The Heart of Prayer (Part 1 of 4): Following in the Shadow of Our Savior

Happy new year! A new decade brings a time for us to do a lot of reflecting. If you are new to Unity Baptist Church, each year we try to create a theme for the year that we use as an umbrella over our teaching to point us in the right direction and keep us focused. Because we know that we are on a journey, and as we make our way in that journey, we know we have a purpose. And that purpose is clearly declared in scripture; for the redeemed, God is working to conform us into the image of Christ. In other words, we're on a journey of transformation. So as we work with the Holy Spirit, we try to do things intentionally by having such things as this theme: "Following in the Shadow of Our Savior".

And you say, "Wait, I thought we were going to start a new series?" Well, we are, and it is called "The Heart of Prayer," but this series is going to be just a little bit different. This is the first of four messages and we're not going to get to the subject of prayer till the very end, then it will all tie together.

I want to take just a moment to promote our theme for the year. This is the first Sunday, the first gathering of corporate worship in a new year and a new decade. You may have taken stock in your journey thus far and done some evaluating to see where you are in your journey of transformation. Or maybe you haven't and maybe this is going to serve more as a prod for you rather than an affirmation.

This is a time of year that we often approach with good intentions, a sort of "fresh start". Some of you may decide that you're going to lose some weight this year by eating less cookies or M&M's. But I would like to give you some encouragement (in the form of a booklet) as you develop your new year resolutions.

For those of you that are close to me, you know, I really appreciate Jonathan Edwards. He has been named as one of the greatest theologians ever produced in America. When he was in his twenties, he had such a love for the Lord and such a desire to live intentionally and righteously for the glory of the Lord that he established some resolutions that he would live by.

We've got copies of those resolutions in little booklets available for purchase. The booklet title is "Jonathan Edwards Resolutions: And Advice to Young Converts. Don't let the title fool you, this is good for any believer. If you want to get your spiritual perspective, and your direction for the year, lined up while getting a little bit of accountability from saints of old, I would recommend this little read for you.

On today's listening guide you will see our verse to contemplate. If you're new to Unity, this particular verse to contemplate is a verse we use for our whole series to let it give us direction in the series. Something that we can contemplate, chew on, or even memorize. And I'd like for us to read this verse out loud from Galatians 4:6 right now and we'll come back to it at the end of our message this morning as well. "God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts crying, Abba father." What a wonderful declaration!

As we talk about the heart of prayer we have to start here. And so, I've entitled this message today "Following in the Shadow of our Savior" because if anybody demonstrated a heart for prayer and a heart of prayer, it was Jesus. And in this particular section of today's text: Luke 9:57-62 we're going to be looking at three individuals that approached Jesus (well, two approached Jesus and Jesus calls out one). I want to go ahead and give you a heads up as we read this, you may be thinking, "What does this got to do with prayer?" In fact, we need to ask this prodding question, "What is the connection between followship and a heart of prayer? Because all this year, should the Lord tarry, we're going to have this constant thread of followship or following in the shadow of our savior as our theme. And when I say "in the shadow of Christ", I mean getting up close to Him and staying close to Him.

That starts with having a heart of prayer. So let's read together and then we're going to make three observations that I believe we can see in our text. And then I want you to reflect on them as we start this new year together.

(06:11)

Luke chapter nine verse 57 as they were going along the road, someone said to him, Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, the foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. And he, Jesus said to another follow me, but he said, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father. But he said to him, allow the dead to bury their own dead. For as for you go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God. Another also said, I will follow you Lord, but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home. But Jesus said to him, no one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.

(07:17)

Pray with me.

(07:19)

Father, we thank you for the gift of your word. John wrote in his gospel that this word is not just what we see as text on the page, but the word was in the beginning, the word was with God and the word is God. And the word literally took on human flesh and dwelt among us so that we may know you, father, that we may see, that we may touch, that we may hear from those who have seen and heard and touched the teaching of our savior Jesus firsthand.

(08:24)

So this morning we come to you from the gospel of Luke and pray Holy Spirit as you inspired Luke, that you will do a similar work and openour eyes and our ears and find our hearts receptive to the truth that Jesus laid out for his first followers. And for those of us today who seek to follow you closely, may our time with you and your word minister to your children and encourage them in this new season we call a new year, this start of a new decade. Only you know what's ahead, but what we know is that we are satisfied in you and we strive to follow after you.

