8/21/16-Luke 9:57-62-Discipleship 101

(This Sermon was highly influence by Kyle Idleman’s book Not a Fan as well as Craig Groschel’s book Christian Atheist

What does it mean to follow Jesus when nearly 2,000 years separate us from Him when he walked this earth? God, through Luke, has given us a timeless tract of Christian discipleship taken straight from the life and teaching of the Master himself-the Servant-King who has come to give His life so that all might live.

He has given us life through his death; now we, too, must learn to die so that we can learn to see life as he saw it. It means follow Jesus to the cross, and this is not easy, but remember, through the cross, there is life, eternal and perfect, and we experience a taste of that here and now, when we follow Jesus.

The gospels are more than just simply stories about Jesus. They are discipleship manuals, leaving us examples of how to live like Jesus in our daily lives. A life dedicated to God daily is our gift to Him for the gift of salvation He has given to us in Jesus.

When we look at these two chapters (Luke 9-10), we see that Jesus begins by talking about taking up a cross and following Him and losing your life but finding true life. It ends with one of the most familiar stories we know, the Good Samaritan.

The Good Samaritan is a story about what being a disciple is all about: Loving God and loving people, even those people we didn’t think we could like. This is a radical idea!

Here in Luke 9, let us take a look at 3 would-be disciples to see if their love for God was genuine. I call these guys the Enthusiast, the Play-It-Safer, and the Family Man.

*Case 1-This guy wanted Jesus to be his way to get a leg up in the world. This happens today too, as sometimes people will want to follow Jesus because of what He can do for them, rather than what they can do for Him.

Jesus answers this guy by saying: If you think following me is going to give you a place in the world, you have your eyes on the wrong kingdom. Being my disciple means living as a citizen of heaven while still on earth, and you may even lose your place in the world. You won’t always be comfortable, but if you are willing to be uncomfortable for my sake, I promise you it will be worth it.

This first guy did not leave his life to follow Jesus, but Matthew the tax collector did. Yes, it was not easy for Matthew, but there is a reason why we don’t even know the name of this other guy, yet we are still talking about Matthew after all these years.

To the enthusiast who says, “I will follow wherever” Jesus says, “what about there?”

*Case 2-Play-it-safer. This guy wants to follow Jesus, but first to go and bury his father. Jesus’ answer seems cold, but we must look back in time to see what is going on here, and then we will understand.

There was a chance that even though he said, “bury my father” that his father was not dead yet. So, he wanted to wait to claim his inheritance, when “all was safe” then follow Jesus.

But Jesus wants a commitment from us now, not when things seem to be going perfect in our lives, for who can truly make our lives perfect if not Jesus?

Just like he did with would-be #1, Jesus exposes this guy’s true motives, and just like He told disciple #1 that it would cost him, He told #2 to come out of this world, follow Him, and find life, and “let the dead bury their own dead”

Jesus wanted him (and us) to get our mind on the eternal of His Kingdom rather than the temporary of this world. Seek first the Kingdom of God, make it #1 in your life, for a disciple who does not cast off the cares of this world will be choked by them like the seeds and the thorns that Jesus spoke about elsewhere.

This Play-It-Safer could not follow immediately. He could not decide. This man turned down Jesus’ offer and found death. The apostles Andrew, Peter, James and John, left “immediately” when Jesus first called them, and they found life.

To Case #1, Jesus said discipleship is costly and not easy. To Case #2 He says, “you had better be ready to cut ties to safety”. So to the question of wherever, Jesus says, “why not there?” and to the question of whenever, Jesus says “why not now?”

*That brings us to Case #3 the Family-Man. Now, look at his reason, doesn’t seem so bad right? What’s wrong with running home real quick, giving mom a quick kiss goodbye and grabbing his coat?

Actually, what this guy is saying is “I will go with you Jesus, but I must tidy up a few loose ends first”

Jesus answers by basically saying to him, “if you keep waiting until you think you are ready, you won’t get there”. See, if the man returns home to his family, he may change his mind, because this was not a quick goodbye to home and mother, but many weeks of spending time with family to really say goodbye.

This man wants to follow Jesus, but not with everything he has. He is not willing to go all-in because something else has his attention, and he keeps looking back at it. We sometimes have the idea that we can follow Jesus, but also keep looking back at other priorities, and make them “share the space” with Jesus.

