Road Trip #2 – No U Turns
Luke 9:62 (p. 724) July 20, 2014
Introduction:
I had to go all the way to Florida to find a girl that didn’t know me too well...and because of that I married a native Floridian. But before we were married I lived and worked in Florida for 2 summers, and yes those 2 things went together. But, I noticed something about driving in Florida that was radically different from Kentucky. In most places and situations U turns were perfectly legal.
I will not make any snide comments about Florida drivers, or older drivers...to be politically correct “chronologically challenged” drivers. Who needs to turn around because they forgot where they’re going...”Uh oh Honey, we missed our turn...let’s do a U’eee!”
[I remember hearing about a senior citizen driving down the freeway when his wife called him on his cell phone. “Honey I just wanted to tell you I heard on the news that there’s a car going the wrong way on New Circle Road. Please be careful...and her husband yelled back at her over the phone...it’s not just 1 car...It’s hundreds of them!!!}
That man needed to make a U turn bad. But there are places U turns just aren’t allowed...places where they are dangerous and illegal.
And one of those places, that spiritually speaking, U turns are forbidden are on the road we choose when we commit to follow Jesus Christ.
“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 in the footsteps of Jesus...“No U turns allowed.”
On this road trip we call Christianity I need to be crystal clear with you this morning...what this truth means and doesn’t mean in our lives. First of all:
I. JESUS ISN’T TALKING ABOUT “NEVER” SINNING AFTER OUR CONVERSION
Perfection isn’t something we as fallen human beings do very well, even saved, born again...spirit filled human beings don’t do it very well.
The Apostle Paul wrote...“I have the desire to do what is good but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do...this I keep on doing...although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” (Romans 7:18, 19, 21)
Paul’s not using this as an excuse, not to seek holiness. He’s stating a truth...a law. “I am selfish as long as I live in this temporary body of flesh.” It’s as sure as the law of gravity...drop an apple...it falls to the ground. Put me in this selfish body...sin will be a problem.
There were early believers who twisted this truth, individuals Paul addresses in Romans 6 who said, “God loves to forgive sin, so I’ll keep on sinning so God can do what He loves.” “That’s grace!”
Paul responded to that lie with: “By no means:” We are those who have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer.” (Romans 6:1-2)
The key words here are “live in.”
My favorite description is the difference between a guy who steps in a mud puddle and a pig that lives in his muck. There’s a huge difference between the way the two live and how long they spend in the mud and muck of sin.
Saying “I’d like to go to heaven, but I’d rather not change the road I’m on. I’d rather not give up control...makes many try the bare minimum for salvation. I’ll say a prayer. I’ll get baptized. It’s the very reason Paul wrote:
ROMANS 6:1-4 (p. 785)
In layman’s terms the Apostle Paul is saying, when you’re buried with Christ, united with Him in His death, burial and resurrection, your road changes. You’re not travelling 75N any longer you’re 75S. It’s a new journey, a new direction, death to life, darkness to light.
You cannot put the Holy Spirit in the old life...the old purposes and motives and attitudes.
LUKE 5:36-37 (p. 719)
New wine in old wineskins...new patch sewn on an old garment...it just doesn’t work!
Our battle with sin isn’t over...but God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
It’s what God promised Ezekiel He would eventually do to prove His holiness through His people.
EZEKIEL 36:26-28 (p. 602)
This is the only way I can follow God effectively. He has put a down payment on my soul. He has entered a tent making it a temple. Jesus’ Spirit now is my internal GPS, not the world or its philosophies.
You might hit some pot holes, even have a wreck. Your car might break down, But, your directions and destination remain the same because no U turns are allowed on the road of discipleship!
You see, it’s all about remembering
II. JESUS IS THE ROAD THAT LEADS HOME
We live in a world today that loves the word “tolerance.” And listen, I’ve met some intolerant, judgmental, self righteous people in my lifetime. Mean, unloving, graceless.
