A SERMON ON LORDSHIP FOR ELECTION DAY
LUKE 9:57-62
#umadbro
PETE’S BIRD PART 1 (p)
There once was a guy named Pete. Pete decided that he wanted to buy a pet and have that pet with him at all times and always be with him. Pete went to his local pet store and explained to the kind pet store owner exactly what he wanted. He said, “I know it sounds silly, but I want a pet that will be my friend. I want a pet who will like me. I want a pet who will encourage me. Is that weird?” The pet store owner looked at him with a strange glare, but then his face lit up. He pointed to the bird section.
Pete walked over to the bird section and there was only one bird in the whole section. It was a medium sized Myna Bird with a little pair of headphones on. It was just perched there and watched him as he approached. There was a sign hanging in front of the bird. “No touching. This bird is ready to repeat whatever you tell him. Make it good. Buy him. Say one phrase, and he is smart enough to repeat it at exactly the right time. It is a super intelligent bird.” Pete looked at the bird. The bird seemed to smile at him. He saw the little yellow beak and jet black body and just fell in love with the bird.
The owner walked up behind him. “Do you want the bird?”
“Yes,” Pete said. As soon as Pete nodded, the store owner took the headphones off the bird and it jumped onto his shoulder. It just sat there. It looked at him. The owner pointed to the sign and indicated that the next thing Pete said would be learned and repeated by the bird. Pete realized the enormity of what he had to teach the bird. He wanted a friendly encouraging friend.
What would encourage him the most?
What would benefit him the most to hear often?
What would he need to hear over and over?
Then it came to him. He knew exactly what phrase he would teach his bird.
Today we are reading from Luke 9.
READ Luke 9:57-62
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him [Jesus], "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
The passage in Luke 9 that we just read has a specific topic attached to it and we find that topic in verse 57. Verse 57 directs what the rest of the verses are talking about. In verse 57, we get the sense that Jesus and His disciples and other folks who are listening to Him are walking along and various folks are coming up and are claiming that they want to follow Jesus. These people are coming up to Jesus and declaring that they want to follow Jesus wherever He goes and they want to follow Him with their whole lives. The short little passage talks about three people Jesus speaks with about following Him.
PETE’S BIRD PART 2 (p)
Pete knew the exact phrase he would teach his new fine feathered friend.
Pete said very clearly to the bird, “Follow Jesus in all things.”
The pet shop owner looked very strange at Pete for he was not a Christian. He had a Bible at home, but it was propping up his kitchen table to make it even. As he took Pete’s money he said to Pete, “That has to be the dumbest thing that I have ever heard. You are an idiot. Now for the rest of that bird’s life it will say, ‘Follow Jesus in all things.’ You are so dumb.” The owner just kept saying derogatory things to Pete over and over. His voice was angry.
Pete found himself getting angry himself. Who in the world was this guy? Why would he be so judgmental? Why would he just attack him about his faith? As the owner said more and more things, Pete got angrier and angrier. As he stood there waiting for his receipt, Pete felt the need to call down curses from God on this fellow and yell at him back, but all of a sudden, the bird looked at him and said, “Follow Jesus in all things.” Pete realized that answering in anger would solve nothing. Pete realized starting and argument would not be helpful. Pete paused for a moment and said simply, “Jesus is my anchor in life and I look to Him for direction. Right now, I want to yell at you and return the hate that you have flooded in my direction. But I won’t because a gentle word turns away wrath. I hope someday you meet God and experience His grace.” With that, Pete walked out of the store. The bird just bobbed his head up and down in approval.
Pete had other places to go. In fact, he had to go and get tires for his truck. He got in his truck and the bird hopped off his shoulder and onto the seat. Pete drove to the tire store and could already feel his frustration brewing. You see, Pete ordered and paid for his tires 3 weeks ago. The first week, they had ordered the wrong tires. The second week, they had gotten his tires in, but had sold them to someone else on accident. This was the third week. As he pulled into the parking lot of the tire place, he could feel the frustration growing. He opened the door to get out and his bird jumped onto his shoulder. He walked into the office part of the tire place. He waited in line. He waited his turn. It was taking longer than it should have. His righteous frustration grew. They had messed up twice and now he had to take a day off to get something done.
When Pete got to the front of the line, it was the manager manning the desk. Pete gave his name. The manager asked how his experience had been and his jaw dropped as Pete explained the ordeal over the past 3 weeks. Pete explained it calmly and with patience. The manager listened and then typed Pete’s order into the computer. His face fell. He almost did not look at Pete. “Uh sir,” the manager said, “your tires are not here. They will be here tomorrow.”
