NO U TURNS
Luke 9:62 (p734) May 20, 2012
INTROUDUCTION:
I married a native Floridian…worked and lived in Florida for 2 summers…yes…those two things went together, but I noticed something about driving in Florida U turns are legal…not everywhere …but in a lot of places U turns are allowed and perfectly legal.
I will not make any snide comments about Florida drivers…about older drivers or …to be politically correct “Chronologically challenged” drivers needing to turn around because they forget where they were going.
U turns are really helpful if you’re headed in the wrong direction and need to get back on course quickly…”Man, I missed my street…let’s do an U’eee”
[A Senior citizen was driving down the freeway when his wife called his cell phone. “Herman, I just heard on the news that there’s a car going the wrong way on the Gene Snyder…Please be careful- - It’s not just one car said Herman. [“It’s Hundreds of them!”] Herman needed to do an U’eee bad!
But there are places that U turns are dangerous…U turns just aren’t allowed. And one of those places is in the Kingdom of God….One of those places is on the narrow road of discipleship as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)
When it comes to following Jesus…”No U turns allowed”
Let me be perfectly clear about this road sign and what it means and doesn’t mean in our lives…first of all
I JESUS ISN’T REFERRING TO SIN AFTER OUR CALLING
There were individuals, and we talked about them last week in Romans chapter 6 that wanted to use their salvation as a means to continue in sin…but not be accountable. Basically it’s….”I don’t want to change the road I’m on…but I’d prefer it not lead to destruction.”
So, I want to continue in my own selfishness and sin, but I want to go to heaven because I’ve said a prayer or “got baptized”
That‘s the very reason the apostle Paul wrote
Romans 6: 1-4 (p799)
What the apostle is clearly saying is…when you were buried with Christ in baptism…you surrender control of your life...you changed roads…and now Jesus drives the car… not you. His Spirit, guides you, convicts you, and comforts you. It’s a brand new you on a brand new journey…headed in a brand new direction… We’re going from death to life…like going from darkness to light.
“You can’t put new wine in old wineskins or sew a new patch on an old garment…just doesn’t work!” (Luke 5: 36-39)
Our battle with sin isn’t over…but the wineskin is new….the garment that needs patching is new... It’s not a coincidence that Romans Chapter 7 flows from Romans chapter 6…Romans chapter 7 reveals a disciples struggle with sin….How God’s law reveals what is right and what is wrong…and through this revelation we become conscious of how sinful we are.
It becomes an inner battle for the disciple of Christ…I now know what God wants me to do, but still struggle with what my selfish desires pull me toward.
Romans 7: 21-25 (p 800)
Sin will always be a struggle for every person who follows Jesus as long as we are in these bodies…Jesus is not my excuse to continue in Sin….He is the only way I can have victory over sin…He is the only way I can be free from its ownership. He now owns what sin use to. It’s this truth that gives us the victory…Its faith in Him that sets us free from the rigid requirements of the law.
The reason there are no “U” turns on this road of discipleship….is
II FOLLOWING JESUS IS A ONE WAY ROAD HOME
Not only is He the only way home…He showed us the way to get there…He built a bridge spanning a compass of sin…
I am going there (my father’s House) to prepare a place for you I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14: 2, 3)
Jesus then looks at his followers and says…”You know the way home!”
And Thomas says, “Lord we don’t know where you’re going…We’re never been to your home.
Jesus says, “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life…no one comes to my father’s house except through me.”
Following Jesus is the only way home…the only way to His dad’s house.
You can get to Chicago from Louisville, 3 different ways…but there is only on road from here to heaven! Listen to the promises made in Luke 9:57….As Jesus and the disciples we’re walking along the road, a man said to him…I will follow you wherever you go.”
That’s some kind of promise isn’t it?!! It’s kinda like when Peter said, “All these others might deny you, but I never will!”
Intentions are nice…but keeping them can be tough…I’m not sure how many people told me they wanted to go with me to New Orleans, or Joplin or Jackson, KY or even Haiti doming up in November…let’s just say…A lot…there are many who say…”Yeah I commit 2% of my time to living in another context and sacrificing for a specific purpose…but then comes the time to do it…and life always gets in the way, doesn’t it…the kids got a ball tournament, I can’t get off work…my Dad’s been sick, I can’t afford it…
Here a real conversation between Jesus and perspective followers..