Speaker 1: (09:16)

Father I also pray for our neighbors that may be here this morning or watching this word later, that they may be encouraged to see their greatest need. If they don't know Jesus as their savior, today I pray they would see their sin for what it is; they would see your love by sending your son that they, indeed, may know today they have a savior who is Christ the Lord, and may they repent of that sin and receive him as their Lord and savior. Father, use this day together for your glory and use our time in your word to grow your children. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

(10:03)

[This is] probably one of the hardest sections of the teachings of Christ to process, especially some of the things he says about "let the dead bury the dead". But this morning, as we try to tackle these things, keep in mind that Jesus is teaching. He's not just responding to a certain circumstance. There is no one that has ever walked the face of the earth that has been more intentional in everything that he said and did than Jesus. We can see that because of the intent of his coming, which is revealed in this account of his interactions.

(10:46)

The first thing I want us to observe, #1 "To follow Jesus, is to trust in the father's care and provision."

(10:57)

Verse 57 says, "and they were going along the road and someone said," Now, we ask ourselves, Well, who's this someone?" Well, in Matthew's gospel, he records this same event, but he describes, or rather, he identifies this person that came to Jesus. He was a scribe, he was one of the religious workers in the temple who literally had the task of copying God's word and interpreting God's word because of their familiarity in their work. It was one who was well taken care of because of this high responsibility.

(11:38)

So this person is coming to Jesus and saying, "I will follow you." And Jesus is making a declaration to him, a declaration in verse 58 that communicates this message: To follow Christ, we've got to trust in the father's care and provision. For the scribe, he trusted in his ability and his office to take care of his needs, and they were well taken care of. But Jesus goes on to say in verse 58, "if you follow me, the foxes have holes, the birds have nests but (notice he says "the son of man" again. Jesus is identifying as a human God in the flesh, God man as a man, the son of man) has nowhere to lay his head."

(12:28)

You say, "Now, what is Jesus teaching this guy?" He says, "Listen, if you want to follow me, you've got to trust God to take care of you." And as we start this new year, as we talked about already in many Sunday gatherings and Bible studies before, and even as we declared in the songs this morning, we are a people who, through the way we live and the way we process life, preach a message that says either God is faithful to take care of his kids or he is not. Jesus says, if we're going to follow him, we've got to walk as he walked. We've got to follow him closely and live as he lived, in total dependence upon the father.

(13:16)

Now again, don't misunderstand. I don't think the teaching is telling us we need to sell everything we've got and follow Christ and just trust him every day to provide you meal and shelter and clothing. No, I think there's a principle here that we are to live a life of faith. Faith in who God is!

Speaker 1: (13:39)

You say, "Well, that's the challenge that sometimes I struggle with thinking 'Is God faithful?'" We need to remember that was part of what Jesus came to address. John chapter one verse 18, it says that "no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the father. He has explained him." Now John is writing his gospel after literally following Christ, so he's writing with an account of understanding and knowledge that he's seen with his own eyes. He has literally lived the kind of life of care and trust in the father because he's followed Jesus and Jesus has shown the faithfulness, the faithfulness of God the father, though Jesus as the son of God, the son of man, he had no home to go to. He had no place to lay his head.

(14:38)

The Bible givesthis to us time and time again. God provided for Jesus' toll tax. We never see where Jesus is hungry. As a matter of fact, in this particular chapter, God is feeding the 5,000 with just a few fish and few loaves of bread. Again, demonstrating that God is able to take care of us. What I'm sharing with you, Unity, is that we have a brand new opportunity this year to show the world that, in spite of what's going on (and a lot seems to be going on), God is faithful to take care of us and we trust him. We put our faith and our trust in him because we're not like the "unbelievers" as Jesus described those who worry and show anxiety over their lives. Jesus said in Matthew chapter six verse 31 through 33 "Do not worry then saying, what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear for clothing, for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. But your heavenly father knows that you need all these things" Let that resonate in your mind. Your heavenly father knows, and is all knowing infinite in knowledge and wisdom, creator and sustainer of everything. He knows what you need. He made you. He knows of your frail flesh. He knows what exposure does to you. He knows what hunger will do to you. He knows you need food. He knows you need him.

Speaker 1: (16:26)

So our response in that faith is that we seek first his kingdom. We honor his sovereign reign and his righteousness. We walk according to his word, his law, his way, and then we have the promise. And to my Unity family, you know Matthew six 33 is a life verse that I've shared with you many times. As we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, what does it say He (God) will do? "And all of these things will be added to you." He will care for you. In the context of this section of scripture, he's talking about the birds, they don't worry about what they're going to eat. The lillies of the field don't worry about what they're going to dress in. God takes care of them. The principle is "God will take care of you." The question is, "Does your life demonstrate that God will take care of you?" Are you following so close to Christ that it impacts your life, just as he walked this life of care and faith and trust in the father? That's what your testimony is.

Speaker 1: (17:43)

I like what J. I. Packard said, "To know that nothing happens in God's world apart from God's will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints". Amen.