Pete’s blood pressure skyrocketed. Three times now this place had messed up. Not once, not twice, but three times. The bird on Pete’s shoulder said, “Follow Jesus in all things” and then went back to looking around at all the colorful posters. Pete stood there not knowing what to say. The manager looked at Pete and said, “I can’t believe you are not yelling or asking for a refund or telling me how awful we are.” Pete just stared. He really could not even think. “Let me tell you what we are going to do,” the manager said, “I am going to push through a $50 rebate for you on these tires you have already bought. I am going to upgrade you right now and I am putting 4 better tires on your vehicle instead of 2. I am going to try and make this right since we have done so poirly. Is that ok?”
Pete looked at the man. A man who was just trying to do the right thing in an impossibly hard situation. Pete handed him the key. The bird just nodded up and down as Pete sat in the waiting area for his vehicle.
RE-READ Luke 9:57-62
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him [Jesus], "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
I want to remind you that the passage that we are reading today is all about following Jesus. I want you to notice in this passage that when the issue of following Jesus as a disciple comes up, that many of the people who said they wanted to follow Jesus ended up having excuses.
First, we have a guy come to Jesus and he claims to want to follow Jesus wherever He goes. That is what being a Christian is by the way. Being a Christian is following Jesus in all things and wherever Jesus leads. Anyway, Jesus replies to this first man that following Him is not always easy. Specifically, Jesus points out that Jesus’ travels are non-stop and they don’t call anywhere home. There are no breaks. Jesus looks into the heart of this man and knows that constantly following him is not something he can do. The man wants comforts. Jesus doesn’t have that. I imagine that in verse 58 the man goes away because in his heart he doesn’t want to follow Jesus that much.
Second, we have another man (in verse 59) who comes and Jesus gives him the same command He gave His disciples. He said to the man “Follow me.” Notice there is nothing added to that. Being a Christian means that we follow Jesus. We follow Jesus… period. There are no phrases after and no “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.” The man has an excuse of why he cannot follow Jesus. He says that he has to bury his father. That is definitely not a bad thing! The language in this verse is a little misleading. The situation that the man presents is that his father is ill and is about to die. He asks for time to go home, wait for his father to die, and then he will bury him. Once his father has died, then he will follow Jesus. All of that sounds good, except, to be honest, it puts family before God. A Christian is someone who puts the will of God and faith in Jesus Christ… first. First means first. First does not mean after people. First does not mean after a job. First does not mean after sports. First does not mean after our wants and desires. First means first. Period.
Third, a man (verse 61) comes to Jesus and pledges that He will follow Jesus. This is such a great thing. The desire is there. The faith is there. The willingness and obedience is there. Yet, the man has an excuse that he needs to go and say goodbye to his family. This also does not seem like a bad thing. The man is stating that he is willing to follow Jesus, but wants to go home and talk it over with family first. Once at home, he would be tempted to stay there with them and not leave. They might convince him not to go. Jesus encourages the man that he is to follow and not look back. Backwards is often temptation. Faith in Jesus Christ is keeping Jesus as the priority and not allowing any other tempting path to get us off track.
In this passage, all three people declare their willingness in one form or another to follow Jesus with their whole hearts. They declare they believe in Jesus with their mouths. Jesus shows us, by His interactions with these folks, that following Jesus as a believer is much more than just words, but also rests in our actions in keeping Jesus as first priority. These folks had excuses as to why they could not follow Jesus. They had obstacles in the way that they were willing to keep. As a believer, there is not any part of our lives that is out of the control of Jesus Christ our Lord.
PETE’S BIRD PART 3 (p)
Pete sat in the waiting area for his truck. It got done. He left with 4 new tires on his truck and the whole situation had been made right. On his way home, Pete noticed that early voting was open at his local library. He could go vote. He had the day off. It never took all that long. But to be honest, he wasn’t all that pleased with anything he had to vote for. He looked at his bird and started to talk as they sat at the traffic light. “I don’t want to vote. I don’t think my vote really matters. I am not even sure what should guide my vote.” The bird looked at him with one eye and cocked its head and said, “Follow Jesus in all things.” Pete was a little puzzled and looked at the bird “Are you telling me that as a Christian, Jesus cares whether or not I vote and also has a divine opinion on how I should vote? Are you sure?” The bird just bobbed his head up and down.