But we cannot serve two masters, and any who have been married know, you never want to share your spouse’s love with anyone else. Jesus’ love may seem selfish, but it isn’t because He knows us and the one thing in our lives that causes us to keep looking back…is the one thing that may one day become the idol we worship. It is not wrong to have these other things in our lives (families, career, money) we just can’t let them become ultimate things.

We must keep our eyes on Jesus and grow in our faith, for radical discipleship takes radical commitment. To the question of wherever, Jesus says, “what about there?” to the question of whenever, Jesus says, “what about now?” and to this guy’s question of whatever, Jesus says “what about that?”

Ask God to take your relationship with Him deeper, so that you believe in God and the gospel enough to give your life to it. Once we do, anything less than that won’t seem like true Christianity. Weigh your options, count the cost, and ask, “Do I want life as it is or as it could be. Count the costs. Do whatever it takes. Step across the line, and Jesus will be there saying to us, “welcome to true Christianity”.

8/11/16-Matt. 25:31-46-F.I.A.=Faith In Action

This parable here is the third of three parables in Matt. 25. The first is the one about ten bridesmaids we looked at last week. The second is one we looked at a few weeks ago, where each servant was given different amounts of money to know how to handle it.

Now we come to this one, and all three of these parables teach us about responsibility. In other words, how did we handle God’s gifts given to us?

If we use these gifts as God intended and use them for His glory and for our neighbor’s good, then God uses us to change things, to become co-laborers with Christ, part of His body.

For we gather as a community of disciples not to escape or hide from the world, but to come to an oasis, drink from the Living Water that is Jesus, nourish our souls through worship, energize our heart through song, sharpen our mind through study, then go out, taking what we have learned, and applying it.

Jesus in this parable taught us practical ways of showing our faith, not only with words but with action. He says, “you fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, nursed the sick, visited the prisoners, welcomed the stranger, and you did this all for Me; and you did it by doing it for “the least of these”.

Visiting prisoners, sitting with the sick, feeding the hungry, assisting strangers are all works of mercy. Works of mercy combine with works of piety, like prayer, Scripture readying, even fasting, are the spiritual disciplines that provide a bridge for God’s grace to invade and pervade the lives of us Christians, and they act like a hammer and chisel that the Holy Spirit uses to chip and sculpt, smooth and polish us like a Divine Sculptor who present us to our Heavenly Father saying “Look, I have made another one that looks just like Jesus.”

Taking care of “the least of these” does that. Now you may be asking, “Wait, does that mean we are saved and let into heaven by our works?” Not at all! Remember, It is by His grace that we are saved through faith, not our works. It is a gift of God, so none of us can brag. Even here Jesus says the Kingdom is prepared for you, stressing that it was God, not we who prepared the Kingdom, and salvation is His gift.

So, Jesus is not saying we get into heaven based on our good deeds, but He is saying that, “before you get to heaven let your light shine on earth” We show we are saved by that amazing grace when we let our light shine.

So who are “the least of these, My brethren”? Well it literally means “suffering Christians around the world”, and then taking a step further to extend mercy to suffering people everywhere. The point of this parable is not the who but rather the what (the importance of serving where service is needed) and the why (why we do it).

Remember last week we said that since Jesus hasn’t come back yet, that therefore there still must be work for us to do? And so a disciples who loves Jesus discerns what needs to be done, and does it.

For being saved by God’s gift of grace does not decrease our responsibility, but rather increases it. Increases it to shine the light of the gospel like a lantern in this dark world, showing the path to his Kingdom.

The Gospel is indeed good news exactly because it changes people, conforming us to Christ, and promises us that not only a new world is possible, but that it has a name, the Kingdom of God, and we are to have the attitude that we are part of it now.

If we in the church are to live out this Kingdom in our lives, this is no less than a revolutionary act. If we are called to be faithful to Christ by promoting justice, lifting up the sanctity of human life and family, speaking out against cruelty, and fighting for the needy and the oppressed, then we in the church must be out in front of these issues.

Often times we as Christians do a good work for people, yet we must also ask that pivotal question, Why? Why is it that drug use has become an epidemic in Johnstown. Why do these ills plague us today and what can we do about them? We need not be afraid brothers and sisters, for greater is He that is in us, than He that is in the world.

Christ won the war at the cross, and that is why we have the victory in Him. Why do we love the least of these? Because it is love that gives us the courage to challenge evil, because love is the practice of the Christian life that marks all our being and doing. Because love is what the gospel makes us; we are being rescued and saved and therefore are invited by our Rescuer and Savior to be fellow rescuers.