(17:58)

Here's the second observation as we look at the next man cited in this text, verse 59 and 60. Here it's a little bit different. Verse 59 "and he (Jesus) said to another, "follow me." So clearly we have a person being called to come follow Christ. So #2: To follow Jesus is to give priority to who and who's you are.

(18:32)

It's interesting to see that Jesus said to this man that he was to follow him, but the guy's response was, "Well Lord, first permit me to go and bury my father."

Speaker 1: (18:50)

And what does Jesus say? To summarize, "Let the bear dead buried the dead. You go proclaim the kingdom of God." As we read this, we are looking at one of the more challenging texts of Christ teaching. It sounds like Jesus is being kind of insensitive and harsh here. Jesus called this man to come follow him, to go and proclaim the kingdom of God, and all the man says is, "Well, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said, "Let the dead bury the dead. You go." Now, for those who don't have eyes to see, and a heart to know the love of God, you would think that is a harsh response. Insensitive. Yet, what Jesus is pointing out was that to follow him, we have to give him the priority in our life, especially if you've been called to go and proclaim the kingdom of God. That's the key here in this text.

Speaker 1: (19:54)

I don't believe this text is talking about everyone necessarily. Even though we all are called to be the children of God and even though we are all called to bear witness to the faithfulness of God by our faith in him in our life, there are those that are called out for the work of the ministry. And if God calls you out in a work of a ministry, you are to give priority to that call because you are his servant. You are his possession. You are his tool to make much of his name to the glory of the father.

(20:30)

As I was studying this, I was thinking, "How can I relate this to you". In my own life, I'm a pastor called later on in my life. I mean I was 28 or 29 years of age before I surrendered to the ministry, served two churches in Florida, and then God gave me the opportunity and, I believe, the permission to pursue my education. Which meant I needed to go to Texas to finish my training. And as I was praying in that direction, something happened. My dad passed. And then about that time, the doors started opening for me to go to Texas. Well, I'm the oldest of four. I'm the oldest son and my mom now is a widow. And here a door had opened for me to go to Texas, a thousand+ miles away from being close to my mom and taking care of her. I had a choice to make. I could have said, "Well, mama's a widow. Mama needs me. I'm the oldest. I have a responsibility". And I'll be honest, I had to process through that because I wanted to honor God and I wanted to honor and honor my mom and my family. Much like this guy said, "let me go bury my father first."

(22:05)

As a side note, many scholars don't necessarily think that the father was already dead, but probably dying. And so the son was just wanting to do what was responsible, what was expected in their culture. But Jesus had called him to go.

Speaker 1: (22:24)

Jesus has called me to go and to proclaim the kingdom of God. And I can still vividly remember, I made the choice. And God helped me make that choice because, in my flesh, I was wrestling. I can still remember the day that I pulled out of my mom's driveway saying goodbye, and we hit the road for Texas. What I had to relinquish was my pride of "being the oldest" and "having responsibility."

(22:58)

As I said, I'm one of four. My brother and my sister both lived in the same town. They were already ministering to my mom, as we all were. And my baby sister was not far away.

(23:11)

And what gave me the peace to leave was the fact that God ordained family. God is going to take care of my family just like he's going to take care of me as I trust him and do his will. God is the one that has called us and ordained the family to be a place where we are nurturing and strengthening one another. And God's word is even the one that tells us that as our parents grow older, we as siblings have a responsibility to step up and do our part.

(23:52)

Even Jesus demonstrated this from the cross. What did Jesus, while he was on the cross, say to John the Beloved? He said, take care of my mom. "Behold your mother. Woman, behold your son." Even Jesus is showing God cares for the family and for us.

(24:17)

When we give priority to who we are and whose we are, we trust God not only with ourselves, but also with those that he has made a part of our family. So I could go to Texas and see it as a step in my journey of growing in my faith and my trust as a follower of Christ. We need to understand that there could be times where God will call you out away from that family, and not always because of calling you to serve, but also calling you to stand for his will, his way, his sovereign reign. Because there's some in your family that may not agree with your devotion to follow your savior, your King.

(25:17)

Another hard saying of Jesus is found in Matthew chapter 10 verse 34 through 36. Jesus says, "do not think that I come to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword for I came to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and man's enemies will be the members of his household." Some of you have tasted that sting when you've had to stand for what's right in God's sight, though a family member has not. You have to give priority to who you are and whose you are, and God is working through all that. For some of you, I've given counsel that when you do that, God can use the pain of that sting. The Holy spirit can use it to open the eyes of your family members for seeing that your level of devotion to your King shows that it's real. It's not just some made up infatuation or manmade religion. It's real. You now are a citizen of the kingdom of God. You now have a new allegiance to a King that goes beyond the family bond.

(26:32)

Which takes us to number three for 61 and 62 he says, "another one said, I will follow you Lord, but first let me go say goodbye to those at home." Reasonable request, but again, Jesus comes back and says, "no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Number three: following Christ must be done closely to avoid this life's distractions.

