Most of us have gone to the supermarket and bought apples but few of us have ever thought about what goes on behind the scenes in bringing the apples to market.
Today while many apple growers still hand-sort their produce, many companies are going “hi tech.” Hundreds of pounds of apples are brought into the facility to determine size and color. Color sorting is done by a mechanized color sorter. The color sorter has a system of cameras that analyze each apple as it passes by the cameras. The data obtained by the cameras is then passed to a computer, which grades each apple. Apples are then passed on to the sizer. The sizer weighs each apple and distributes them into specific channels of water depending on the grade and size of the apple.
Someone has said, “Sunday is the most segregated day of the week.” Philosophies, life experiences and prejudices sort people according to color to where there are white congregations and churches where only blacks, Hispanics and Asians attend. People are “sized” and allowed into churches according to their income and reputation and occupation. A friend of mine recently told me that his denomination started a new church and hand-picked mostly doctors and lawyers to become the first members.
Did you know that “sorting” and “segregating” is biblical? It is biblical, but choosing those who would be a part of the church is not left up to us to do…this is a job that the Lord of the Harvest is solely responsible for.
In our text today we will discover one of the ways this is done by our Lord.
Luke 14:25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,
Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:27 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
These aren’t the kinds of things you say to keep people in your following; these are the kinds of things that cause people to turn away. Jesus was always doing things like this.
In Matthew chapter eight a scribe tells Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus tells him that “foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of man doesn’t have a place of His own to lay His head.” (Matthew 8:18-22)
In other words, Jesus was asking this scribe whether he was willing to leave creature comforts and follow Him. Would he be willing to leave his flat screen TV and “tempur-pedic foam mattress” to follow One who didn’t have a place to lay His head?
In Matthew nine a rich young man came to Jesus and said, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" Jesus tells him to “go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:16-22) Jesus knew that this boy’s weakness was his stuff.
In John chapter six Jesus invites people to follow Him with these words:
John 6:53 … "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
John 6:54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:55 "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
John 6:56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
Notice the response of the people:
John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"
John 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
When Jesus began His public ministry, the crowds began to follow Him. Obviously, each and every person who followed Him was not “sold out” in their commitment to Him so Jesus begins to “sort the apples”…He begins to “thin the herd.”
He thinned the crowds by raising the bar of commitment. He thinned the herds by getting those who were following Him to consider what it would cost them if they followed Him as disciples.
Many are lured by well-meaning preachers by the “dangling carrots” of peace, joy, a husband or a wife, health, wealth, prosperity, security, food, shelter and clothing. While some of these things could be considered benefits of a relationship with Christ, this is not biblical evangelism.
The biblical model of evangelism is to call people to turn from their sins and follow Jesus by faith. Jesus Himself says it this way in John 8:24, “…if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."
So Jesus in Luke 14 thins the herd by getting those following Him to consider the cost of following Him.
Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:27 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it;
Luke 14:29 "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
Luke 14:30 "saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
Luke 14:31 "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Luke 14:32 "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
The worst thing that you and I can do in trying to get people to come to Jesus is to dangle a carrot in front of them to entice them with some benefit of salvation.
* If you say that “Jesus gives you peace” so they will consider Him as Lord and Savior—they will come to Him for peace and not salvation.
* If you say that “Jesus will deliver you from bill collectors” so they will believe in Him—they will follow Him for deliverance from debt and not deliverance from sin.
* If they came to Him for peace they will get discouraged when the storms come.
* If they came to Him so that their bills might get paid, they will get discouraged when the bill collectors continue to call.
When the promise of the benefit isn’t fulfilled in the manner in which the person expected, he dissociates himself from the person who was to deliver the goods—Jesus.
This is why we hear people say things like, “Well I tried Jesus and it didn’t work.” or “That Bible and church stuff may work for you but it didn’t work for me.”
This is why people who professed to give their lives to Jesus fall away from Him—they didn’t get what they “came to Jesus” for.
* They were promised peace and they didn’t get it.
* They were promised a good job or a spouse and they didn’t get it.
* They were promised health, wealth and prosperity and they didn’t get it.
Many who come to Jesus for “life improvement” fall away from Him when things don’t get better. Evangelist Ray Comfort illustrated this phenomenon in his classic sermon called Hell’s Best Kept Secret.
Two men are seated in a plane. The first is given a parachute and told to put it on as it would improve his flight. He's a little skeptical at first because he can't see how wearing a parachute in a plane could possibly improve the flight. After a time he decides to experiment and see if the claim is true.
