Luke 9:51 – “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,”
l. INTRODUCTION – WILLIAM WILBERFORCE
Before the slavery battle was fought in America, it was fought in England, where it was bloodless but it was also long and arduous. In the thick of the fighting was a champion named William Wilberforce. He was an unlikely battler, because at five feet tall he didn’t scare anyone.
Probably because of his size Wilberforce enjoyed being the life of the party, the class clown, the quick wit, the happy-go-lucky guy. When he was twenty-one he was elected to Parliament because he outspent his opponents, because he had no enemies yet, and because no one thought he would make any waves.
About four years later, Wilberforce realized how empty that his life was, and after a friend introduced him to the Bible, he was converted. But as a new Christian he did not know what to do with his life. He thought maybe he should withdraw from the world, but he decided to ask a respected friend for advice. He chose John Newton, the former slave trader and writer of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace.” Newton by this time was a 60 year man and pastor in London. Newton surprised the young politician by urging him to stay in the political arena. “The Lord has raised you up for the good of His church and for the good of the nation.” Newton also inspired him to fight the slave trade.
Afterward, Wilberforce wrote in his journal: “Almighty God has set before me two objectives: the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of manners.” In 1787 he launched his crusade. For two decades he proposed the abolition of the slave trade, but over and over again businessmen backed up their position with money and defeated the proposals. Once an opponent argued, “Abolition would instantly annihilate a trade which annually employs upwards of 5,500 sailors, upwards of 160 ships, and whose exports amount to 800,000 pounds sterling.”
Wilberforce endured defeat after defeat, sometimes coming so close to victory that he could almost taste it. Those repeated losses left Wilberforce feeling depressed, wondering if he could keep up the fight any longer. At such a time he received a letter from the Methodist leader, John Wesley. It was probably one of the last letters that John Wesley, then in his eighties, ever wrote. “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils,” Wesley wrote. “But if God be for you who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? Oh, be not weary of well-doing. Go on in the name of God.”
“Be not weary in well-doing.” Those were the words that Wilberforce needed to hear. And so he continued to make resolutions each year until finally, in 1807, the tide turned. When the votes were counted, the House voted 283 to 16 in favor of abolishing the slave trade. As biographer John Pollock tells it, “The House rose almost to a man and turned towards Wilberforce in a burst of Parliamentary cheers. Suddenly above the roar of ‘hear, hear’ . . . three hurrahs echoed and echoed while he sat, head bowed, tears streaming down his face.”
Wilberforce stayed in Parliament until 1825, still pushing various reforms: relief for boy chimney sweeps, help for the poor, encouragement of education, and alleviation of prison conditions. Even after he left Parliament, he was still the “conscience of England.” A few days before he died, his prayers were fully answered when the House of Commons voted to emancipate all slaves in British territories. “Thank God,” he said, “that I have come to witness the day.” The man who was determined had won his final battle. (From 100 Bible Verses that Changed the World, William J. Peterson and Randy Peterson, Revell, Baker Books).
-There a commodity that certain individuals seem to possess. No monetary value can be place on it but it is the most valuable possession they have. . . . . . It is called determination.
Calvin Coolidge – Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
ll. THE FACES OF JESUS
-Scattered throughout the Gospels, the writers give the readers a distinct view of the different faces of the Lord.
A. A Face of Genuine Joy
-One of the faces that the Lord expresses is the face of genuine joy. One notes this particularly in the Sermon on the Mount:
• The Joy of the Poor in spirit.
• The Bindings of the mourner.
• The Blessings of the meek.
• The Satisfaction of the hungry.
• The Gladness of the merciful.
• The Chastity of the pure.
• The Vision of the peacemakers.
• The Promise of the persecuted.
-Note the times that He instructed those around him to be of good cheer:
Matthew 9:2 – “Be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Matthew 14:27 – “Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid.”
John 16:33 – “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
B. A Face Full of Life
-Another of the faces the Lord demonstrated was that one full of life.
