Jesus’ Call on Your Life: Luke 6:12-23

Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

As our catechism turns to what we must believe about God the Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour.

I want to hit the pause button, as it were before plunging into who this Jesus is & what he’s done!

And I want to hit that pause button

   because most of us have heard these truths these doctrines about the Son of God all our lives! 

Its so easy to lose the wonder of what meeting & following this living Lord Jesus is really like!

So let’s step into these1st encounters of Jesus disciples as they were called to follow Him!

A. The Context of the Beatitudes:

As the story begins in our text, Jesus has been at work already for about 1 year and four months.  As John the Baptist Jesus forerunner is thrown in prison, Jesus begins his ministry in earnest.  The townsfolk in Nazerth and later Capernaum reject him as His claim to be the Messiah become clearer.  He goes out on a tour through the towns of Galilee, preaching the Kingdom of God, healing the sick.  Jesus has a pretty big following.  Former disciples of John the Baptist, join Jesus in His ministry: Simon & Andrew, James & John.  He even calls them to a life of complete devotion to Him & His Kingdom.  He calls Levi, later called Matthew to leave his tax collecting booth to follow him.  He asks Phillip and Nathaniel to join him

But after almost a year and a half of this early ministry, the opposition is mounting.  At every turn the Pharisees are testing him, pressing him, trying to trip him up, even plotting his death.  The official establishment of the nation of Israel is rejecting the Messiah.  And its at this point that Jesus says:  I’m the bridedgrrom of Israel, and Israel doesn’t recognize God their husband has come!  I have come not to patch up old wineskins, but he has the new wine that needs new wineskins.  The new wine is the grace of Jesus, and  the new wine skins is the new Kingdom he’s establishing!

Do you see what’s happening in this first stage of Jesus ministry, very little written about it.  But already the big question is will you stick with the old wine and old wine skins of a religion that just treats Jesus as a teacher with some opinions?

Or will we recognize as the Messiah, who bursts all our wineskins?  Will we follow and serve Jesus as he brings this new wine of grace and healing to a world that needs it so desperately!

You can grow up in the church, and carefully study and reflect on this Jesus, let him add some good teaching, think about His work, without deciding to actually

   To connect yourself with Messiah and live in His new Kingdom!

And that’s what our passage is all about!  How do we answer Jesus call on our lives?

The oppositions mounting, and now is the moment when Jesus says, if I’m going to set up my kingdom on this earth; help is going to be needed!  The foundations of my church must be set up!

So its at this point that Jesus selects 5 more key disciples: Thomas, James, Thaddeus, Simon and Judas.  But then he does something significant. In a very official manner – designated them apostles!

When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:Luke 6:13

The 12 tribes of Israel were rejecting the Messiah, so the Messiah establishes a new Israel with these 12 new leaders of of God’s people!  That term apostle, literally sent one, official ones sent by God to Gospel of Jesus to us.  But it was a Jewish legal term: Power of Attorney – Christ after he would school them, would invest them with His power to spread this salvation – far corners!

A. The Context of the Beatitudes: Jesus Calling Us into His New Kingdom!

Jesus prayed all night, then in the morning he called these Galileans to their role in His Kingdom! 

Its only after the call that he starts training them!

Saying, this healing, helping demon tormented, and sharing gospel

   This Kingdom is your life’ purpose and direction! Pretty mind boggling for humble fishermen!

So its at this point, that Jesus lays down his most important training manual the S on the Mount! That’s the context for this constitution of the kingdom of God.  And that message begins with the Beatitudes, which describe the character, the graces that every disciple must begin with!

And we may be tempted to jump into all that wonderful and challenging and practical teaching – applying it to our lifestyle, our conversation, our relationships,

  without first answering the call of Jesus to surrender our whole lives to Him, as Lord!

And what a terrible mistake that would be.  That’s the

B. The Pitfall of Half-Hearted Following:

We have all kinds of examples of that in this gospel.

Remember in Luke 9, one disciple offers to choose and follow Jesus anywhere!

Jesus says: foxes have holes, birds have nests, but Son of Man doesn’t have a place to lay his head!

He turns this half-herated disciple off: 

If we think following Jesus a comfortable add on to life we already have, forget it! One word -suffer

Then Jesus says to a 2nd disciple: Follow me: But he doesn’t want to go until his dad dies, inherit.  A 3rd disciple says: Let me go back and say good bye.  