Luke 9: 58-62 (p 734)
At the close of that is our “No U turn text…No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God”
You know what happens if you try to plow a straight row while constantly looking back…”Man it’s a mess”
There will always be excuses…some very, very urgent and important excuses not to follow Jesus…Satan will constantly supply rabbit trails off the main road…
Jesus is simply saying…the man or the woman who constantly takes the rabbit trails…the individual who forever makes excuses that make the urgent more important than following him…isn’t fit to serve in the kingdom…
He’s the only road…he’s the only way home. I can’t get to Dad’s house any other way…Satan knows that…”He’s a Liar and murderer from the beginning so he constantly says…”there are 2 paths you can go by and in the long run there’s still time to change the road your on…(Stairway to Heaven)
Can you still go to heaven and not be fit for service in the Kingdom?...some would say “No….if your not a real followers of Christ, serving effectively in the Kingdom of God your not really saved…(Mark 8: 34-37) (Matt 7: 21-23) Others would say…”Well you’ve chosen to build out of wood, hay and sticks…It’ll burn up! Your work is worthless, but you’ll escape the flames like a brand from the fire” ( 1 Cor 3:15)
One of those ought to scare the “Hell” out of us literally…and the other first seems like a selfish wave of a God given life. Neither seem as fulfilling as standing face to face with Jesus (nor probably face in the ground to Jesus feet) with Him and hearing…”Well done!” Well done…My good and faithful servant…comes on into the Dad’s House!
Jesus told us to consider the cost of becoming a disciple before we began the journey…He said “which one of you, when he wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if the has enough to complete it. Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it began to ridicule him, saying “This man began to build and was not able to finish!” (Luke 14:28)
Commenting on those words, JOHN STOTT wrote this:
“The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers – the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people still ignore Christ’s warning and undertake to follow Him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called ‘normal Christianity.” In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a great, soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life, while changing in the church and dismiss religion as escapism.”
The man at the beginning of this discussion certainly seems sincere…”Jesus, I’ll follow you wherever you go!”
He wants to follow Jesus. He wants to be where Jesus is and be part of what He’s doing…but there is important lesson I’ve got to end with.
III INVOLVEMENT ISN’T THE SAME AS COMMITMENT
It seems this man wanted to be involved with the ministry of Jesus and there’s nothing wrong with that except Jesus is looking for something more.
Jesus is looking for individuals who will not make a U turn…He’s looking for total and full commitment..
The difference in involvement and commitment is hard in a Bacon and Egg breakfast…the chicken is involved in this breakfast…the pig is totally committed.
The sad reality is that most Christians in America settle for church involvement (at some level) but never really make a total commitment to Jesus.
You see if I get involved I can do what I want when I want…when I feel like doing it. Commitment means I’m surrendered 24/7…365.
Involvement with Jesus allows me to cheat…instead of giving God my best…I can give Him my leftovers…you know…after the important stuff in my life is taken care of.
This has nothing to do with a works theology about salvation…it does have to do with my death, burial and resurrection in Christ…death, burial and resurrection involves commitment not involvement.
When your involved in church…you show up on Sunday morning…but you never grow deeper…you don’t share your life with others in a smaller setting or pour yourself out in ministry….if you don’t like something you complain about it…because it effects your involvement.
Commitment is different…Attendance becomes worship….relationships in Christ becomes you priority…you’re not afraid to pretend any longer…you’ve reached a place you trust and are trusted. Church isn’t a place you go…it’s a people we are, a family…the body of Christ…He’s the head…
Luciano Pavarotti tells the story about how he made the choice to be a singer. At a young age his father introduced him to singing and he took to it with great skill and enthusiasm. At one time in Pavarotti’s life he was enrolled in both vocal lessons from a professional tenor and college studies to be a teacher. When he graduated from school he faced a dilemma to either become a singer or to become a teacher. When he asked his father about which course to take, his father responded: “If you try to sit on o two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.”Commitment is that’s the key. Choose one chair.
It is absolutely impossible to live a Christian life without having a complete commitment to following Christ.
