Barriers to Authentic Discipleship

Introduction

Opening Illustration: Mother’s Day: Today, in our nation, many are celebrating Mother’s Day. And we join in celebrating our mother’s today. For many though

Personal: What are the barriers that keep people from genuinely pursuing Christ? Perhaps more personally, what are the barriers in your own heart that you experience that hinder you from fully running after Christ in any particular area of your life.

Context: The tension in the air of verse 51. In this passage Jesus addresses three different individuals about becoming his disciple, and with all three he exposes the issues of their heart that are hindering them from authentically following Christ. In each of the three encounters we learn something about the barriers that keep us from following Christ. This can speak to us in two ways. For those that are not yet authentic followers of Christ, this will expose the issues of the heart that prevent you from following Christ. For those that are already authentic followers of Christ, these encounters will reveal issues of our own heart that often hinder us from taking new steps in our faith and growing in maturity.

Luke 9:57–62 “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””

Meaning & Application

I THE BARRIER OF FALSE EXPECTATIONS

The first barrier we encounter is the barrier of false expectations. We read of this encounter in verses 57-58.

Luke 9:57–58 “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.””

Credit to the Man: First, this man comes to Christ on his own will. He approaches Jesus as Jesus is going along the road, and seemingly is determined to follow him. Before we consider Christ’s critique, let us give some credit to this man. Many others likely heard the teachings of Jesus, but this man responded to them, and quite boldly. “I will follow you wherever you go.” This is quite a strong statement of a desire to follow Jesus. This is, on the surface, more than many others in our modern day who claim to be a Christian.

We Expect a Warm Embrace: Jesus responds in a way that modern Christians would not expect him to do. Modern Christianity would likely quite quickly affirm that this person is a follower of Christ. After all, they are expressing with their own mouth that they want to follow Jesus. We would likely rush to Baptism at this point, an outward confirmation of the inward faith of this individual. And yet, Jesus doesn’t go there yet. Because, it is not just an outward confession of faith that is the sign of authentic discipleship. Jesus, knowing the condition of this man’s heart exposes the fact that for that man to follow Jesus he would have to abandon the comforts of this world that he was so familiar with. Jesus was a travelling rabbi, and very often slept outside and was in danger. In effect he is looking at this man and saying, “You speak to soon. Are you willing to forsake all of your comforts for the sake of following Christ? Are you willing to endure sleepless nights and difficulties unimagined, for the sake of following Christ?”

The Issue at Stake: The issue at stake, that Jesus is confronting is that this man had deeply false expectations of what it meant to follow Jesus. If those false expectations were not checked up front, and exposed and corrected, then what would happen is that he would get deeper into his journey with Christ, and realize, this isn’t what I signed up for. Especially, when it comes to suffering, and hardship.

Common False Expectations with Christ: Today, there are any number of false expectations that individuals have when they begin their journey with Christ. Many, rush into faith with Christ, into Christian community, into a lifestyle that appears Christian on the outside, but is truly a ticking timebomb, because eventually the false expectations will collide with the reality, and at that moment, they will be filled with incredible doubt. Permit me to give you three false expectations I see very commonly in the Church today.

Job Applicant: A job applicant, just wants the call back from their application. They’re desparate, they’ve prayed. They’re sure God is going to respond this time. God doesn’t answer, and so they begin to doubt that God is as good or as powerful as he said he was.

Marriage: A married couple in distress. The Christian wife is praying fervently for her husband to repent of his sin and trust in Jesus, and to soften towards her. But he only seems to get more resentful towards her. And slowly she begins to doubt that God is as good or as powerful as she initially thought.

A Child: A single woman longs to be married. She’s prayed about it fervently, but nothing seems to be happening, and time seems to be ticking by. Slowly, she begins to doubt that God is as good or as powerful as she initially thought.

