Rules for the Road

“Rules for the Road”

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Did your family have in rules when you made road trips together, when you were little? My family did!

I have a sister that is 2 years older than me, and one that is 10 years younger than me. Our family car was a Red Volvo station wagon; we lived in Florida and my Grandparents lived in Alabama; an 8 hour drive.

My dad knew what it was going to be like with us in the back seat, so “the rules for the road” came before we pulled out of the driveway:

· Go to the bathroom NOW, we are not stopping for 8 hours!

· Do not touch your sister for 8 hours.

· Do not kick the back of my seat for 8 hours.

· Do not drink anything because we are not stopping for 8 hours.

· Do not talk to each other for 8 hours.

· Do not cross the invisible line in the back seat for the next 8 hours.

When Tess and I had a family of our own, the first church I pastored was in Mississippi, our family was in Florida that is a 12 hour drive. I bought a used conversion van, that thing was awesome.

It was a white and powder blue ford van with all the bells and whistles.

It had a T.V. where the kids could watch movies, or hook up a game system, built in cooler, cup holder, cool lights in the celling, surround sound, and an electric fold out bed in the back. I need to tell you it was 10 years old when we bought it, it was a creeper machine, but the kids loved it. You would think with a van like that you wouldn’t need any “rules for the road”; but you do!!

· Do not touch your brother.

· Do not kick the back of my seat.

· Share the game system, you can’t play madden football for 12 hours Jared, let your brother have a turn.

· You already watched your movie, let her watch her movie.

· No more drinks we are not stopping again!

It was like dejavu…some rules never change from generation to generation.

There are some rules for the road as a follower of Jesus Christ that never change. If you decide to step on the road of discipleship and begin to follow Jesus there are some things you need to know. There are so rules for the road.

We learn from V:51, that Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. This marks a major turning point in the book of Luke. Up until this point Jesus had been preaching and performing miracles in Galilee.

But now Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem. He was on the road to the cross; he would go to Jerusalem where he will be rejected, arrested, crucified, buried, raised from the dead, and ascend to heaven, V:51-“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem”

Jesus was committed to the father’s will; Jesus was committed to giving his life on the cross a ransom for many. Jesus wasn’t wandering through Galilee and Judea haphazardly. Jerusalem was his destination; the cross was where He was headed. Jesus was absolutely determined to go up to Jerusalem and accomplish the work of salvation on the Cross. As Jesus travels on the road he is met by three would-be-followers; three men who express a desire to follow him. Jesus tells them what would be involved in following him; he gives them “the rules for the road of discipleship”.

The key word in this section is the word “Follow” it occurs in V:57,59,61.

All three of these men thought they wanted to follow Jesus, but they didn’t really know what was involved in following Jesus.

They are like a lot of people today who have an idealistic idea of what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.

But when they discover “the rules of the road” on the road of discipleship, they turned back.

Not everybody who said they were going to follow Jesus; actually did.

The three people we’re going to meet this morning said they wanted to follow Jesus; but when they were told what following Jesus would cost their turned aside.

Do you want to be a follow of Jesus? There is nothing more wonderful than walking with Jesus!! There is no journey more fulfilling and exciting than Journeying through life with the Lord Jesus!

To would-be-followers Jesus gives the rules for the road of discipleship.

Rule #1:

1. Expect Hardship.

V:57-58.

You need to know that when you step on the road of discipleship as a follower of Jesus Christ you should expect some hardships. The road of discipleship is not a road of ease and comfort. Following Jesus will often times disrupt the comforts of life! Following Jesus means total commitment to him, His will, and His word becomes the top priority of our life! Following Jesus sets you apart from this world and it involves a cost, it involves sacrifice, and obedience.

Let’s take a look at this first Man:

He said, V:57-“I will follow you wherever you go”.

What do we know about this man? We know from the book of Matthew:

He was a scribe, an expert in the Old Testament law.

He came to Jesus Publicly, “in the Way”

He called Jesus Lord, master, teacher, he expressed a desire to be a disciple, pupil, follower of Jesus, and learn from him.

He was a Self-confident man. He said I will follow you wherever you go…

He thought he had within himself the ability to follow Jesus wherever Jesus went.

He understood that following Jesus meant going wherever Jesus went.

I wonder where he thought Jesus was going. Did he thing following Jesus would be easy street?

Without asking Jesus where he was going, this man quickly, enthusiastically said I will go wherever you go. Jesus I will follow you to the ends of the earth!

