! But it’s my hope and prayer that in preaching this series of messages, that we as believers, and we as a collection of believers… as a church, will be challenged to move forward in our service to the Lord.
(Read Text and Prayer)
How many of you know that our culture can often times dictate our way of thinking? Think about it. Did you know that in some places, men with big pot bellies are considered more desirable than men who are fit and athletic looking? In some cultures the man with the most tattoos on his face is the most desirable man in the village. I’m sure you’ve all seen the National Geographic shows where women and children are only partially dressed, but no one seems to have any problem with that in those cultures. Our culture; and any culture can influence the way we see things, the way we view things, and the way we understand things.
So what about the culture we find in the Bible? In this text that we just read for example, how did Jesus’ culture understand the words that Jesus had just said to them? And how do we view it and understand it? Do you think maybe our cultural understanding can cause us to marginalize, minimalize, and misinterpret the meaning of Jesus’ words? I think so, and I think it does. Probably more than we realize. And sometimes I wonder if we believe in what is taught from the pages of the Bible, or if we just believe our cultures rendition and spin on what is taught in the pages of the Bible. Does the Bible shape our thinking or does our thinking shape our understanding of the Bible? Do we believe what the Bible teaches?
Because here’s the thing; if this book is true, then it has radical implications for our lives. Just this text that we’ve read, has radical implications for our lives… and for our church, and for THE CHURCH as a whole.
I mean; look at what Jesus is saying here. He’s basically saying, “You can’t call yourself a follower unless you’re willing to give up everything.” Granted; He may not call you to give up everything, but are we willing to if He did? And so the question is: Do we believe this Book?
I want us to look at a couple of things that jump out at me from this passage today and we’re going to be looking at them from a question standpoint. .
1st – Do we believe what the Bible says about the Church?
Turn with me to Luke 9:57-62 (Read). Now at this point in time; there were large crowds following Jesus. He was doing miracles, feeding thousands of people, and many thought that he was going to be the one to throw off the yoke of Roman bondage, and so people were flocking to Him and wanting to be His followers.
But what we see in this passage is Jesus doing something that might make us scratch our heads. Because if we read it as its written what we see is Jesus, and it looks almost like He’s talking people out of following Him, rather than trying to get as many converts as He could. And this is what I mean by how a culture can influence thinking. Because what Jesus is doing here, goes completely against our cultural thinking. Today we say do whatever it takes. We’ve got to have the right kind of worship music, and the right kind of preaching, and plenty of programs for the kids, and enough things to keep people entertained, and the list goes on and on. As long as we can get people to show up, and then once they show up, we don’t place any real demands on them other than “Keep showing up and give us your tithe.”
You know… I can just see the disciples when something like this would happen. It probably drove them crazy. They were probably like, “Hey Jesus, you know every time we start to get a big crowd you say something like, ‘Eat My flesh and drink My blood,’ and we end up loosing 2/3rds of our congregation. C’mon Jesus, how do You expect us to get on the list of fasting growing religious movements?”
Let’s look at it here. This first guy from our text. He’s eager; but Jesus says to him, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” In other words Jesus was saying that He has no place to call home. Would we be willing to follow Jesus if it meant giving up our homes? Our comfort? Our security or shelter? Today we say, “Come to Jesus so that you can GET! So that you can get this thing or that thing. Come to Jesus so that you can have wealth and health, and authority and power.” That’s what Simon the sorcerer wanted in the Book of Acts and he was rebuked soundly by Peter.
Let me tell you something. WE DON’T COME TO JESUS TO GET STUFF!!!
But that’s what we think isn’t it? We come to Jesus so that we can advance our position in life, so that we can get STUFF. But that’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that we come to Jesus to get HIM, and in getting HIM we might loose everything this world has to offer, including our lives. Is that the kind of Jesus we want to follow?
Let’s look at the 2nd guy – he says, “Let me go bury my father.” Some scholars say that this guys father may not have yet died, but was about to die. It was an inevitable events, and this guy wanted to spend the last few hours his father had with him. Now that doesn’t sound so bad… I mean, to honor your father and mother is one of the 10 Commandments. Some people say that this mans father wasn’t even sick and that he was just using that for an excuse – but nowhere does the text imply that. Again that’s our culture finding a reason for something that doesn’t make sense to us. Jesus tells this guy, “Let the dead, bury the dead. You go and preach the Gospel.” In-other-words, when a person is gone, their opportunity to receive Christ is passed. But there is a whole world out there and it isn’t too late for them yet.
Let me try to explain this with a story.
When my mom first had her stroke, I was scheduled to preach… I can’t even remember where it was. If it was here or if I was filling in at some other church. But I remember the feeling I had that day. My mom had just had her stroke, and all of my family was rushing to Amarillo because there was a good possibility that she wasn’t going to make it. But instead of going to Amarillo, I came and preached that Sunday. And I’ll tell you why.
