“Half-Way Discipl…”
LUKE 9:57-62
INTRODUCTION… THINGS YOU SHOULD NOT DO HALF-WAY (P)
There are somethings in life that we should never do half-way. Most things in life we should give our best effort, persevere, and see to completion.
Giving half-effort while swimming means that you drown and die.
Giving half-effort when running away from a wild bear results in you being eaten.
Giving half-effort when walking I believe is called “tripping” and you can get hurt and never get where you are going.
Doing a test in school only half-way means you get 50% or lower which is an F, failing grade.
Wearing only half your clothes means the other half of you is naked which no one wants to see.
Wearing half of your shoes makes for an awkward day with you hobbling along.
Only working half the amount of hours you should means you will get fired.
Washing only half your body means you stink.
There are of course more serious things that we should never do half-way, but that list will get us thinking. There are some things in life that we should never do half-way because the normal thought is that “you finish what you start.” The normal thought is that when doing something, we should give “our best effort” all the time. A normal attitude in sports, board games, fund raising opportunities, and working is that we finish what we start and give our utmost while doing it. At least that seems normal to me.
This morning we are going to continue to look at Discipleship. The word “discipleship” simply means “following Christ.” “Discipleship” means (a more complicated definition) the process by which someone grows in faith and practice in Christ and is equipped by the Holy Spirit to live life faithfully to Him. The passage that we are going to dig into this morning is Luke 9:57-62 where we will see that Jesus is calling us to full lifetime effort with Him when it comes to following Him as a disciple. Jesus specifically targets, in this passage, the excuses we might use to give half-effort when being His disciple.
READ Luke 9:57-62
“As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "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."
In this passage, just like the passage we looked at last week (Luke 14:25-35), people are following Jesus form town to town and they want to be His disciple. They see Him heal the sick and drive out demons and they want to be close to this miracle working man. They hear His parables which confound them and push them towards God and they want to be near this wise teacher who teaches and preaches about God. In our passage, Jesus encounters three different people who want to half-way follow Him.
THREE EXCUSES IN THE SCRIPTURE
First, we have a guy (verse 57) come to Jesus and he claims to want to follow Jesus “wherever He goes.” Those are the actual words the fellow uses. Being a Christian is following Jesus in all things and wherever Jesus leads. 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 and His disciples spend day and night traveling and teaching and ministering to growing crowds of people. I think Jesus divinely looks into the heart of this man and knows that constantly following him is not something he can do or is actually willing to do. The man wants comforts. At this time, Jesus doesn’t have that.
So, the first excuse given not to follow Jesus in this Scripture is that following Jesus was tough, not what the person expected, and so he opted out.
Second, we have another man (verse 59) who comes and Jesus gives him the same command He gave His disciples. When Jesus gave the command “follow me” (Matthew 4:18, Mark 1:17) to some fishermen, Peter, Andrew, James, and John dropped their nets and followed Jesus full-time. When Jesus gave the command “follow me” to Matthew the tax collector (Matthew 9:9, Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27), Matthew left his life of tax collecting and followed Jesus full-time. When Jesus told the rich young ruler “follow me” (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 18:22), he did not because he did not want to give up his wealth and had other priorities. Jesus told Philip “follow me” (John 1:43) and not only did he follow Jesus full-time, but he went and found his friend Nathanael who also followed Jesus.
Jesus said to the man “follow me” just like He said to all these other people. 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.” This particular 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 English wording 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 important people we love.
First does not mean after a job and all its demands.
First does not mean after sports or hobbies.
First does not mean after our wants and desires.
First does not mean after politics or social beliefs we might hold.
First does not mean after we spend our money on what we want.
First means first.
So, the second excuse given not to follow Jesus in this Scripture is that following Jesus meant that He would be the priority over all other relationships. This was not what the person wanted, and so he opted out.
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. Like the man with an ill father, 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. Why is that an issue? It is an issue because following Jesus is a whole life transformation. Following Jesus changes everything. Once at home, this man 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.
So, the third excuse given not to follow Jesus in this Scripture is that following Jesus meant a total life change in all things and this was not what the person wanted, and so he opted out.
In this passage, 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 and following Him in all things. These folks had excuses as to why they could not follow Jesus. They had obstacles in the way that they were willing to keep.
SUMMARY
The first excuse given not to follow Jesus is that following Jesus was tough and not what the person expected.
The second excuse given not to follow Jesus is that following Jesus meant that Jesus would be the priority over all other relationships and the person was unwilling.
The third excuse given not to follow Jesus is that following Jesus meant a total life change in all things and this was not what the person wanted.
ILLUSTRATION… HALF-WORDS ARE NEVER GOOD (www.idioms.thefreedictionary.com)
We started out this morning talking about how doing things half-way never seems to go well. You know, words with “half” in them also never seem to be good. Putting the word “half” with something usually makes it a word that describes something undesirable.
Half-Baked: not thought out or planned carefully
Half-Cocked: to be totally unprepared
Half-Crocked: to be drunk
Half-Hearted: lack of effort or lack of enthusiasm
Half-Lit: to be drunk
Half-Pint: a small weak insignificant person
Half-Sprung: to be drunk
Half-Stewed: to be drunk
Half-Under: to be drunk or unconscious
Half-Way Decent: somewhat good, but not really
Half-Wit: someone who is not very smart
Half Way Up the Pole: to be drunk
None of these words are good! None of them you would want said about you. None of these we would want to be said about someone we love. “Half” of anything seems to be not a good idea.
