The Hard Stuff
Luke 14: 25-27
Intro: The Bridger National Wilderness is located in the Teton National Forest in Wyoming. This 428,000 plus wilderness area has everything for hardened outdoors people. Over 600 miles of hiking trails going from lower elevations to higher where you can find glaciers. As you leave this rugged wilderness area, they have comment and suggestion cards available for visitors to fill out and put in the box. I want to share just a few of them with you.
. 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…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…
Escalators would help on steep uphill sections.
A MacDonald’s would be nice at the trailhead.
Too many rocks in the mountains.
. These people obviously do not know what it means to stay or travel in a wilderness area.
. It seems that they were looking for something a little bit easier. A little more comfortable and convenient.
. In a similar way, many people today do not understand what it means to be a genuine Christian.
. There are multitudes that often follow Jesus or claim to be a Christian but they do so on their terms and not his.
They do not truly comprehend the biblical definition of discipleship.
Because of this ignorance there are many who consider themselves to be followers of Jesus who are not, even though in many ways they do look like followers of Jesus.
They go to church, have a profession of faith, read their Bibles, pray, even give in the offering, but they are not living and thinking like the real deal. Jesus confronts this problem in our text today. He makes very, very clear what it means to be a Christian, and therefore there is no reason for anybody to be ignorant or self deceived. ( Larry Sarver, New Life In Christ)
. Jesus reveals to them The Hard Stuff.
.In his interview with Christian author Peter Gomes, Daniel Smith with the Harvard Divinity Bulletin asked him this question about his book The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus.
. He asked, Do you think church leaders and preachers are giving people fluff?
. This was his answer
. “Yes. I think they're afraid to give them the hard stuff. I make the point that every preacher I know who is a graduate of an accredited seminary has had to deal with the hard theological stuff. But it never makes it to the pulpit …”
. This morning, I want to give you the hard stuff.
. Probably one of the hardest passages in scripture.
. Luke 14: 25-27
. 25A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them,
26“If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
27And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
. If you are a KJV person, the translation says that you must Hate, you father mother etc. It does not say by comparison.
. That’s one of the reasons that people have a tough time with this verse.
. If you go back and look at the original language, you see that every time this language is used, it means by comparison.
. What Jesus is saying here is that if you want to be my disciple, I must be first in your life.
. Look back at verse 25 with me again.
. 25A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them,
. We are in a study on Sunday nights called “A fan, not a Follower”
. When we look at this verse, we see that Jesus is surrounded by fans.
. The King James Version says that multitudes were following Jesus.
. Jesus was surrounded by fans.
. People that had heard about him.
. People that had seen him feed five thousand men and their families with five loaves of bread and two fish.
. His fame and popularity was growing and people wanted to be a part of what was going on.
. Much like a sports team that gains fans.
. Back in the 70’s you could go to an Atlanta Braves game and buy a general admission ticket and sit anywhere you wanted. There were only about 1000 fans there. As they started winning, people started to get on board and by the time they were winning all those division titles and going to the world series, you couldn’t hardly find a ticket. Their fan base became incredible.
. These past few years, not so much and they don’t sell out any more.
. That’s what fans are, they are fickle. There really is no commitment to the team. They just want to be part of the winning team.
. Jesus looked at these fans and wanted to make sure they understood what He was expecting from them.
.Look at verses 26&27 again.
. 26“If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
27And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
. Jesus said that there is more to this than just coming along for the ride.
. I have got to be the most important person or thing in your life.
. I have to be more important than even your own life itself.
. There is a cost that comes along with being my disciple.
. I want to share a story with you about a man that counted the cost of becoming a disciple of Jesus.
. I want to share with you the story of Nicodemus. His story is one of my favorite stories in scripture and it is in his story that we get much of our understanding of salvation.
. His story is found in the first 21 verses of the third chapter of John. We are not going to read all of them but we will visit a few of the verses during the story.
. Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin or high court. A group of seventy men in all of Israel who had the final say in all things pertaining to religion and Jewish law.
. Kind of a cross between our Senate and Supreme Court.
. I tell you all of that so you realize that Nicodemus was an important man. He was the real deal when it came to importance in Israel.
. Nicodemus had become a fan of Jesus. He knew about Jesus but he didn’t know him. He wanted to know more but he was an
important man and he didn’t want to lose his power and his influence in all things Jewish; so he decided that he would have a
clandestine meeting with Jesus.
. The story starts with Nicodemus sneaking out at night to find Jesus.
. He goes to Jesus and they talk and Nicodemus tells Jesus that he knows he is a good teacher sent from God. Jesus’ teaching was powerful and moving and convicting.
. Jesus tells him more than he bargained for though.
. Jesus told him that he must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven
.Nicodemus scoffs at this, how can a man crawl back into his mother’s womb and be born again.
. Jesus aid that you don’t understand. This is a second birth.
