Commitment or Convenience?

Intro:

Luke 9:23 NKJV

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

The title of today’s message is, [Commitment or Convenience?].

A farmer once had a chicken and a pig. The farmer was good to his animals and they wanted to honor him. The pig was the leader and asked the chicken, “you know we have a good farmer, he always feeds us, takes care of us, keeps us warm, protects us from sickness, and coyotes. Is there something we can do to show him our appreciation?”

The chicken liked the idea, but was unsure how he could help. He didn’t give any ideas or encourage the pig.

After giving idea after idea, finally it hit the pig, “I know, we can serve the farmer breakfast!”

The chicken agreed and answered, “I will bring the eggs, you can bring the bacon!”

The chicken liked the idea of honoring the farmer, as long as it was not too inconvenient, it would only cost him a couple of eggs.

The pig came up with the idea, but to follow through, it would cost him his life.

We all know people like the pig and the chicken. Some are committed, while others help or serve only when it does not inconvenience them.

The difference between those who go far and those who constantly seem to struggle comes down to commitment and convenience.

School— those who are committed to study and work hard get good grades. While those who coast and barely study will not get good grades.

Work— those who are committed to their jobs, work hard, and do the best they can are the ones who get promoted and raises. While those who come in late, call in when it is convenient, and do as little as possible do not.

Family— there are those who are committed to their family, parents who build relationships with their kids, children who seek to honor their parents. Then there are those who make appearances and do the bare minimum.

In life we deal with those who are committed and those whose lives center on what is convenient for them. Sadly, we can move from life, work, school, or family and see these also describe followers of Christ.

We live in a era where the line between spiritual commitment and convenience is often blurred. With:

The busyness of life

The uncertainty of Covid

The questions about the future

We have ample opportunity to waver between our commitment, based on what is most convenient for us.

One wise pastor explained to me, the attitude of people toward commitment and convenience will determine if people are contributors or consumers, there are both groups in all churches.

Some contribute in prayer, while others consume the prayers of others

Some contribute with generosity, while others consume the generosity of others

Some invite God’s presence by contributing their praise and worship, others consume the presence of God, without worshipping Him.

Some contribute by fasting and engaging in Spiritual warfare, other never fast, but will consume the spiritual victories.

Our attitude toward commitment and convenience determines if we contribute to God’s work or consume the hard work of others.

The dilemma between these two categories is not new. When Jesus walked this earth, He came to introduce a new way of living. He showed us how we can overcome our sin nature and live in the plan the Father has for our lives.

The sin nature, which we all inherited at birth, is all about convenience, comfort, and consumerism.

Whereas, the nature of the new birth experience is about Jesus coming into our lives to change us. He paid the price, all we have to do is commit past, present, and future to Him!

Today we will look back to the times of Christ, specifically in Luke 9-10. By this point, Jesus was a year away from fulfilling His purpose on earth by dying on the cross.

People started to follow Jesus with great enthusiasm. They saw Him heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the hungry, and teach the masses things pertaining to the Kingdom.

In their minds, they thought, this is the man we’ve wanted to come for years. He will change our society for the better. He will overthrow the oppression of the government.

Therefore, we must get in this movement early on so we can get ahead and better our lives on earth.

Since Jesus knew the nature of people, he realized their eagerness might wane when they realize what God expects. He is NOT interested in a relationship built on convenience.

No, He wants people will realize what it costs to follow Christ, but still choose to commit everything to Him!

This morning, we will look at [The Cost of Commitment] and [The Cost of Convenience].

Let’s begin

1. The Cost of Commitment

Luke 9:21–22 NKJV

21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

By this point Peter and the disciples declared Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed One selected by God to fulfill His plans on earth.

However, Jesus wanted them to see how God planned to fulfill His vision for redeeming humanity. God’s plan was not political in nature. No, He sent Jesus to die a physical death that would provide spiritual life.

Therefore, Jesus explained, I will experience suffering, rejection, and death. But I will raise from the dead on the third day.

Unaware of how this would bring about God’s plan, Matthew 16 tells us Peter rebuked Jesus, telling Him it was not right to think of death.

But Jesus rebuked Peter and showed His personal commitment to the plan of the Father. Some of the disciples might have thought, if Jesus’s commitment to God’s plan involved death, what will my commitment cost me?

Luke 9:23–26 NKJV

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Commitment to God includes denying ourselves. That does not mean to deprive ourselves, but to relinquish our plans for God’s purposes. We have to submit to His agenda. To follow God requires ABSOLUTE obedience to Him.

Furthermore, Jesus wanted them to take up the cross. The cross symbolizes a death to selfishness. It is not longer about what WE want, but what God plans for us!

Follow Me literally means, to move behind someone in the same direction. Following Jesus costs our opinions, desires, and future plans.

Jesus then asks a few questions:

What do you gain if you build your life on earth, only to lose it all when you die?

What do you benefit by gaining the whole world, only to lose your soul?

What good is it if you are ashamed of me, knowing that I will then be ashamed of you in front of my Father?

Jesus wanted them to count up the cost of true commitment. He warned them of the folly of going their own way under the guise of being “committed to God.”

Think of the disciples who heard, eleven of the twelve counted the cost and chose to stay committed to Jesus. However, Judas was in the crowd.

Could it be that at that point, he started to think, commitment to Jesus is too expensive. I can’t afford to lose my plans and eventually my life for Him?

Thankfully the other disciples counted the cost and determined it was worth the physical expense.

From that point forward, Jesus continued to show the benefits of committing ourselves to God:

Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transformed/transfigured on a mountain soon after this conversation.