The reason I came and preached that Sunday was because I believed that if my mom would’ve died that day, she was going to heaven.
But I didn’t know about the people I was going to be preaching to that day. I had an opportunity to share Christ with people I had never met before, and it very well may have been God’s will that the preaching of His Word that day was going to be the means to bringing about salvation to someone who heard it. That’s what Jesus is saying here. He’s saying that mission is of the utmost importance. And so again; the question for us is: Are we going to choose maintenance or mission? Are we happy with the status quo or are we willing to completely surrender to the work and the will of God? Because the work and will of God are inseparable. Are we going to have indecisive minds or undivided hearts?
You know our hearts can be pricked by God’s Word. When we read about these things, and we are overwhelmed by this feeling that we too need to be about our Father’s business. But then our cultural understanding rears its ugly head and says, “Now wait just a minute…” And we find ourselves second guessing what we’ve just read and clearly understood, and what happens is that we find ourselves justifying disobedience. We say to ourselves, “Well surely Jesus wouldn’t want me to do those things.” Or, “Sure Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give to the poor, but Jesus would never tell me to do that…” Really? What makes you and I so special?
What would we have done if we had been one of these people who heard what Jesus said in our text, or in that passage from Luke chapter 9? I asked you all this before, but what does it mean to be a follower of Christ? What is expected of us as Christians here in Fort Supply Oklahoma? And how is that different compared to what was expected of the followers of Christ that we read about in the Bible? What have we set our bar so low? This isn’t works based salvation that we’re talking about; it’s works because of salvation. So again I’ll ask, do we believe what the Bible teaches about the Church?
The second question comes from the first one. Do we believe what the Bible says about the lost?
Turn with me to 2nd Thessalonians 1:3-10 (Read). Look at what it says about the lost… those who don’t know God will be punished with flaming fire in EVERLASTING destruction! Revelation 20:15 says, “Anyone not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire!” Do we believe that there is coming a day when those who don’t know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be punished for all eternity? They will be burned forever and ever and ever. Because if we believe that, then it has life changing implication for how we live our lives, and for how we spend our time, and how we spend our money, and especially how our church operates.
There are 6.7 billion people on this planet. Roughly 2 billion of them profess to be Christians, which means that if every one of those 2 billion are really Christians, then there are still 4.7 billion people who are not Christians; including hundreds and maybe thousands right here in Woodward County, who are on the road to a Christless eternity in hell. Right now; at this very moment they are standing under the judgment of God and on the road to hell. Now if that’s true; we can’t play games can we? If that’s true, doesn’t it change the way we live, and the way we spend our time? If it’s not true then go ahead and live however you like. Do what you want. Live for yourself, live for the moment.
You know… I really believe that as I look out at you all, that most of you, if not all of you, hear things like this you say to yourselves, “I believe it, and I would do more. I just don’t know what to do?” Or, “I don’t know how to do it.”
Or maybe we look at the bigger churches in Woodward, or the mega-churches and we say, “We can’t do what they’re able to do.” But please listen. When Jesus started He had a congregation of 12, and one of them was filled with the devil. Regardless of whether you are in a big church or small church; whether you’re old or young, fat or skinny, educated or uneducated, we are called to fulfill the Great Commission. God calls us to do what we can with what we’ve got. In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus gives us the parable of the talents. You all know it. One man got 5 talents and he went out and brought back 10. Another man was given 2 talents and he went out and brought back 4. Then the last man was given 1 talent and he didn’t do anything with it. And the reason for that (if you read that passage) was that he made the fatal mistake of thinking it was up to him to bring about the increase. He failed to realize that it is the LORD who brings about the increase. It’s our job to do what we’ve been commanded to do and then leave the results up to the Lord. Regardless of what the big churches are doing and regardless of what your neighbor is doing. You will not give an account to God for what your neighbor has done. The only one here who has to do that is me. I am your pastor and I must give an account for those God has placed under my care. That’s why I’m preaching this sermon.
So how do we apply this to our lives? What does all of this mean to you and me, and to our church? Well… to be honest; I can’t say what it means to each one of you individually. I don’t completely know yet what it means for our church. I do think it means missions. More missions. And I’m not talking about giving more to Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong. I’m talking about members on mission. Members going out and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost and hell bound world. Whether its here or elsewhere. I think it begins here. How that manifests I don’t know yet. I just read an article about a church in Florida, that picked a day out of the week when they gave away free gallons of milk and a loaf of bread. The members stood outside the church as cars lined up and drove into the parking lot. The youth group washed the cars as the church members shared the gospel with the people and then gave them their milk and bread. And that church didn’t even have a pastor at the time. But you see; if we’re not using our talents – how are we any different than that unjust servant?
And so; if we say that what the Bible says about the Church is true, and if we say that what the Bible says about the lost is true. We have to ask ourselves one other question… are we living it?
I’ll close with that.
Let’s Pray.