You might be saying, “I’m not any of these three people.” But here is a test for you. When things aren’t going your way, or when it seems like God too long in answering your prayer, do you keep running to him? Is he still as good and wonderful and precious in your sight as if he had answered the prayer on the very first day. Do you see, if we want an authentic relationship with God, we must accept Christ on his own terms, not on ours. I have seen too many people walk away from I what I had perceived as a budding faith, for this very reason. God is under no obligation to grant us anything beyond His Word.

Illustration: Adonirum Judson: The great missionary Adonirum Judson, was among the first pioneer missionaries to Burma. The difficulties and hardships he faced as a missionary, for the sake of the Kingdom of God were incredible. In February of 1812, he and his wife Anne, at the age of 21 and 22 boarded a ship out of Salem for Asia, expecting to never see their homeland again. The separation from friends and family was painful. On the sea voyage, Anne suffered a stillbirth, and the child was dropped in the ocean between India and Rangoon. The next thirteen years would be filled with all kinds of hardship, serious illnesses, separations from each other for lengthy periods of time, continual harassment from the natives. Adonirum would be put into a Death Prison where Anne daily risked her own life to care for Adonirum in his suffering. During those their second child, Roger Williams died at eight months old. An excerpt from Anne Judson’s diary records her heart after learning of her baby’s death. She writes,

“Our hearts were bound up with this child. We felt he was our earthly all. Our only source of innocent recreation in this heathen land. But God saw it was necessary to remind us of our error, and to strip us of our only little all. O, may it not be in vain that he has done it. May we so improve it that he will stay his hand and say “It is enough.”

Only a few years later, his young wife Anne would die. Adonirum would give the following counsel to young Burmese believers who were beginning to experience persecution by their own countrymen.

“You are now drinking the bitter cup whose dregs I am somewhat acquainted with. And though, for some time, you have been aware of its approach, I venture to say that it is far bitterer than you expected… But don’t be concerned. I can assure you that months and months of heartrending anguish are before you, whether you will or not. I can only advise you to take the cup with both hands, and sit down quietly to the bitter repast which God has appointed for your sanctification…You will soon learn a secret, that there is sweetness at the bottom. You will find it the sweetest cup that you ever tasted in all your life.”

I fall in line with Pastors I have admired greatly who have said similar words what I’m about to say. It is my great desire of my life, to preach and labor among you in such a way as to produce men like Adonirum Judson, and women like Anne Judson.

Final Plead: Church, we must be very careful not to make God small by believing in our hearts that he is simply catering to our wants and needs.

Christ is worthy of it all, whether he grants us all we ever wanted, or whether he takes it all away.

Christ is worthy of it all, whether we live in a time of peace or a time of war with great suffering.

Christ is worthy of it all whether we are esteemed for our faith in him, or despised for our faith in him.

II THE BARRIER OF WORLDLINESS

We have seen the Ignorant Heart. We now consider the the Barrier of Worldliness.

Luke 9:59–60 “To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.””

Context: This saying of Christ’s can feel quite distressing. To follow christ, does that mean that I am to so abandon my cares of this world that I cannot take a day to bury my parents when they pass? Here is where context helps. There are two different things this could have meant.

Ossuary: In Christ’s day there was a practice, whereby when a person died they would immediately be buried. After one year, the bones would be dug up. They waited a year because it took about that long for the body to decompose and the bones to remain. And so after a year they would take the skeletal remains, place them in an ossuary, and then put them in a tomb of some kind. So, what this man is requesting from Jesus, is potentially a year’s delay to take care of family matters before leaving everything behind and following Christ.

Not Dead Yet: A second way of interpreting is actually a common phrase in the Middle East. One missionary reported having a conversation with a young Arab man in the Middle East who used this exact phrase, “Let me first go and bury my father.” Except his father was still alive. The idea was, my Dad is really old, let me go take care of him until he is dead and buried, and then I’ll follow you.” [Kyung!]