Because the three foundation stones of Christianity are creation, sin, and redemption. The least of these, no matter who they are, are still made in God’s image, they too are broken and enslaved by sin, and they too are within the reach of the nail-pierced hands of love that belong to our Lord Jesus Christ.

He calls us to love the least of these. It is we who make up the church who are God’s strategy for eliminating evil in the world through acts of kindness and mercy. The work that started on the cross is being continued here and now, for it is Christ who has laid a firm foundation and then handed the tools over to His church and says, “Carry on what I have started”

We as disciples are called to stand against the injustice and tyranny of sin, to tell others that there is a kingdom of freedom and peace, the Kingdom of God.

They will see that Kingdom in us when we show it in our lives, through acts of mercy done every day, for these acts do not depend on wealth, ability, or intelligence, but on a willing heart that wants to obey God, and that is something we can all do.

For although we are saved by God’s mercy and grace, it is how we act that shows proof of our salvation. In other words, we do not do good works to be saved, we do good works because we are saved.

We do good because we are so thankful to God and therefore delight to serve Him because He loves us. Think of it like a tree: You only see what is above ground, not the roots. The roots are what we believe that no one can see with their eyes because they are private, in our hearts and minds. Yet, healthy fruit is proof of healthy roots. The fruit of our good works, that come from healthy faithful roots, are what people can see.

We are saved by grace through faith but we are saved to do good works, for we Christians are to be salt and light. And in doing so, we make our faith both private and public, for no one lights a lamp and puts in under a bucket.

True faith must be matched by action, for if you show it by your lives, the world will see that you know Him.

8/7/16-Matt. 25:1-13-Keep On Keeping On

This parable of Jesus says that we must be prepared for His return, and He uses a story about a wedding, but the wedding that Jesus mentions here is a bit different, because it is the most important wedding we will ever attend. Why? Jesus Himself is the groom.

Weddings back in Jesus’ day are not like they are today. Today’s weddings go fairly quickly, but back then it was a full night and day of dancing, and then you actually got to the wedding.

If you were a bridesmaid, that was a great honor. So before the feast started, all bridesmaids left the bride’s house, went to meet the groom with torches for light that was lit with oil, and then they would escort him back to the bride, whom they all, in turn escort to the groom’s house, and because this was a great honor you had to be prepared.

5 Bridesmaids were prepared because they had oil, 5 were not because they lacked oil. Well what does it all mean? There are a couple of important points to see here.

Who is the groom? Jesus. The bridesmaids? Well, that is us. What does this all have to do with our lives today? It is about how we live our lives knowing this day is coming, and it is about being ready for it.

Some people out there say that Jesus is never coming back, and they are like the bridesmaid that is a naysayer to the bride and groom. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that bridesmaid anywhere near my wedding, because they are not encouraging.

They don’t have the best interests of the bride (which is the church by the way), and the best interests of the bride should be equal to the interest of the groom (Jesus).

Notice something here, it is not because the bridesmaids slept that they were unprepared. It was because 5 of them had what the other 5 lacked…oil, fuel to keep the fire going.

Staying up all night would not have solved the lack of oil problem, they needed to be ready before that.

What does the oil mean for us today?

It is The Holy Spirit. For unless we have the Holy Spirit’s constant presence in our lives, giving us energy to be diligent for the work of the Kingdom of God, then we aren’t born again, and therefore we are unprepared like the 5 bridesmaids.

That is why the 5 prepared bridesmaids couldn’t share. IT was because of lack of love, rather it was because every person has to be responsible for their acceptance or rejection of God’s grace, and God’s grace is the wedding invite.

Try as we might, we cannot ask for the Holy Spirit from others, and we cannot give the Holy Spirit to others.

If we want the Holy Spirit, we must be born again, and how? We must repent, turn from our sins, and believe the good news, believe the gospel.

THEN we receive the oil, the Holy Spirit, and we are invited to the wedding, but there is one more piece here. Notice the groom was delayed, which was common back then.

People think that because Jesus has taken so long and has not returned yet, that maybe He is not coming at all.

Well, I can tell you this, as a future groom, that any groom who loves His bride as much as Jesus loves His bride (the church), will come and will come at the right time.

So why hasn’t Jesus come yet? Did you ever think that it is because He still has work for us to do?

YES! The fact that Jesus has not come back yet means the church still has a purpose, still has work to do in this world.