-Men constantly were coming to Him to ask about life. His answers were not theoretical but were simple and practical.
-The power in the life of the Lord caused a young aristocratic man to forget his superior social standing, caused him to forget the staring eyes of the crowd, and caused him to run to the Master and ask, “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
-Because the Lord had a face that was full of life, others inquired about what the answers to life’s greatest questions were.
-Another time, because the crowd misunderstood His mission, He was determined to set before them the desperate toll, no matter what it cost Him. In John 6, He began musing to them about the fact of manna that was unable to save the Israelites in the wilderness.
-He then boldly declared that He was the bread of life. Then the Jews began to quibble among themselves and wondered aloud what sort of cannibalism would be required of them.
-Because they missed the point, they began to leave in groups of twos and threes, until large groups are now leaving. The mass exodus leaves only his disciples.
-The Lord turns to them and inquires, “What about you? Will you also leave?” The words of Peter roar through to us, even now, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) You have the words of life.
C. A Face of Tenderness
-Another face that the Lord exhibited was that of tenderness. It drew children, widows, the lonely, the weary, the sick, the defeated, the misfits, and on and on we could go.
-It is a face of one who could suffer and still love.
D. A Face of Determination
-Yet in all of the previous faces, something underlying is found. In that face is rugged strength and courage.
-In that face, one that confronted deadly dangers and could still come to a whole-hearted decision to move forward.
-A face so majestic in strength and purpose that it strikes awe into the heart of those who have the eyes to see.
-There were times that His words awed them into silence. They were so stunned at the power of His concepts that they could not even express their own thoughts.
-So it is that when He begins the trek toward Jerusalem that even the heartiest of His followers lag behind as He goes toward that noble cause, frankly very alone.
-The constant impression that He made on those around Him was that of strength.
• The ground fairly shook under the feet of the multitudes who marched behind him.
• He stirred the nation as only a strong man could stir it.
• Even His enemies proclaimed his strength by the intensity of their own hatred.
-It has wisely been said that we do not hate weaklings, we may ignore them, despise them, or pity them. . . . . it is strong men that men hate.
-So the prevailing face, perhaps we should say attitude of the Lord, was not that of joy, nor that of life, nor of tenderness, but of sheer determination to accomplish the task here on this earth.
lll. THE POWER OF DETERMINATION
-So, one might ask, What is determination? Let me help you to understand what determination is.
At the end of the nineteenth century, a boxer named “Gentleman Jim” Corbett, held the heavyweight championship title of the world for five consecutive years. When someone asked him what the key to it was, he answered with these words: “Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black, fight one more round. When you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round. Always remembering that the man who fights one more round is never whipped. . . . . He is always battling one more round.” (Adapted from The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart – Charles Swindoll)
-That sums up the philosophy of determination.
-Luke 9 expresses to us that Jesus was walking down death row, toward an awaiting disaster. This path was not for the weak, it was only for the strong, the rugged, the hearty, the determined.
-Therefore, the question arises, why did Jesus go to Jerusalem?
A. Why Go to Jerusalem?
1. To face the opposition of His most bitter enemies.
-These foes that the Lord would now face:
• Are seeking to destroy Him.
• They are the religious men of His day.
• They hounded Him.
• They worked to discredit Him.
• They tried to destroy Him.
• They worked to entrap Him.
-This type of opposition is the most difficult to bear. It takes great courage and strength not to be disheartened by it. But this was nothing new to the Lord. He had faced this temptation of the wilderness in the days of His beginning.
-The enemies sometimes come from the wilderness. That is where the devil found Him. He offered Him all the Kingdoms of the world. There is some audacity in that. “All of these things, I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. . . . . .” Not much has changed over the last two-thousand years. . . . . . . The devil still promises the world if you will fall down and worship.
-The robber had come to offer the King His own and at a condition that the robber should be recognized as king.
-Sometimes we set out on worthy purposes but we meet opposition. It is too much and so we quit.