All of the disciples witnessed Jesus heal a demon-possessed boy.

Jesus wanted them to see, following me might seem to cost you in the present, but if you will stick with me and trust me, I promise, it is worth you being committed to me!

Jesus wants us to count the cost of commitment. But what about...

2. The Cost of Convenience

Luke 9:57–62 NKJV

57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 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.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The crowds continued to grow around Jesus and His followers. The disciples had a new resolve and determination to stay committed to their leader.

They could not fathom the horrors of the crucifixion, the surprise of the resurrection, and the expansion of the Church. All they knew is they trusted Jesus.

Following Jesus seemed like a good thing to do. People saw in Christ the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Many thought, He could be our Messiah.

Let’s follow Him now and we will receive the power and prestige of being a follower of Christ. Three different individuals soon learned the cost of being committed, the biggest is, JESUS IS NOT INTERESTED IN THOSE WHO SERVE HIM IN CONVENIENCE.

The first man appeared to be truly committed. He declared, Jesus, I will follow you WHEREVER you go. Jesus’s answer, I am homeless and you will be as well.

At first this answer sounds cold and unfeeling. But we need to understand the culture of the day. In the times of Christ, when a general wanted to overthrow a government, he would go into battle and many people would go with him.

Those who followed the general would receive great wealth and power. Even a political campaign that was nonviolent would lead people to riches.

Therefore, the man was not interested in following Jesus. He hoped for wealth without true commitment. Once the man saw that his hope for money was gone, he realized being committed to Christ was inconvenient.

Jesus went to the second man and invited him, Come, follow me. Such an invitation was an honor and the man should have immediately answered YES.

Instead, he wanted to go home and bury His father. Jesus answered, let the dead bury their own dead. Again, that sounds a little harsh.

But the reality is, it is not as though the man’s father just died and the funeral was in a day or two. Instead, the father would have been older.

In essence, he answered, it is not convenient for me to go with you. Once my father dies, whenever that is, I will find you all and come follow you.

Jesus’s answer shows, I am offering life, spiritual life. If you choose not to follow me, you will remain spiritually dead. Therefore, I gave you the option:

to proclaim the Kingdom of God as a fully alive citizen of heaven

you chose to join the spiritually dead in their pursuit of convenience.

Finally, the third man declared, I will follow you Lord, but FIRST, let me go tell my family goodbye. Jesus answered, you hand is to the plow and you are looking back, you are not fit for the Kingdom.

Having the hand to the plow was part of a famous story of the Old Testament. When the Prophet Elijah called Elisha to come, Elisha burned his plow, oxen, and everything in his life to follow Elijah.

Jesus knew the heart of the man, he looked backward to his family instead of looking forward with hope to God’s plan for His life.

In each scenario, Jesus was honest and upfront with what He expect. He is not interested in convenient/casual followers, He wants commitment.

The first man gave a convenient sacrifice, Jesus wants unreserved sacrifice

The second man answered with convenient devotion, Jesus wants undivided devotion

The third man offered convenient commitment, Jesus wants unwavering commitment.

Sadly, each individual counted the cost and determined it was inconvenient.

Close:

Commitment of Convenience? Jesus was not coy in what He expect. He did not come offering LITTLE risk with a BIG reward. No, He was very honest, I am asking for a BIG risk, but it comes with a BIG reward.

In Luke 9, He outlines two options, Commitment or Convenience.

The disciples chose commitment and God supernaturally worked through them. He used them in Luke 10 to perform signs, wonders, and miracles.

But He brought it back into focus by explaining:

Luke 10:20 NKJV

20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

We rejoice in our commitment because of our hope in heaven.

However, the three men who said they would follow Jesus but did not because of inconvenience are never heard from again in scripture.

But notice, Jesus does not expect from us what He would not offer. He understood the inconvenience of commitment.

Garden of Gethsemane— He knew the cross was inconvenient, but stayed committed to God’s will.

His arrest in the garden was inconvenient

His trials were an inconvenience

The beatings were inconvenient

Being nailed to a cross with a crown of thorns in His head was inconvenient

Dying on the cross was inconvenient.

But not once did Jesus tell the Father, this is too much, I am too busy, I am too tired, I am too swamped at work, and there is too much to do at the house, I just can’t do that right now.

No, no, no. He remained committed to the plan of God!

And now the door is open for us to live for God. Because HE BROKE THE CYCLE OF CONVENIENCE BY REMAINING COMMITTED!

Listen, Jesus longs for people who will COMMIT EVERYTHING TO HIM!

That is not to say if we struggle with commitment God writes us off for good. Even the disciples struggled at times. No, God understands that.

Instead, there are some whose entires lives are built with one goal in mind, I do not want to do ANYTHING that is a personal inconvenience.

And should we live that way, there will come a day when we will meet Jesus and He will say, depart from me, I never knew you.

But if we stay committed, one day, we will hear, well done my good and faithful servant, enter into the Kingdom which I have prepared for you!

There is no striking a balance of commitment and convenience. It is either/or, not both. Therefore, God calls to us this morning,

Let’s break the cycle of convenience based relationship, for the fact is commitment to God is anything but convenient.

Jesus came to disrupt our schedules, lives, and plans, so that He might introduce us to the plans the Father has for us.

So this morning, let’s decide, I will not maneuver my spiritual walk to ensure I am never inconvenienced.

For there is never a convenient time to:

pray

do a home bible study

fast

worship

draw closer to God

come to church

But if we will count the cost, we will see commitment outweighs convenience every time.

Jesus is commited to us, let’s commit everything to Him!