God is not done with us here yet, so we must keep on keeping on. We still have a reason to be here! We still have glorious work to do!

The point is to endure. Whether you are working or resting, we must be like the faithful bridesmaids, and the point is to endure.

And we endure by keeping the oil supply up, by asking for more of the Holy Spirit, the Living Water, the Bread of Life!

How? Ask God. Believe the Gospel deeper, spend time with God, spend time in prayer, spend time with other believers.

Keep that oil going so that your torch shines brightly, keep the Holy Spirit so that your life shines brightly, so that rather than being locked out, instead the Groom will say to you, “well done good and faithful servant, come to the wedding feast”

(Much of the flow of this sermon was inspired by “Not a Fan” by Kyle Idleman

We have spent many weeks studying the parables of Jesus to look at how life is to be lived now that we are in God’s Kingdom.

As such, we must ask ourselves, “Are we fans of Jesus or followers of Jesus?” There is a difference. Fans know many facts about their celebrity, athlete, etc, but there is no relationship there. We many know details and characteristics of our spouses or best friends, but knowing these truths alone does not make a relationship.

We actually have to know the person, not simply know about them. There has to be that inner confidence that we know the person.

We have to spend time building trust, being vulnerable, and yes, that is risky, for what if we are rejected by this person?

Friends, God has shown us in Jesus that He never rejects those who come to Him. For God knows each of us intimately, and that is how He wants us to know Him…completely.

Let us go to this story to discover more. Simon at this party wants to know more about Jesus, which is a good thing (not all Pharisees were bad).

Yet, Simon did not do all the acts of hospitality that he could have done, now compare this with the woman who came, (who never would have been invited to this party ever!)

What brought her to the party? Simon had the wealth to invite Jesus. She had nothing, but something about Him drew her there, and she makes bold to see Him. Maybe what Jesus taught or how Jesus looked at her with compassion, showed her, “Maybe God has not given up on me.”

“Maybe God even still loves me!” Why does she do what she did? Because it was God who came into her life, and she accepted it,

just like God came into Simon’s life in the person of Jesus, and Simon did not understand it. It is a great big reversal.

The one who was supposed to be looking for the Chosen One, the religious scholar (Simon), does not understand, and the last person we would expect to understand (this sinful woman), does get it. Jesus gives Simon clues as to who He is,

Notice in verse 39, when Simon said these comments to himself…no one was supposed to hear those words…but Jesus did. (this is the first hint)

Jesus actually read Simon’s thoughts, and this should have shown Simon, “this is no mere man you have in your midst at this party”

Then Jesus tells Simon the parable, and the parable is easy to solve. The one who has been forgiven the bigger amount is more grateful than the one forgiven the small amount.

So, Simon gets it right (good for him!) Then Jesus hits him out of left field with this comparison.

Jesus explains what the woman did to show Jesus love and hospitality is exactly what Simon should have done.

Jesus is saying, “Simon you wanted to know more about me, which was good, but you did not treat Me as I deserve to be treated. This woman on the other hand, may have lived a sinful life, but she did treat Me as I deserve to be treated.’

And how does Jesus deserve to be treated? Look at vs. 48, CHECKMATE! Who is Jesus? GOD. More than a man, more than a prophet, He is God.

Simon wanted to be a fan, but this forgiven woman wants to be a follower. Everyone carries a debt. Simon, this woman, and you and I.

Some of our debt (sins) may be large, others may be small, but we all carry the debt. Jesus showed us by His perfect life just how short we fall in trying to please God by our broken lives, but praise the Lord, that out of the same mouth comes, “Your sins are forgiven”

Jesus says to Simon what He says to all of us here. “Compared to God, we are no better or worse than this sinful woman, and if you realized the depths of our own sin, and my love for you, you would have the same reaction she did…gratitude…and you would have done the same thing she did…put your trust in Me”

That is the difference between a fan like Simon, and a follower like this woman, because the offer is made to both.

Simon figured he did not have to be forgiven much, so there was not that much gratitude. The sinful woman knew the depths of her sin and the forgiveness and love of God, and so showed much gratitude.

Simon kept Jesus at arms length, this woman threw herself at Him to love Him, and to be loved by Him. Jesus came into Simon’s life and Simon did not answer with trust. Jesus came into this woman’s life and she answered with complete trust.

We can be fans of Jesus and not know Him fully or we can be followers and know His living presence daily…How? Love Him, because He first loved us, and build that relationship, because He desires to have that with you.