As he puts it on he notices the weight of it upon his shoulders and he finds that he has difficulty in sitting upright. However, he consoles himself with the fact that he was told the parachute would improve the flight. So, he decides to give the thing a little time. As he waits he notices that some of the other passengers are laughing at him, because he's wearing a parachute in a plane.
He begins to feel somewhat humiliated. As they begin to point and laugh at him and he can stand it no longer, he slinks in his seat, unstraps the parachute, and throws it to the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fill his heart, because, as far as he was concerned, he was told an outright lie.
The second man is given a parachute, but listens to what he's told. He's told to put it on because at any moment he'd be jumping 25,000 feet out of the plane. He gratefully puts the parachute on; he doesn't notice the weight of it upon his shoulders, nor that he can't sit upright. His mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he jumped without that parachute.
Ray Comfort helps us to analyze the motive and the result of each passenger's experience.
He tells us the first man's motive for putting the parachute on was solely to improve his flight. The result of his experience was that he was humiliated by the passengers; he was disillusioned and somewhat embittered against those who gave him the parachute. As far as he's concerned it'll be a long time before anyone gets one of those things on his back again.
This is what happens when you tell someone to come to Jesus for the peace and joy He will give them. When things don’t go as they were promised, they face humiliation. They get bitter when they hear Christians standing up and giving testimonies about how “God is good!” and they aren’t seeing His goodness in their lives.
They still have the bill collectors calling them.
They are still struggling with loneliness.
They are still waiting for that job that will pay the “big bucks.”
Their children are still wayward and rebellious.
So they feel disillusioned and embittered toward the person who first told them about Jesus and gave them these unrealistic expectations.
The second man put the parachute on solely to escape the jump to come, and because of his knowledge of what would happen to him without it, he has a deep-rooted joy and peace in his heart knowing that he's saved from sure death.
This knowledge gives him the ability to withstand the mockery of the other passengers. His attitude towards those who gave him the parachute is one of heart-felt gratitude.
The second man represents the person who put on the Lord Jesus Christ for the right reason:
* Not for peace.
* Not for joy.
* Not for deliverance from bills.
* Not as a meal ticket
* Not to be healthy, wealthy and wise.
* Not to improve his life (the flight)…
This is the person who put on the Lord Jesus to be saved from sin. To be saved from death and the wrath to come. Like the man on the plane with the bulky parachute, he doesn’t fall apart if life gets a little uncomfortable.
* He doesn’t care if he is not happy 24/7
* He doesn’t care if he doesn’t have meat to eat with every meal
* He doesn’t care if his house doesn’t have a swimming pool
* It is no problem if he doesn’t have his own car to get around
* It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have a spouse.
* His life doesn’t fall apart if he doesn’t have designer clothes to wear or the latest electronic gadgetry.
He’s got Jesus and that’s enough! This teaching begs the question, “What did you come to Jesus for?
* Did you come to Jesus expecting a miracle?
* Did you come to Him for the loaves and fishes?
* Did you come to Jesus expecting Him to make your life better?
* Did you give your life to Jesus so that you might have peace and joy?
Or, did you come to Him because someone told you that unless you believed that Jesus was the Son of God and the Savior you would die in your sins.
Did you come because someone told you that He was “the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to God the Father except through Him”? (John 14)
Did you come because you were told that He is “the Door to the sheepfold and to climb up any other way brands you as a thief and a robber”? (John 10)
Warning: Bumpy Road Ahead
Have you ever seen those signs on the road warning of difficult driving conditions ahead? To the people who followed Him, Jesus warned of difficulties to come.
A common mistake Christians make when inviting people to come to Jesus is not offering a balanced view of the Christian life. They tell people about the love and compassion of Christ but leave out the part about His wrath and righteousness, holiness and justice.
One common mistake they make is to invite people to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior but leave out the part about receiving Him as their Lord.
The word “Lord” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word, kurios, koo'-ree-os; and means, supremacy; supreme in authority, one who controls.
The doctrine of salvation teaches that one submits to Jesus Christ, not only as the One who saves them from sin but the One who demands their allegiance, their loyalty, their complete commitment.
You see, we like to talk about how He saved us from sin but that is just part of the equation. He is also our Lord. We are to do what He says; go where He sends us; give what He requests of us; say what He tells us to say.
We are to love Him more than anyone and anything: Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
We are to be willing to face anything for His cause: Luke 14:27 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
We are to be willing to give up everything to follow Him: Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
In your witness to others about Jesus, do you tell them that He must be both their Lord and Savior? This is the way Jesus thins the herds—by getting those who would commit to follow Him to consider the cost of following Him.
