The Call of Christ

The call of Christ, the call to salvation, the call to good, the call to life

this call goes out to all

Acts 17:30 KJV 1900

30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, but we have our responsibilities

the Bible says that we shouldn’t use it as a license for sin, even though we VERY EASILY could get caught up in thinking that way

today, we are going to look at a few of the things that Christ says in regards to this and how we should be thinking about our duties as well

Luke 14:25–35 KJV 1900

25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

26 - what He’s saying is that we must value Christ over EVERY other thing or person in our life

it’s easy for us to read this and think, well I do that, but it never hurts to reflect and meditate on this. Is there anything in my life that has too much of a grip on me?

what would Jesus think of how I lived my life if He were with me every day.

27 - if we don’t sign up for the duty, we cannot be His disciple, taking up our cross comes with the territory

remaining - Christ continues to illustrate that we need to take our Christian duties seriously

-salt - if the salt loses it’s flavor, it becomes useless. Jesus says this as He’s discussing what we should be doing. If we’re not taking up our cross, we are compared to salt that has lost it’s flavor

-not even fit for the dunghill, it’s useless

-our meaningful purpose in life is all because of Christ and what He’s done for us and called us to do

-if we’re not fulfilling our duty as a believer, do we have a meaningful purpose? are we making a difference?

-if we’re not trying to make a difference, how are we changing things? If we’re not trying to change things, then what are we doing with our life?

Luke 13:6–9 KJV 1900

6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

one thing we see in this passage is that the owner of the vineyard has mercy on the fig tree

He had this mercy because of the dresser of the vineyard who interceded

either way, we see what happens when the tree continues to not bear fruit, it gets cut down

Luke 12:35–40 KJV 1900

35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

“Loins be girded about you” - an idiom referring to the practice of tucking the ends of the long cloak (outer garment) into the belt to shorten it in preparation for activities like running, etc.

“have your shirt tucked in, have your lights on” - essentially this is Christ saying be ready at ALL TIMES

v36 - “men who wait for their lord” - similar to medieval lords, they are the masters over some property who have slaves/peasants under them. slaves in this case

so we should be like servants waiting at all times to be ready for our Lord.

the return of our Lord will be a great moment, perhaps the greatest moment of all time, truth be told.

no matter what, we should want to be in the best shape we can be for that moment. Especially since it will happenwhen we don’t expect it

this gives us all the more reason to STAY ready, even though it’s our duty to anyway, this is some extra motivation

v37 - so what happens if we ARE ready for His glorious return?

that servant will be blessed, and there’s no better blessing that we could receive than one from the Lord Himself

what a day that will be when we get to serve our Lord Jesus Christ at His return, what an incredible moment

when we think about it this way, we would never want to not be ready for this, we need to make sure we’re ready at any moment.

v38 - 2nd and 3rd = 9pm to 3am

v39-40 - this is similar to the “thief in the night” passage. about Christ’s coming being like a thief in the night

He comes at a time when we’re not expecting

we are forewarned of this fact, and knowing this, we need to be responsible

Luke 12:49–53 KJV 1900

49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

Christ has come to send a fire, He’s come to send a sword, He’s come to bring division between good and evil

have you ever noticed just in the world that so very often when Christ is brought up, people have a bad reaction? it’s actually pretty amazing how obvious the divide can be sometimes

in John, Christ says about these people that they are of their father the devil

we talked about bearing our cross, and this is along the same vein, we must take up our own cross, and there is no inbetween, there is no compromise

we have to FULLY commit, we have to choose what side of this we’re going to be on wholeheartedly

we have to commit so fully that we value the Lord more than our families and loved ones, not that it means that we don’t care about or love our families, because we do, but no matter what, our top priority is GOD and GOD ALONE

this is the division, if say, our father, did not want us to be Christian, we have to choose Christ

back in the days when Christ spoke this, believers would have likely been persecuted in their own households and families, considering that everyone was jewish

same thing with our possessions, our passions, our jobs, our anything

Luke 18:18–23 KJV 1900

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. 20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. 21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. 22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

He was told two things

to get his priorities right, by valuing Christ over valuing his money

and then he was told to take up his cross, to take on his duties as a believer, a follower of God

he could not do it, really it’s a pretty sad story, we know what Christ says about those who value riches over money. you cannot serve God and mammon (money)

it’s very likely this man met a terrible fate, because he would not pick up his cross, he would not value God over money when the rubber hit the road

there is a saying that you only know someone’s true character in a time of crisis, or a time like the rich young ruler in this situation.

Luke 17:5–10 KJV 1900

5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. 7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

v5 - we see the apostles asking for an increase of their faith, something we should be seeking every day as well

v6 - sycamine - mulberry, but Christ is telling us how powerful faith in Him is. Of course He doesn’t mean this literally, but we already know in our lives how powerful faith in Him is

think about our salvation, think about our relationship with God, think about our answered prayers.

what’s impossible with man is possible with God

v7-8 - which master, say to the servant “come eat with me” instead of saying “get dinner ready and make sure you serve me, then you can eat”

we are enlightened to what Christ is getting at by reading the next verse

v9 - Jesus is saying the master won’t thank the slave for just doing what he’s supposed to do, as that’s expected of him, not some special task that he deserves tons of thanks for

the slave just simply did his job, simply did what he was supposed to do

v10 - You, when you have done what is commanded of you, should say we have just done what was our duty”

this passage is essentially telling us the attitude we should have when serving God

we shouldn’t think we are SOOOO great for doing what Christ commands us, we are simply doing what we are supposed to do

we shouldn’t follow God’s commandments for recognition of man, for any kind of selfish reason, or anything like thiat

it’s should simply be us doing what we are supposed to do.

of course we know that God appreciates what we do, again, this passage is pointing out the outlook we need to have, the attitude which is required from us

as believers, we have a duty, and we must do this duty simply as if it’s normal, just what we’re supposed to be doing

Luke 13:23–30 KJV 1900

23 Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

where are we? what side will we be on?

have we truly taken up our cross? have we truly fully committed our life?

how awful would it be to hear Christ say depart from me?

we have to keep these things in mind, as His ocming could be at any time, like a thief in the night, at an unexpected time

will we be a servant that is ready for Him and ready to serve Him? Will we be a tree that produced fruits?

Where are we? where will we be? that is the eternal question with eternal consequences