Yet for all his confidence, and enthusiasm the man had not counted the cost of discipleship.

He came running down the aisle on Sunday morning and said I want to follow Jesus, I want to join the church, and I want to be baptized.

With no real thought, or consideration of the commitment involved in following Jesus.

This man made a superficial, shallow, speedy decision to follow Jesus. Before we say we are ready and able to follow Jesus, we need to know where he is going, and what hardships we are likely to face along the way. And what demands He places on our life as followers.

Jesus never concealed the difficult aspects of discipleship, but always announced them in advance. Jesus never played bait and switch with anyone who came to him to be a disciple.

Jesus never presented the Christian life as a life of ease, but always a live of sacrifice and hardship.

This man came to Jesus singing:

I have decided to follow Jesus

I have decided to follow Jesus

I have decided to follow Jesus

No turning back

No turning back.

This man had the idea that following Jesus, meant a life of ease, a wealth and prestige.

Jesus knew that this man’s shallow, flippant commitment wasn’t from a truly enlightened heart.

From Jesus answer it is apparent that this man thought following Jesus would lead to a life of popularity, comfort and ease.

So in order to keep this man from making a false decision to follow him; Jesus paints this man a clear picture of what is involved in walking the road of discipleship. Jesus lets him know it is not a stroll in the park; there would be hardships, demands, sacrifice, and obedience required as you follow the Lord Jesus!

The road of discipleship is no different for you and me today; to follow Jesus means we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him.

This man was a too eager a disciple, he did not count the cost; he didn’t understand the road of discipleship would be costly. Jesus in love tells this man if he choices to follow him, he must expect hardship V:58-Read.

Jesus is not trying to keep this man from following Him; Jesus wants this man to follow him; he wants you to follow him. But he wants you to understand what it means to follow him.

To follow Jesus means we will experience the same treatment that Jesus experienced on this earth. The disciple is not above his Lord, nor the servant above his master.

Jesus tells this man if you follow me, you may be homeless, and friendless. Are you sure you want to follow me?

These famous words, V:58-“foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” reminds us of the many things Jesus gave up in becoming a man.

The Son of God, the Lord of heaven came down to bring salvation. Jesus who had lived in the glories of heaven, enjoying the un-interrupted praise of the Angels, surrounded by the love of the father and the spirit. This same Jesus came down to this dark sinful world; where he didn’t have a place to lay his holy head.

This was true in Bethlehem, where there was no room for him in the Inn.

It was true in Samaria, where people refuse to put him up for the night.

After He had cast the demons out of a maniac who had terrorized their region, “all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave.

The people of His hometown of Nazareth “drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff”.

Jesus told this man even the animals, the foxes have their dens, holes in the ground, and the birds have their nest in the trees. The Creator had fewer creature comforts than the animals He had created. But Jesus had nowhere to live and nothing to call his own. When Jesus said this he was not complaining, but simply stating the facts: Jesus gave up everything to come and be our Savior!

Now the Lord Jesus calls us to give up everything to follow him!

Does this mean as some falsely think that followers of Jesus are not to own property, are have a house? No! God blesses us with many material possessions that we can use for his glory.

Jesus often stayed in the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. As well as the home of Peter; but Jesus was not attached to this world, nor the things of this world.

Every good and perfect gift comes down from the father above. What this means is that we are not to allow earthly things, material possessions to get in the way of us following Jesus.

Jesus wants this man and all would-be-followers to know that following him does not mean that you’re going to have houses, wealth, health and a life of comfort and ease. You may enjoy those things as you follow Jesus; but you don’t follow him thinking he owes them to you.

You are to follow Jesus because Jesus is worth it; not because of what Jesus gives you, or does for you!

Jesus has not promised us a life of comfort and ease and luxury, of perfect health; Jesus is calling us to a life of sacrifice and service as we follow him!

Jesus is calling us to follow him, where was Jesus heading? To the cross!

This means laying aside our earthly ambitions, letting go of things that keep us from sacrificing for the cause of Christ. Jesus is calling us to be willing to give up anything, and go anywhere he calls us to go. Following Jesus will disrupt our comforts, require our sacrifice, and demand obedience!

On the road following Jesus sooner or later you will experience hardship, and discomfort. There will be the discomfort of loving difficult people, the discomfort of giving until it hurts, the discomfort of putting yourself out for the ministry of Christ and his church. The discomfort of living a life out of step with the modern culture, and the discomfort of being disliked. The closer you walk with Jesus the more you will sense that this world is not your home. And Child of God… this world is not our home! My citizenship is in heaven.