Jesus turns back all these people who want to follow Him on their own terms! 

No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62

He says half-hearted answer to my call won’t work!

Remember the story of the rich young ruler:  Good teacher what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Well it’s a good religious question, most important one you can ask!  But Jesus knows he’s only looking for an “theological answer”; a pronouncement!  So Jesus says, Why do you call me good.  No one’s good but God.  Jesus is saying: eternal life isn’t about “answers” its about God. 

And I’m God. If you would come after me, completely surrender your life, every part, to Me! 

Jesus said, you get that 1st step of whole hearted commitment done first. For this rich man, giving! Then, Jesus says, after you’ve given that commitment, come follow Me, truly be my disciple!

Stunning isn’t it?  these people want to choose Jesus as a religious teacher,

 but Jesus says You don’t chose me for your kingdom,

                        I must choose you as the Son of God, for the Kingdom of God! 

And you must respond with your whole hear to the very Son of God!

And that why we read in Mark’s version of Jesus call:  Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.Mark 3:13 

Some come only to follow Jesus as a teacher, a good example, a revolutionary

   But Jesus comes with absolute authority of the Messiah the Son of God. 

Think of what these 12 apostles were doing.  Matthew left his job at the tax-tables. 

Others left their fishing boats. 

Jesus call, drags them out a life of relative security into a life of absolute insecurity. 

A life of predictable small opportunities to life of infinite possibilities of 

      Follow Me; get behind me as I lead you in My Kingdom! 

All the teaching in the world about Jesus, about His Sermon on the Mount,

   doesn’t matter if you don’t answer this call!

C. Responding Whole-heartedly to Jesus Call

A generation ago there was a wealthy man in the midwest who was an outstanding Christian layman. People used to ask him what he did. He would reply, "I am a witness for Jesus Christ, but I pack pork to pay expenses." Like him, you are a witness for Jesus Christ, but you nurse the sick, teach children, milk cows, drive truck, watch prisoners, make hay, or repair cars to pay the expenses.

Well I know we have a calling in whatever work we do, but our primary calling is to be His witnesses!

We could offer to follow Jesus on our own terms, but only end up with a Xnty without Living Christ!

Deitrich Boenhoeffer put it this way:  the road to faith passes through obedience to the call of Jesus.

Christ must call you first, then we take our first steps of faith, as we answer to his call.

And this is the most practical thing in the world. 

Jesus is calling each one of us, very specifically, calling us to obey His Word!

For some Jesus call maybe to give up some sin, others to offer time in service,

maybe its come to worship, to read your Bible, to believe some biblical truth. 

What is Jesus calling you to?  Are you listening in prayerful reading of Word/Circumstances of life?

There is no faith, if we resist Jesus word!

Responding wholeheartedly to Jesus Call is to say:

       I will surrender my whole life to Jesus, by not holding back this one part from him!

And this is where true freedom and grace is: 

For then Christ is with you to battle with that sin.  Christ is not just a personal crutch,

      but at work, directing and guiding your life into His kingdom.

So its how we answer the specific, concrete calls of Jesus, that determines whether we are his disciples.  And that’s what’s so instructive about the type of people Jesus called!

D.  The Example of     i.  Peter Answering the Call

As in the other listing of the apostles, look at who comes first:  Simon (whom he named Peter) Luke 6:14  Jesus gave Simon the name Peter about 1 year later, after Peter and all the disciples really truly became believer that the renaming and transformation occurred. 

This tells us something about answering the call.

It’s a process that must grow and come to competition.  Ask yourself where are you at in the process.  You’ve answered the call, are you sure of Jesus’ identity, Are you resisting Him in any area of your life?  Are you being equipped to serve now?  Are you sure of the jobs he’s given for you to do?  Are you doing the jobs, duties He’s called you to?

Where are you in the process of discipleship! Its interesting to look at the end of the list.

D.  The Example of      ii.  Judas Failing to live up to the Call

Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.Luke 6:16

Does it surprise you that Jesus after a night in prayer, chose Judas as a disciple & apostle?

Now of course, as Jesus later makes very clear, he knows Judas won’t complete the course,

    that he won’t be saved, that he will betray him!

But why choose him at all?  Look carefully at the end of that verse. 

Judas wasn’t a traitor yet, he became one!