EXPECTATION OF GOD
As we look at this passage and others in the Scriptures, we find a consistent expectation of God and Jesus when it comes to following Him. Jesus Christ wants us to follow Him full-time with full effort and will all our hearts. God does not want our half-hearted half-baked half-cocked half-witted effort in following Him. God wants our total worship on Him because He deserves it.
Exodus 34:14, “Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Joshua 24:19-20, “Joshua said to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you."
Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?”
1 John 2:3-6, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
What do these verses tell us? They tell us to wake up and smell the perseverance. These passages along with the Gospels tell us that following Jesus is not a half-hearted part of our lives.
THREE EXCUSES WE GIVE
I was thinking about this issue and I think we still give Jesus excuses about why we cannot fully follow Him with all our heart. All of us are different in our excuse skills, but I am sure that we all probably fall into one of the categories that Jesus describes or some related categories I came up with.
Do these apply to you? Do these apply to me? Do these apply to us? What are the three excuses Jesus describes?
#1 (from the passage) TOUGH DEMANDS
In the passage, following Jesus would have been physically demanding and tough. What about us? Are there commands or ways of living that we feel are too high and is not what we expected?
Example: When it comes to money, maybe we feel tithing 10% to God is too high and is a tough expectation. We didn’t realize God directs our finances and we don’t really want to follow Him in this area.
Example: When it comes to marriage, maybe we feel we should get to pick the person we love and maybe love just happens. We didn’t realize God’s will and even His commands extend to our marriages and our bedrooms.
We end up giving God half-effort because the demands are too tough.
#2 (from the passage) GOD IS THE FIRST RELATIONSHIP
In the passage, following Jesus means He takes priority over all other relationships. What about us? Are there relationships we feel should be above God?
Example: Our child or grandchild who lives in our home doesn’t want to come to church with us on a regular basis. We want to love them and let them find their own way so we give them the choice. We don’t realize a relationship with God comes first and we need to teach that no matter the consequences.
Example: We are single and have the opportunity to date and great guy or girl. They are not a Christian. We are. We let that relationship have priority over God’s commands because we want to love who we want to love.
We end up giving God half-effort because we just don’t want to put Him first over others.
#3 (from the passage) TOTAL LIFE CHANGE
In the passage, following Jesus means a total life change. What about us? Are there habits and elements of our lives we are unwilling to give up because we want them?
Example: We like to have a beer every day after work, with meals at home, at parties, and when we go out to eat. We do get drunk sometimes. Yet, it is not something we really want to give up because it makes us feel normal.
Example: A new TV show comes on the air that everyone at work, at school, on the team, and at the knitting club is talking about. The TV show is just about as anti-God as you can get. We want to watch the show to fit in even though we know we shouldn’t. We want to watch TV and be entertained.
We end up giving God half-effort because we just don’t want to totally change.
#4 TOO MUCH TIME
Our lives and world is increasingly busy. Children and grandchildren make our lives busy. Organizations we are a part of make us busy. Places we volunteer make us busy. Working makes us busy. Discipleship means giving time to God in Bible study, prayer, worship services, serving in the church, serving others, and being part of the Body of Christ. We might have the excuse that we just don’t have the time. Sundays are for sleeping in. Bible study takes up too much time. Prayer before meals is good enough. We hear the minister say regular attendance is 4 weeks of the month and we just disagree and we do what we want. We hear the minister say Sunday School should be a regular part of our week and we just don’t want to give that extra hour.
Does this apply to you? Does this apply to me?
#5 NOBODY ELSE IS DOING IT
It is possible for us to look around in our lives and wonder if we are the only one who takes our faith seriously. Other people who claim to be Christians live together unmarried. Other people hold grudges and oust people from their lives. Other people just drop a couple of bucks into the offering plate. Other people who claim to be Christians just go to church once a month. Other people leave their Bible in the back seat all week and grab it on the way into church. Other people watch that TV show or that movie or buy that album. It is possible for us to be sucked in to the lifestyle choices of the people around us that draw us away from God and put us into part-time mode with God.
Does this apply to you? Does this apply to me?
#6 I LOVE GOD, BUT NOT ORGANIZED CHURCH
Over and over I hear the excuse that people love God, but they don’t have to be a disciple of Jesus that is part of His Church. An organized church gives an opportunity to grow in faith with other believers, pool money for God’s Kingdom, keep us accountable, worship together, and mentor others in faith. God calls His Church the Body of Christ. He uses those words. What happens to a foot if it is separated from the Body? What happens to any body part when it is separated from the Body? It dies. This excuse is our pride and our preferences and perhaps bad teaching that influences us away from full-time following Jesus.
Does this apply to you? Does this apply to me?
CHALLENGE
1 Worship 1 Hour
1 Study 1 Hour
1 Serve 1 Hour
1 Evangelize 1 Hour
PRESENTATION OF THE GOSPEL
It occurs to me that not everyone listening to me is a believer in Christ. Not everyone has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We have talked about excuses this morning. There are plenty of excuses when it comes to not believing in Jesus and all of them should be cast aside.
Excuse: I need to get my life in order before I come to Jesus. [brief refutation]
Excuse: God can’t forgive what I have done. [brief refutation]
Excuse: I don’t need Jesus to forgive me. [brief refutation]
Excuse: It’s too late for me to do that. [brief refutation]
John 3:16-18 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”
CONCLUSION