This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The Angels beckoned me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.

The first rule for the road of discipleship, is to expect hardship. The greatest joy of your life will be following Jesus; but you need to know it will not always be easy following Jesus. But it is worth it; because you’re following Jesus!

And he promised he would never leave us nor forsake us! You may be sitting there thinking, I’m not going to walk the narrow road with Jesus it sounds too hard. Let me tell you that walking the wide road without Jesus is even harder!

-“The way of transgressors is hard.

Rule for the Road #1: Expect Hardship.

Rule #2:

2. Don’t Delay.

V:59-60.

Jesus said to this second man follow me; but the man answered, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. The first man was too quick to promise to follow Jesus; this man was to slow to follow Jesus. This man wanted to follow Jesus, but he wanted to negotiate the terms of his discipleship. I will follow you… But first… Let me bury my father. He wanted to delay following Jesus, until he had buried his father. Jesus answered, let the dead bury the dead: but you go now without delay and preach the kingdom of God.

We hear that we think how harsh, rude and demanding Jesus! Is Jesus telling this man that he couldn’t bury his father? We think when we hear this, that this man’s father was home and he had died, and he wanted to go home and have a funeral for him.

But the cultural background helps us understand that is not the case. If this man’s father was dead right then, he would not be on the road with Jesus. In those days Jewish people buried their dead within 24 hours, and the family members set with the body of the deceased until it was buried. If the father had died already, his son wouldn’t have been talking with Jesus.

He would be sitting at home with his family in mourning. So when this would-be-follower said to Jesus, let me first go and bury my father; what he was saying was; I can’t follow you until after the death of my father. He wanted to delay following Jesus; because his family, father and the inheritance of the father meant more to him than following Jesus. Here we are reminded that Jesus dealt with people according to knowledge. Jesus knew what stood in the way of this man following him was his father, and the inheritance he would receive from him. Jesus said to the young rich ruler; go and sell everything you have and follow me.

Jesus said that to the young rich ruler because he knew that his money stood in the way of him being saved and following Him. For that young man Gold was more important than Jesus!

Jesus has a way of putting his finger on the thing in our life’s that stand between us and him.

Jesus is not telling us to dishonor our father and family. That would be against the teaching of the Bible. The 10 Commandments tell us to honor our father and mother. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders for not taking care of their families. The apostle Paul said a man is worse than it infidel he doesn’t take care of his family.

Jesus spoke so strongly to this would-be-follower because he knew that this man was using his family situation as an excuse for delaying his discipleship.

What hinders us from following Jesus is not always something bad; sometimes it is something good that gets in the way of what Jesus really wants us to do.

Jesus says to him let the spiritually dead, buried the physically dead; there are other people in your family that can bury your father; but you are called to go and preach the kingdom of God without delay! Jesus is saying there are others who can take care of your father; but who will go and preach the gospel? The dead can bury the dead. But the living must preach the gospel while they can.

Maybe the first people who needed to hear the gospel was his own relatives; but in order to do that this man must sense the urgency of following, and sharing Jesus. Nothing is to cause you to postpone following Jesus! Do not use any excuse for not following the call of Jesus.

If you are really on the road with Jesus, life is filled with intense urgency. We have the words of life. Life is short. There is so little time, and we have such good news to proclaim far and wide!

Jesus is calling you to follow him; are you answering him by saying let me first go…

V:59-“Lord…and…let me first…Can’t go together.

He calls Jesus Lord, but puts his own interest ahead of Jesus; it doesn’t work that way!

I’ll follow you but my dad, mom would go crazy! Maybe after their dead I will begin to follow you.

Lord I will follow you… but first:

I need to graduate from high school.

I need to get a job, and start my career.

I need to get married, find the right person.

I want to live with this person before I get married; and then one day we’ll get right with God.

If Jesus Christ is not first, the most important person in your life; you will never follow Him.

We’re not to put anything first in our life but the Lord Jesus! Do not put Jesus off another day!

If this man had waited until his father died, he would have never followed Jesus. That is why the Lord Jesus calls us to start following Him today! Anyone who thinks he has something more important to do before he follows Jesus, has no concept of who Jesus is”

Caring for our families is part of God’s plan for our lives; and caring for a family is one of the ways we follow Jesus. But we must never let a false sense of caring for our family, get in the way of leading our family to follow Jesus. We are to follow Jesus without delay, excuse, procrastination, the time is short, the gospel is precious; and we are called to follow Jesus and share the gospel!