He got up to the library and he turned into the voting place. He walked up and the volunteer on the outside asked him to have his ID out as that makes it all go faster. She looked strangely at him since he still had his bird on his shoulder. The bird just nodded his head up and down and flapped his wings a little. Pete got into the polling place and gave his ID to the worker. She input his ID and he signed the little digital pad confirming it was him doing the voting. He got is little receipt and followed the colors on the floor to the printer where his ballot was waiting for him. He took his ballot and went to the little alcove where he could fill in the circles for his vote.
He looked at his ballot.
The first office he had to vote for was President.
He looked at the bird. The bird looked at him and said, “Follow Jesus in all things.”
He marked his ballot.
The second office he had to vote for were people in the Congress.
He looked at the bird. The bird looked at him and said, “Follow Jesus in all things.”
He marked his ballot.
There were options for property appraisers. There were selections for judges to keep or dismiss. There were even amendments to the state constitution that were on the ballot. Some about energy and some about taxes on property. There was even one about legalizing marijuana. Pete looked at his bird. “Are you telling me that God has principles to guide me in all of these things? You are telling me that it matters to my Christian faith how I vote? Are you telling me that being a follower of Jesus means that even in voting there is a Godly path?”
He looked at the bird. The bird looked at him and said, “Follow Jesus in all things.”
He marked his ballot.
Pete left the little voting alcove and put his paper ballot into the scanner and the computer recorded his vote. The volunteer thanked him for voting and gave him a little “I voted” sticker to put on his shirt. He put it on there to encourage other people to vote as well.
RE-READ Luke 9:57-62
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him [Jesus], "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
You see, Luke 9:57-62 is all about the Lordship of Jesus Christ in the lives of those who claim to be His. When we decide to believe in Jesus Christ, we accept Jesus not only as our Savior, but also as our Lord. When we repent and our sins are washed away in baptism, we claim Jesus as our Lord. That means we are under His leadership. That means He is in charge of us. That means He directs us in all things. The place and title of “Lord” and “Savior” are eternally connected in the mind of God and so should be for us. Jesus is Lord of all. We must make Jesus Lord in all areas of our lives.
* How about the area of Marriage, Dating, or Companionship?
Are you ready to put your love life into God’s guiding hands? Are you willing to be a godly wife or husband? Do you understand that God commands single disciples should only date and marry disciples? Will you be patient to find a disciple to date?
* How about the area of Parenting?
Are you ready to be a godly parent? Are you willing to provide biblical discipline and teach your kids about God? Are you willing to make church and faith a priority?
* How about in the area of our Jobs and Careers?
Are you someone who is known for integrity at work? Do you work hard and work as though you are working for the Lord?
* How about the area of Finances?
Are you ready, willing and happy to contribute toward the work and needs of the church? Are you sacrificing for others and demonstrating your faith with money? Do you support the work of the church? Do you give to the poor?
* How about in the area of your Time?
Is Jesus the Lord of your time? Are you committed to regular meetings in the Body of Christ? Is Bible study and prayer something you give your time to? Are you in a Sunday School class?
You see when we decide to believe in Jesus Christ, we accept Jesus not only as our Savior, but also as our Lord in absolutely every nook and cranny of our lives.
PETE’S BIRD PART 4 (p)
Pete left the voting place and headed home. On his way home, there was a “more seasoned” driver in the lane ahead of him. She could barely see over the steering wheel and was driving very slow. She was weaving just enough that he did not want to pass for fear of an accident. Pete’s bird looked at him, winked, and said, “Follow Jesus in all things.” Pete chilled out as he came to the stop light.
At the stop light, Pete noticed a pan-handler on the side of the road. The person had a sign that said, “Need beer, why lie. God bless.” The pan handler looked at Pete in his truck and noticed the bird. The bird looked at Pete and said, “Follow Jesus in all things.” Pete pulled out a $5 from his wallet and a card that had information about his church’s food pantry which happens on Tuesday mornings. He gave the money and the card to the pan-handler. The bird on his shoulder just nodded and nodded.
On the rest of the drive home, Pete decided he wanted to listen to music. He turned on the radio and blasted good tunes. The song he was listening to was a driving beat, but did have a curse word every other minute. The bird on his shoulder nodded his head and said, “Seriously, do I need to say it again. By now you should get it. As a follower of Jesus, He rules absolutely every part of your life. No exceptions.”
CONCLUSION IN PRAYER
INVITATION
ANNOUNCEMENT
We will be having a prayer vigil here at the church for our country and for our election on the night before the election. We will have it Monday, November 7, from 6:00-9:00pm in the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary will be open for a time of prayer in a come-and-go style. There will be stations and helps to aid you in praying for our nation and for the election.