But the world, let by philosophies manufactured by its god, Satan, wants “tolerance” to mean all roads are equally good. All beliefs are equally valid. All religions bring you to heaven...sounds good...helps everyone feel better...except there’s a serious problem if you are a follower of Jesus. It’s found in John 14 where Jesus is talking about going to His Father’s house...preparing a way for His disciples to get there too. He doesn’t say Heaven, but Heaven isn’t so much about a place, it’s about a person. “So you also may be where I am.”
[If your relationship with Jesus now...I mean your talks and intimacy are such that it doesn’t really make any difference with your desire for heaven if He’s there or not. You’re on the wrong road!]
Why do I believe that? John 14:6, on the heels of this discussion finds Jesus saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
That is a very narrow road home...only 1 way.
Map Quest tells me I can get to Chicago from Lexington in 3 different ways...shortest, quickest or most scenic. But if we believe the validity of God’s Word there is only 1 road that leads to God.
Satan and the world hate this truth: The only way to eternal life is a saving relationship with Jesus Christ...so they attack this truth, dilute this truth, mingle it with lies.
Look with me at Luke 9:57...Jesus and the disciples are walking down the road and a guy approaches Jesus and brags, “I’ll follow you wherever you go!”
[That’s some kind of promise...It’s like asking people to be “All In.” I’m not sure how many people said, “I’m all in...I’ll do whatever it takes for Gardenside to be the Church God wants it to be. I’ll open my heart to new people. I’ll sacrifice my preferences. I’ll try to think of others before myself. But then comes the time to do it...to share Christ with your chip and invite them to services...to walk to the casket and die to self, to take the rope and extend it in ministry, to write your brokenness on a water bottle so you can be honest and transparent with your soul...and that’s different...it asks for real change and surrender...and I’ve got tons of excuses why I don’t want to do that.]
Listen to this conversation with Jesus and Prospective follower
LUKE 9:58-62 (p. 724)
At the close of this conversation is our “No U turn” texts. “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God.”
Anyone know what happens in the field if you try to plow a straight line while constantly looking back? “Man, it’s a mess!”
Jesus is simply saying, the man or woman that constantly look to their past, constantly takes the rabbit trails, who forever makes excuses and forgets where we should be going...isn’t fit to serve in God’s kingdom.
There will always be excuses for why this is more urgent right now. Satan will constantly try to get us to look back instead of ahead.
Jesus told his followers to consider the cost of becoming a disciple before beginning the Road Trip. 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 he 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)
Finishing well has never been easy...whether you’re King Saul, King David, or finishing your life. Jesus did, the apostles did, Stephen did, Paul did. Why, because they kept the faith. Their relationships with Christ was forged in faith, and nothing was going to separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus as they finished the race!”
John Stott the great author wrote this in his book “Between Two Worlds.”
“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.”
Right before our text there’s a man who boasts:
“Jesus, I’ll follow you wherever you go!” This man wants to be with Jesus and he seems to want to be a part of what He’s doing...problem?
III. INVOLVEMENT ISN’T THE SAME AS COMMITMENT
It seems this man wants to be involved with Jesus’ ministry, so did the others...but Jesus isn’t looking for involvement. He’s calling for commitment. Jesus is looking for individuals who won’t make a U turn when the urgencies of life get in the way.
The difference between involvement and commitment is found in a bacon and egg breakfast. The chicken is involved in the meal. The pig has totally committed.
Involvement allows me to tip God instead of tithe. Involvement allows me to give God what I want when I want...the leftover. You know after all the ball games, vacations, and other important stuff is taken care of.
When you’re involved in the body of Christ, the church, you come when you want, but never grow deeper. If you don’t like something your first reaction is to complain about it, instead of asking, “Does that help others? Does that help the Kingdom grow? You complain because it effects your involvement.
Commitment is different. Attendance becomes worship. Relationships in Christ become a priority. Groups are open systems that allow new people in. Not closed systems that protect those involved. You’re not pretending any longer. You’ve reached a place of openness and transparency where people see your heart. Church isn’t a place you go. It’s a people we are...a growing family...the body of Christ. He’s the head...it’s His bride.
Conclusion:
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 two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.” Commitment is the key. Choose one chair.
It is absolutely impossible to follow Christ on this Road Trip we call life without a commitment to sit on His chair alone.
Let’s pray.