Just like Simon was still Simon, until after he made the surrender to Jesus,

     and under went His training! Simon was becoming that rock, he was becoming Peter!

So too Judas by his response to Jesus call started out a disciple, but ended up, became, a traitor!

And now we are getting so close to understanding how we must hear and obey,

   what we call the Sermon on the Mount! 

How we must be molded into disciples blessed in the character traits described in the Beatitudes!

Jesus designates the 12 apostles, but only later send them out to preach, heal!

The kingdom work, can only be done, as they are schooled by Christ!

But these were people like you and me. 

In fact we’ve had way more education than those Galilean fishermen.

They were not ready for the task that the Son would thrust them into.

This proud, fiery Simon, must be turned into that Peter at the end of the gospel,

  so humbled and ready to tenderly feed Jesus Lambs!

And Jesus molded each one of them, according to their gifts, their personalities to be ready for the kingdom work, their specific calling as apostles.

And the process by which that happens is the discipleship – the training –

Judas never followed through in these most practical lessons,

    he would not yield true faith in Jesus, and in the end wasn’t part of the program!

It was happening to some leaders in Luke’s day as he wrties to the church.

But while that warns us, to whole heartedly hear Jesus Word and answer His call, that shouldn’t alarm us.

God’s word warns us: So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 1 Corinthians 10:12

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,2 Peter 1:10

We can no that we’ll never fall, only as we know we’re making that surrender to Jesus way, turning from wickedness to trust Him as Lord:

Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”2 Timothy 2:19

And that leaves us with the practical question, E. Are You Answering Jesus Call?

Herni Nouwen has very helpfully pointed out 3 practical lessons our text has in this regard.

The text divides nicely into night, morning, afternoon; doesn’t it.

1st   Jesus was alone, praying all night.

2nd Then he very deliberately surround himself in a tight community of 13! 

3rd  And finally, he went out to touch those imprisoned by evil, broken by sickness. 

       And He spoke the gospel of new wine to those with dry crusty religion.

And how much we have to learn in this pattern. 

Often in the church, we do things backwards,

   3.  we start with all the work we want to do, each one busy doing own thing. 

   2.  And then if that’s not working, we look to others, or we put together a program. 

           When the problems come, then we open up with others about how trying, failing

      …until then,  often not working together with others.  Lone Ranger Christians!

    1.  And only then, when everything fails, we go to earnest prayer before Jesus, listening…. 

But the Kingdom of God is not first of all about our actions, or about our church community. 

Its 1st of all about the Living Lord Jesus, meeting us, and we surrendering for Him to work in us!. 

It means we must begin in prayer, first individually, Wed, listening and depending on His power.

-         ever hear Jesus sorting things out as seek Him in prayer?

Then it means that we live our faith out in the community of faith, deeply connected to other Xns.

If that’s how Jesus the perfect Son of God did work of the kingdom. 

How dare we think that we can fulfill our role with out being tightly linked to those around us!.  That’s when we’ll really schooled by Christ; when seeking to worship & serve together!

 Others teach, challenge, encourage us – sharpen our sense of where God’s leading, moving!

Its then that we must go out, be sent ones, witnesses to this wonderful Christ and his Kingdom.

And when we get that order right, we together, can be faithful to our calling.

A little girl, while traveling with her mother, made the acquaintance of an aged man. The child said to her new friend, "I got a grandpa; and he's a good man, and loves Jesus. Do you love Jesus?" That simple question led the aged man, who was a sceptic, to give his heart to Christ. "No one," said he, "ever took that much interest in me before, to ask the simple question that the child put to me; and I am now in my eighty-third year."

This little girl was an effective witness for Christ.

As these Galileans were schooled by Jesus, they became witnesses to the world. 

And we here, no matter or age, or job, are called together to be his witness to our world!

Next Sunday night, as a church we’ll do that in downtown Grand Bend.  Can we follow this order – will you pray hard for the Gospel being shared. 

Some of you hand out flyers and invite people on the street. Others talk to those with follow-up q.  Will we start with prayer this week?  Will we seek to grow as a church in how to do evangelism?

That’s just one example, and as we attempt it – we will be drawn to each other and to our Lord.  But will each one of us be schooled by Christ – that’s when the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, won’t just be a couple good ideas for living life, but will thrust us indivudals, families, and a church into Kingdom of Jesus Christ.