What This Reveals: Both of these reveal a heart still attached to the worldly way of doing things, to worldly processes, to worldly traditions. Is it wrong to care for our parents, no not at all! Some of you in this Church are doing that incredibly faithfully and sacrificially right now. The issue is that this man was using that as an excuse to delay the real work of following Christ. it was a heart issue for this man and he was more deeply attached to the affairs of this world than he was to the affairs of Christ. Jesus is saying, “You, make a decision now. Which one is more important to you? The affairs of this world? Or the affairs of the Kingdom of God?” You must pick one path. The issue Jesus is getting after with this second person is that of a worldly heart, of misplaced priorities.

Some Examples: This is a very common mistake for Christians to make. Very often God calls us to Kingdom work, to follow Him, to change our ways, but we postpone it because there are simply other things we feel we must attend to. I’ll give you a few examples.

Busy Father Postpones Accepting Christ (non-believer): A busy father comes to a Church one day, and hears the message of the Gospel, and tells himself, I need that. When I’m done with this busy season at work, I’m going to go back to that Church. Is his work a bad thing? No. Is he legitimately in a busy season? Yes. But he’s prioritized his work over getting right with God. What he needed to do was get right with God, and allow the work to follow.

Woman Forsaking the Work of Prayer for Netflix: A young woman attends a Small Group and is really convicted in the Spirit that her prayer life is not where ought to be. She is determined in that moment that she is going to begin taking seriously the work of prayer. That night she goes home, sits down on her couch, and just as she thinks “Now would be a good time,” she turns on the TV and remembers there was half an episode of her favorite show left. Before she knows it, she’s wasted the night on meaningless television and forsaken the work of prayer.

Clarifying: Do you see how this works? The barrier here is a heart that is still deeply attached to the things of this world. I want to make sure I’m clear with my words here. Whenever I talk “the things of this world,” I think there are some that might hear me saying that nothing in this life matters. That all of this life is meaningless and that all that matters is heaven. No! Far from it. That which you build here for the Kingdom, will endure in eternity. The dross and the rust will be purified, but how you invest your time and your resources and your efforts here matter. An attachment to worldliness does not mean “all the things of this world.” It means “the things of this world that are not eternally significant.”

Checking for a Spirit of Worldliness: Church, let me give a few quick ways that you can check to see if a spirit of worldliness might be hindering your walk with Christ.

What issues and concerns drive my passions?: Think about the times you get excited, the times you get passionate, the times all of your energy gets put to work. Are those times related to things that will last for eternity, or things that will perish when the Lord returns?

Am I often found reflecting on God's Word?: We speak often about having a daily time reading the Bible. That is so that our mind is shaped by God’s Word, so that God can communicate to us and cut through the lies of this world. But we do not just read it and put it down, we read it and we reflect on it throughout the day. We permit the Word of God to shape our hearts and minds.

Am I often found lost in wonder at the miracle of my own salvation in Christ Jesus?: If you are a Christian, your claim is that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, went underneath the wrath of God on your behalf, and that the greatest news any person can ever receive is that their sins have been forgiven, and undeserved unmerited righteousness has been granted to them by God. In Christ this is yours. Do you treasure this? How often does your own salvation become the point of great reflection and wonder?

Is godliness and god-dependence revealed in me when I suffer?: How we suffer reveals a great deal about what is really in our heart. Does suffering deepen your faith and your convictions? Does suffering draw you to depend on God.

Recap of Section: Hear the words of the Apostle John,

1 John 2:15–17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

O Christian, we need to root out wordliness. It lingers in our life even after accepting Christ, even after making great strides in our faith. If left unchecked, worldliness will slowly numb us and will hinder us from taking new strides with Christ. Wherever we discover some over attachment to the things of this world, we must be quick to repent, and ask the Lord of the Harvest to transform our hearts.

III A BARRIER OF A DIVIDED HEART

The third and final barrier we discover in this passage is that of a divided heart.