Rule #3 on the road of discipleship:

3. Stay Focused.

V:61-62.

The third man Jesus met on the road to Jerusalem said, V:61-“I will follow you but let me first go say goodbye to them at home”. Maybe he heard Jesus say to the other man, let the dead bury the dead. He didn’t want to wait until his dad died; he just want to go home and say goodbye before he began to follow Jesus. He was willing to follow Jesus much sooner; but again we see the word first… Let me go first and say goodbye to them which are at home.

This seems like a reasonable request; surely it was appropriate for this man to go home and say goodbye to his family.

That’s what Elisha did when he was called to follow Elijah. He asked Elijah if he could go back home and say goodbye to his family and kiss his father and mother goodbye; and Elijah said okay. So Elisha went home, burned his plow, slaughtered his oxen, and held a goodbye barbecue for his family and friends.

Jesus was aware of the Old Testament story; so He answered with the imagery of plowing in a field. V:62-“Jesus said to him, no man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”.

Jesus saw in this would be follower indecision; he was looking at becoming a follower of Jesus, on the road of discipleship. But at the same time he’s looking back to his family, his past life, and his friends and those in his life. He is a distracted disciple; and a distracted disciple cannot do the work of the kingdom of God.

You can’t plow a straight row looking back over your shoulder! The only way to plow a straight row is to keep looking ahead and stay focused on what’s before you!

When I lived in Mississippi, there was a man across the street who still plowed his garden with a mule and a plow. I would go over and watch him; I had never seen anyone plow with a mule.

He would look at a tree at the other end of the field; and keep his eye on that tree and plow straight toward it; that way he kept his rows straight.

An important rule for the road of discipleship; is to keep our eye focused on a tree; Calvary’s Tree, the cross on which Jesus died. We must keep our eyes focused on Jesus and the cross. Too many followers of Jesus are zigzagging all over the place in their Christian life, because they’re looking back to their old life, old lust, old loves and their life is a mess!

You cannot say to Jesus, V;61-“ I will follow you: but… Let me first…

You want to follow Jesus, but you love your sin more than the Savior.

You want to follow Jesus, but you know if you’re going to follow him, you’re going to have to move out from the person you’re living with, that you’re not married to; or you have to get married.

You want to follow Jesus, but if you get married, you would no longer get that government check; and you trust the government more than you trust God.

What is your excuse… You say you want to follow Jesus, but… But your friends, but your girlfriend, but your boyfriend, but your alcohol, but your drugs, but your anger, but your unforgiveness, but your buddies, but your job.

Satan will supply all the excuses, in the world to keep you from following Jesus!

Nothing, no one else deserves to be first in your heart except Jesus! What is keeping you from following Jesus?

What are you looking back at, longing for the sin, and lies that Satan tells you about your past life. Those who keep looking back, are tempted to want to go back.

Jesus if you keep second-guessing your decision and looking back lovingly at your old life, are going back to the places where you use to sin, then you’re never going to get anywhere with Jesus. If you’re going to follow Jesus you must focus forward, eyes on him following Jesus!

Jesus said in -“remember lots wife”

She looked back to Sodom and Gomorrah and was turned into a pillar of salt.

The Children of Israel in the wilderness; kept looking back to Egypt; and spend 40 years wandering in circles.

Demas; turned back, because he kept looking back.

No wonder Paul, said, -“This one thing I do, forgetting the things which lie behind, I press on.

I wonder what happened to these would be followers of Jesus?

Was the first one willing to be homeless to follow Jesus?

Was the second one willing to leave his father, and follow Jesus?

Did the third one go home, or follow Jesus?

Luke does not tell us.

The big question today is what are you going to do? Jesus is calling you to follow him at all cost; will you do it?

It is so worth it to follow Jesus Christ! Would you value Jesus more than the comforts of this world, more than family or friends or your career or hobbies or pleasures? Only Jesus can give you peace, joy, forgiveness, and everlasting life!

Do you know the Lord Jesus? Would you step out and follow Jesus today?

Jesus makes these demands because of who He is; the son of God, the Savior of the world!

Will you give anything, do anything, or go anywhere for Jesus?

Jesus alone demands our all; and Jesus alone deserves it!!