(27:09)

I believe our journey is a life of tests. We're either going to believe and be faithful or we're going to be distracted and stray as believers. I think one of the greatest schemes in the enemy's arsenal to trip you up are the distractions of life. You say, "Pastor, how is this referencing distractions? Again, the text is showing that connection to family; he just wanted to say goodbye. What's wrong with just saying goodbye? Well, it brings to light another text we find in the old Testament.

(28:06)

First Kings chapter 1919 through 21. We have Elijah the prophet coming to the end of his ministry and he chooses his successor Elisha. First Kings chapter 19 beginning with verse 19 so he (Elijah) departed from there and found a lie. Shah, the son of [inaudible] fat, while he was plowing with 12 pairs of oxen before him, which again communicated, he was a wealthy person to have 12 pair of oxen and he was with the 12th and Alijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. It was an act of saying, I want you to follow me. And then Elijah, he left the oxen and he ran, or Lasha left the oxen and he ran after Elijah and said, please let me kiss my father and my mother and then I will follow you. And he said, Elijah said to Elisha, go back again for what have I done to you? So he returned from following him, took the pair of ox and sacrificed them, bowled them, boiled their flesh. And with the implements of the auction, oxen, he gave it to the people and they ate. And then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him."

(29:33)

So in this old Testament text, we have a foreshadow of what Jesus was telling this person. Jesus' followers must stick close to him, otherwise the distractions of family life, the distractions of work, the distractions of play, the distractions of our own flesh and desires can lead us to move away from what God has called us all to do as his redeemed;to be like his son. The only way we're going to accomplish that is by staying close to him. Because when we stay close to him, things begin to transform in our life, especially with our mind.

Speaker 1: (30:25)

We need to be like the apostle Paul. As he spent time following Jesus, his perspective begins to change. Has God provided for him faithfully? He has. He grew in his faith and his dependence upon God to the point that he wrote in one of his later letters before his martyrdom. He said in Philippians chapter three verse 13 and 14 "brethren, do not regard, I do not regard myself as having lay hold of it yet, but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

(31:10)

What was the goal? The upward call of God in Christ Jesus. So we go back to the question. What is the connection between followship and the heart of prayer that Jesus is teaching here? To get to the answer I believe we need to follow the wisdom of another great scholar of the scripture, Martin Lloyd Jones who said, "the Christian sits loosely to this world and its affairs. Why? Because he belongs to another kingdom." To maintain this perspective, we've got to follow close to Christ and have the heart of prayer. So here's the point, to follow Christ closely, one must have a heart for the father.

Speaker 1: (32:11)

#4: he is the heart of prayer.

(32:17)

When Jesus' disciples, his first followers, asked him, "teach us how to pray." Jesus says, "when you pray, pray like this." How did it start, Church? Our father. Why? If we are going to follow Christ closely, we're going to have to follow him in the way he depended upon the father. And Jesus could depend on the Father because he knew the Father, just like the scripture said. "He was the God who was from the very bosom of God" That was a phrase of intimacy. "No one has known God. No one has seen God, but the God of the son who was in the bosom of the father, he's come to explain him." So we follow Christ closely so that, through what God has done by redeeming us, we make prayer a priority in our life. Because as we pray to the father, we're fixing our mind and our heart to the reality that He is. And we need that daily reminder.

Speaker 1: (33:40)

That's why we need the discipline of prayer daily. In the next three Sundays we're going to continue looking at the heart of prayer, but it starts with the father. You've got to know the father. You've got to know who you can run to in that time of doubt and need. You're going to need to know who's the authority in your life, who you can trust to take care of you. You're going to need to know who you belong to, because who you belong to affects your identity. You're a citizen of the kingdom of God! We sing songs like "Our God Reigns." That's a declaration, an affirmation of your faith in the truth, that God is the sovereign living God. And because of that, there's nothing that happens in your world around you that isn't a part of God's world. God, who is working all things to his glory and working to reveal himself to you.

Speaker 1: (34:52)

This is the wonderful truth in this verse that we are to contemplate on in this series, "Because you are sons, because you are sons and daughter because you are heirs of God. God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts so that we can cry Abba Father." As we start this new year, let's remember the love of God demonstrated through the final act of faithfulness of the son by dying for our sin so that we could not only have forgiveness of sin, but that we could be adopted to the family of God Christ. That we would have the right, as John said in his first gospel, to be called the sons of God. And if you're the son and the child of God, if you're an heir of God, the degree in which you know your father is the degree to which you are going to trust him. And if that's wavering, then it should challenge you. It should prod you. It should push you to get to know him better this year. To resolve to be in his word daily. Not to know intellectually, but to know him in your heart, to know the heart of prayer.