I recently heard the story of one man who determined to do something for God in his own local church. It was a very good thing that this man set out to accomplish. In fact his goal was very noble, very worthy and free of his own agenda. He started working toward seeing this thing accomplished, but in the course of time he had to face the criticism and opposition of his peers. He struggled on briefly for a few months before finally resigning to defeat. Once he quit, he sat on a pew and for twenty years, he did nothing for the cause that he had loved. It occurred recently to him in a revival that he had lost twenty years of his life, doing nothing, accomplishing nothing for the kingdom. (Told to me by Rick Wyser – Pastor)
-We must never quit because of the opposition of the enemy. He will not rest so you may as well not rest either. Keep working, keep punching, keep bobbing, keep fighting, go for one more round.
-The Lord understood that there were conditions that He would refuse to answer to. The temptation to give in was very real but the conditions were not. Jesus cannot become a sinner and worship the devil.
-We ought to incorporate that same attitude in our lives and say to the devil that the conditions of your temptation are not acceptable, “I am going to Heaven.”
2. He had to face His friends.
-In going to Jerusalem, the Lord would also have to face His friends. He would grieve and disappoint them by not leaving Jerusalem before the battle ensued.
-This was even harder than facing his enemies. He looked at their torn hearts, disturbed emotions, and tear-filled eyes. He knew He was facing death and now they understood that also.
-These were men whom the Lord had found, fed, and trained. He had fed them–fed them apparently with nothing to feed them with, fed them until they were satisfied, and with basket fulls left over.
-It was a risk that He very easily could have refused. He could have ran from the need that day. He could have sent them away to the villages and allowed them to feed themselves. But He simply begin to break the bread and it multiplied in His hands. He knew the risk that He was running on that day. . . . . He was running the risk of getting close to the pain-filled humans He had created.
-They tempted the Lord with their devotion. They came and offered themselves to Him. They offered to follow Him at any cost to any place. Wherever You go, we will be with You.
• Don’t go to Jerusalem, we love you too much.
• Don’t go to Jerusalem, we want to keep you with us.
• Don’t go to Jerusalem, we will hide you from the authorities.
• Don’t go to Jerusalem, we do not want you wounded.
• Don’t go to Jerusalem, we do not want you to die.
-Months prior to this point, Peter had caught a glimpse of the course of the cross. His words had been characteristically startling both to the other disciples and perhaps even to the Lord, “Be it far from thee Lord!” You need not go to a cross. You cannot go to a cross. You will not go to a cross. But the Lord answering him, tenderly rebuking him, “Peter, you are a hindrance to me.”
-So the Lord has to face all of His friends and look past their tears and their desire for Him to remain here and let the determination of the chosen path settle in on Him once again.
-A similar event is recorded in Acts. Paul is on his way to Jerusalem and Agabus, a prophet declares that Paul is going to be bound. This created pleading from the people and their tears were just as troubling to Paul.
-Paul’s words, “Why do you break my heart with weeping and tears?” And still they heard the upward call and sensed a determination that stretched them on toward the destination.
3. He went to face disaster.
-The Lord went to Jerusalem to face the opposition of His enemies, He went to face the opposition of His friends. Thirdly, the Lord went to Jerusalem to face disaster.
-He knew that the blueprint of disaster was before Him. He knew that Jerusalem would present Him with a very difficult ordeal.
-Some have expressed that the Lord did not face the cross as did other hardened criminals.
• There was no dissenting voice of objection from Him.
• There was no begging for clemency.
• There was no outrageous epithets to fill the air as He was beaten.
• There was no battle left in Him on that fateful day, the battle had occurred the night before.
-What has been said is true. He did not face the cross as other hardened criminals faced their own penalty. That is because His own soul was so much more sensitive.
-So the Lord moves on into Jerusalem by His own free choice. There is no outward compelling voices to urge Him on. He marches on, voluntarily, determinedly, with a resolute soul.
-He was not a helpless victim. No man could take His life from Him.
John 10:18 – “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. . . . . ”
-He went to Jerusalem and to the cross because He chose to do so.
lV. CONCLUSION – WHERE WILL DETERMINATION TAKE YOU?