Luke 9:61–62 “Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””

Illustration: Roller Coasters: This man is divided because it is uncertain if he really wants to follow Jesus all the way. When I was a little boy, I was terrified of roller coasters. Whenever I would go to the theme park with friends I would get in line for the big rides, and think I can do it this time, but always knowing, so long as the safety bar has not been pulled down yet, I can walk away. There were times I would go so far as to sit in the ride with my friends, and that pop out at the last second and just meet them on the other side. Why? I had a divided heart. I wanted to go on the rides. I wanted to be in the crowd with my friends. But I couldn’t quite bring myself to go all the way through with it.

Many People Do the Same: Many people treat their faith in Christ in the exact same way. They’ve seen and tasted of Christ from a distance and they have found him attractive to their soul. But in their hearts they are fearful to go all in. And so they straddle the line, doing enough Christian related things to be a part of the crowd, but never having their heart truly transformed by God and reorienting their life around Jesus. O remember the words of Christ in Revelation 3:15-16,

Revelation 3:15–16 ““ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

Why is this the Case: Why is this the case? Let me give you two reasons why.

Because Christ Was not Divided: One, because Christ was not divided in his heart when he came for you. You were dead in your trespasses and sin. You were destined for hell. You were a child of wrath. But Christ had an unwavering undivided love for you. He didn’t just die for you, he carried the cross on his shoulders. He embraced his death, becasue he was wholly undivided on you. How fickle our hearts are when we are divided on Christ.

A Divided Heart Will Always Conform to the Path of Least Resistance: Second, a divided heart will always conform to the path of least resistence. The moment trouble arises, it will seek to please others, rather than to please God.

Illustration: The Act of Conformity: In 1662, England outlawed protestant preaching. The year became known in Christianity as the year of Great Ejection. Every pastor was given an ultimatum. Water down your preaching, and preach in accordance with the Church of England (which held to some heretical beliefs) or leave the country. O and how those faithful pastors and faithful flocks banded together in those days, refusing to bend the knee to man’s ideas. I have a book on my shelf, that is very dear to me, of seven different pastors and the seven final sermons they gave to their flocks before being ejected from England. Those sermons are filled with pastoral pleading to live godly lives, to live humble lives, and to never surrender an inch of ground, nor conform an inch outside of their conscience, for the sake and glory of Christ. Thomas Watson’s sermon gives 20 applications for his church to live faithfully one he departs. Number 17 speaks deeply to us.

“Think not the better of sin because it is in fashion. Think not the better of impiety and ungodliness because many walk in those crooked ways. Multitude is a foolish argument that does not argue the goodness of a thing… I beseech you, walk [diametrically opposed] to the corruptions of the times. If you are living fish, swim against the stream; dead fish swim down the stream.”

A divided heart will be unable to live this kind of life. Culture today has dressed up vice as virtue, has called that which God calls an abomination, a sacrament. Culture around us increasingly despises what Christians stand for, and they certainly despise a Christian who really believes it. If you have a divided heart, the pressure to conform will be so great, that you will do it. You will sacrifice your conscience for the sake of appeasing some person, or some organization. This we cannot do. A divided heart will not stand any more than a divided house cannot stand. Stand for Christ unwaveringly and undividedly.

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus: It is like the words to that song that we sing as a Church from time to time. “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. The cross before, the world behind, no turning back, no turning back.”

Conclusion

Permit me to give you a few very practical takeways, to protect you against falling into the trap of allowing a barrier to hinder your growth with God.

Keep God always on your mind: Be regularly reflecting on thoughts of God. Keep memory verses and when you have a moment, store them in your mind. Think of them regularly. In order to combat the constant influx of worldliness, we must push it back with a regular influx of godliness.

Declare every morning your firm resolve to follow Christ: Do not let a morning slip by without falling to your knees, thanking God for the mercy he has given you, and renewing your commitment to follow him, come what may on that day. Plead with him to remove any temptation that would hinder you from such a day.

Put in great strength towards killing sin: Put in great effort towards killing sin wherever it appears in your life. Build a network of accountability, develop muscles in confession, learn the devils techniques in tempting you, and install safeguards to protect against his schemes. Take your godliness seriously.

May God get the glory, and may you walk in the joy that only christ can give.