. We are all first born of water,(the physical birth) but there is a spiritual birth that must take place in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven.
. Nicodemus said that he still didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about.
. Jesus scolded him some because Nicodemus being a Pharisee, should understand that God had always promised a sacrifice for their sin and that Jesus was that sacrifice. Jesus was their long awaited Savior.
. Jesus then tells him why he was there.
. This is probably the most recognized, memorized and prioritized verse of scripture.
. Jesus tells him this.
. 16“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
. There is nothing else recorded that Nicodemus says to Jesus.
. We don’t know how this conversation ended. We do know that Nicodemus had to make a decision.
. He had been presented with the Gospel by the gospel.
. If this man is right and he is the savior we have been waiting for; my life is about to become radically different.
. My associates in the Sanhedrin will scoff at me. They might even throw me out of the assembly.
. My life is all things Jewish and my family is steeped in Jewish tradition and religion. He would have to literally lose his religion.
. He had to hate, in comparison to Jesus, everything else. Jesus must become the center of his life.
. We don’t hear a lot about Nicodemus after this encounter but we do believe that he did commit to Jesus.
. Guess what, he was scoffed for this by his fellow members of the Sanhedrin.
. Jesus’ popularity had grown and the Sanhedrin sent guards to arrest him. They came back without him proclaiming that they couldn’t arrest a man that taught the way that He taught.
. The members of the Sanhedrin then got into a heated discussion about what they should do about Jesus and Nicodemus stood up for Jesus. We find this recorded in John 7: 50-52
. 50Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up.
51“Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked.
52They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!”
. They chided Nicodemus saying you are no better than He is. You must be from his home town and nothing good has ever come out of that place.
. We see Nicodemus one last time at the cross.
. Jesus has been crucified and all of his disciples except John had ran off and hid. Peter had even denied knowing Jesus.
. Nicodemus had made his decision though. He had decided that Jesus was more important than his position.
. Jesus was more important than his relationship with his friends and peers.
. Jesus was more important than his religion.
. Nicodemus and another Pharisee named Joseph proclaimed their faith when they publically took the body of Jesus from the cross and gave him the honor of a proper Jewish burial.
. They had made a decision.
. As disciples of Jesus, He was the most important aspect of their life.
. I ask you this morning.
. Is following Jesus the most important thing in your life.
. Jesus say’s that He must be preeminent in our lives.
. Christian, is he more important than your job, your family, your hobbies, your children, your grandchildren, your business.
. The hunting season, the fishing tournament, the ballgame for your children or grandchildren.
. Are you committed to Jesus or are you just a fan as our Sunday night study points out.
. Are you just part of the religious crowd like the multitudes that were traveling with Jesus.
. I want to close this morning with the story of the white rabbit.
. One day, a young Christian, wanting to become all that God had for him visited the home of an elderly Christian. He had heard that this old man had never lost his first love for Christ in all the years he had been a Christian
The old Christian was sitting on the porch with his dog stretched out before him taking in a beautiful sunset. The young man posed this question:
"Why is it, brother, that most Christians zealously chase after God during the first year or two after their conversion, but then fall into a complacent ritual of church twice a week and end up not looking any different than their neighbors who aren’t even Christians?
I have heard you are not like that. I’ve been told that you have fervently sought after God throughout your years as a Christian. People see something in you that they don’t see in most people who became Christians. What makes you different?"
The old man smiled and replied, "Let me tell you a story: One day I was sitting here quietly in the sun with my dog. Suddenly a large white rabbit ran across in front of us. Well, my dog jumped up, and took off after that big rabbit. He chased the rabbit over the hills with a passion.
Soon, other dogs joined him, attracted by his barking. What a sight it was, as the pack of dogs ran barking across the creeks, up stony embankments and through thickets and thorns!
Gradually, however, one by one, the other dogs dropped out of the pursuit, discouraged by the course and frustrated by the chase. Only my dog continued to hotly pursue the white rabbit."
"In that story, young man, is the answer to your question."
The young man sat in confused silence. Finally, he said, "Brother, I don’t understand. What is the connection between the rabbit chase and the quest for God?"
"You fail to understand," answered the well-seasoned old man, "because you failed to ask the obvious question.
Why didn’t the other dogs continue on the chase?
And the answer to that question is that they had not seen the rabbit.
Unless you see the prize, the chase is just too difficult. You will lack the passion and determination necessary to keep up the chase”
.I ask you this morning, have you seen the prize?
. Have you seen Jesus or have you just heard the others talking and decided to play church for a little while.
Christian have you lost site of the rabbit and quit the race?
Get back in the Hunt. Place your eye on the prize. Jesus Christ.
. Make Jesus the priority of your life.
.Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
. Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
Illustration from sermon central
The Rabbit, Tim Zingale, sermon central
Are You A Fan Or A Follower, Kyle Idleman