-One man has said, “The measure of a man’s success is in his ability to give himself totally away.” There will be no giving oneself totally away until a man finds his life consumed with a higher purpose than what he can see. The large measure of how much we give, depends on what we can see.
Long before Hurricane Charley unleashed its power on Florida, it simmered thousands of miles to the east as an infant swirl of wind and water. Then, it revved up along Hurricane Alley, gaining strength just north of the equator on its march to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. As a hurricane, Charley surprised everyone with its quick turn and change of intensity, aspects of the storm scientists will continue to study. But much less documented than a hurricane’s wrath at landfall is its beginnings, and the long-range, ecological benefits of its passing.
Average Atlantic hurricanes take six to 10 days to spin through the alley and its warm, equatorial waters, which fuel its life. The final fury of Charley, Rogers says, only ``highlights the importance of having a better understanding of the intensity and origin of hurricanes.’’ Like most Atlantic hurricanes, Charley started out as what meteorologists call a Cape Verde storm, named after the islands where favorable weather systems give birth to more than 70 events each year. August and September are ideal spawning months for Cape Verde storms.
Typically, Cape Verde waters are too cold at the beginning and end of hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. In contrast, storms that originate in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico tend to be idle at midseason but active in the early and late periods. Right now, Cape Verde is ground zero for storms. The clash of hot air over the Sahara Desert and cooler air over the Gulf of Guinea provide the energy and spin required for hurricanes to develop, scientists say. Once on their way up Hurricane Alley, storms can be unstoppable as they feed on waters above 80 degrees, upper- level winds that limit disruptive shear and a convergence of air masses called a tropical wave.
While scientists continue to learn about the origins of hurricanes, others are studying the end result: their benefit to ecosystems. One study suggests that storms replenish estuaries and fisheries and can have a positive effect on water quality.
Researchers found a natural laboratory with the Neuse River and Estuary and Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, which took the brunt of hurricanes in 1996 and 1999. These ecosystems were nearly destroyed as the storm surge depleted oxygen in the water and brought in high concentrations of contaminating nitrogen, phosphorus and bacteria, according to a team of scientists at North Carolina State University.
Not only did the systems quickly recover, but also some harmful organisms that took hold before the storms decreased in number. This suggests a helpful flushing effect, the team wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Listen to this, an incredible demonstration of the power of a hurricane: By complicated meteorological calculation, and using some very tricky maths, the average dissipation rate is about 1. 5 billion Watts of electricity; equivalent to half the electrical generating capacity of the world.
-Never be fooled by what you can see. . . . . In the Kingdom of God there are things that are occurring that we cannot see. What is affecting Florida right now with Hurricane Francis and probably will affect us in a few days started two weeks ago with just a small thunderstorm thousands of miles away.
-One determined little thunderstorm is now shaking Florida. Could it be that there is something occurring within these walls right now, in realms that we cannot see, in the spiritual kingdom of God, that is going to have a lasting effect on eternity?
A. The Seeming Defeat
-Jesus did not believe that his immediate defeat would be the final word. He was sure that His coming death would not put a grim, black period to all of His holy hopes. He was not facing this whole ordeal as a defeated man.
-He was not going to Jerusalem as a victim but as a conqueror.
-Somewhere during that three day period his actions opened up to the reason that His determination was so great:
• He found Job, who had trusted despite the destruction of his body.
• He found Abraham, who had continued looking for the city of God.
• He found Moses, who had been unable to enter a Promised Land but would be promoted to a Heavenly Land.
-Although we are separated from that scene by seas, continents, and centuries, the fact that Jesus went to Jerusalem so long ago, must strengthen us to go to our own Jerusalem.
-Jerusalem is not merely a spot on the map, it is not a matter of geography but it is doing the will of God.
-I will go to Jerusalem, because after Jerusalem is a resurrection, an ascension, and a heaven.
Philip Harrelson
barnabas14@juno.com
barnabas14@yahoo.com
