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”.