Have you made a commitment to Christ?
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57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “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 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
HAVE YOU MADE A COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SIGNED A CONTRACT? ANY KIND OF CONTRACT – A MORTGAGE - A CAR LOAN - A NEW JOB - A MARRIAGE LICENSE - A SCHOOL ADMISSIONS AGREEMENT. NOW CONSIDER THIS - HOW MANY PAGES WAS THE CONTRACT? MORE IMPORTANTLY, DID YOU MAKE SURE YOU READ EVERY PAGE BEFORE YOU SIGNED IT? WHEN YOU SIGN A CONTRACT....YOU MAKE A COMMITMENT TO UPHOLD YOUR END OF THE DEAL.
EVERY RELATIONSHIP HAS A CONTRACT OF SORTS. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE - A HUSBAND AND WIFE - EVEN FRIEND TO FRIEND. WHILE SOME OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS HAVE AGREEMENTS IN THE FORM OF A WRITTEN CONTRACT OR SPOKEN VOWS, AS THE RELATIONSHIP CONTINUES, WE DISCOVER THAT MANY OF THE “TERMS” GO UNWRITTEN AND UNSPOKEN, RELYING –
• LESS ON WORDS AND MORE ON THE WORTH OF THE RELATIONSHIP
• LESS ON TERMS AND MORE ON TRUST
THE ISRAELITES HAD SEEN GOD DISPLAY HIS WORTH AND TRUSTWORTHINESS, NOT ONLY THROUGH THEIR DELIVERANCE FROM SLAVERY, BUT ALSO THROUGH GOD’S PROVIDING FOR THEIR NEEDS ON THEIR JOURNEY TO SINAI.
IT WAS AT SINAI, WITH THOSE EXPERIENCES OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS FRESH IN THEIR MEMORIES, THEY ARE FACED WITH A QUESTION -- WILL THEY MAKE A COMMITMENT TO GOD?
GOD SAID TO THEM
12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.
• GOD GAVE THE PEOPLE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
• THE PEOPLE ALL ANSWERED AS ONE AND SIGNED THE CONTRACT WITH GOD
• WOULD YOU AND I HAVE DONE THE SAME?
IT WAS JOSHUA WHO FACED HIS NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS IN
JOSHUA 24:15
- “AND IF IT SEEM EVIL UNTO YOU TO SERVE THE LORD, CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YE WILL SERVE; WHETHER THE GODS WHICH YOUR FATHERS SERVED THAT WERE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FLOOD, OR THE GODS OF THE AMORITES, IN WHOSE LAND YE DWELL: BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.”
• HE SAID YOU CAN CUT UP AND CLOWN IF YOU WANT – BUT FOR ME AND MY HOUSE
• YOU CAN PLAY WITH GOD ALL YOU WANT – BUT FOR ME AND MY HOUSE
• WHAT HE WAS SAYING IS, MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION – BUT FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL MAKE A COMMITMENT TO GOD!
NO MATTER WHERE WE ARE IN OUR FAITH JOURNEY, WE ALL ARE FACED WITH THAT REALITY EVERY DAY –
INDEED, EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY. WHEN WE WOKE UP THIS MORNING -
• HOW MANY OF US KNEW EVERY DETAIL THE DAY WOULD HOLD?
• HOW MANY OF US HAVE EVER WONDERED WHY SOMETHING HAPPENED OR WHAT NEXT STEP WE SHOULD TAKE?
• LIKE ISRAEL, WE AREN’T ALWAYS GIVEN A REASON, BUT WE ARE GIVEN A RELATIONSHIP – A RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR GOD WHO IS FOR US AND WITH US
• WE MIGHT NOT KNOW THE WAY, BUT WE CAN KNOW.... THE WAY
• LIKE ISRAEL, WE, TOO, ARE FACED WITH A QUESTION -- WILL WE TRUST MORE IN WHAT WE KNOW OR WHO WE KNOW?
HAVE YOU MADE A COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?
WE SIGN OUR NAME TO THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS IN OUR LIFETIME TO SECURE ANYTHING FROM HOMES TO CELL PHONE AGREEMENTS AND DO IT WITHOUT EVEN READING THE CONTRACTS MOST OF THE TIME.
AS CHRISTIANS, WE ARE ALREADY MEMBERS OF A BODY.....BY HIS GRACE THROUGH FAITH.
JESUS IS OUR HEAD AND WE FIT TOGETHER TO NURTURE AND CARE FOR EACH OTHER.
THIS ALL CAME BY THE GOSPEL’S EFFECT ON OUR LIVES.
WE ARE TRULY MEMBERS WHO CANNOT LOSE OUR MEMBERSHIP BECAUSE THE DUES WERE PAID BY ANOTHER WAY BACK ON CALVARY.
THIS IS WHY WE SHOULD USE THE WORD “PARTNERSHIP” WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A PART OF THE LOCAL CHURCH AND TO FORMALIZE THE REALITY THAT ALREADY EXISTS.
WE KNOW MOST TRADITIONAL CHURCHES REFER TO THIS AS ‘MEMBERSHIP” WHICH IS FINE
TRUTH BE TOLD....I THINK “MEMBERSHIP” IS AN ANTIQUATED TERM FOR US TODAY
I BELIEVE WE SHOULD BE COMING TO THE CHURCH AS A ‘PARTNERSHIP’
I BELIEVE THAT WORD ‘MEMBERSHIP’ IS ALREADY TAKEN BIBLICALLY THROUGH SALVATION
• EVEN JESUS SAID WE ARE CO-LABORERS WITH HIM –
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
WE ARE LABORERS TOGETHER WITH GOD….
UNDERSTANDING THIS
..... WE DON’T COME TOGETHER IN ‘MEMBERSHIP’ BUT WE COME TOGETHER IN ‘PARTNERSHIP’ EACH BRINGING OUR SPIRITUAL GIFTING TO THE BODY OF CHRIST
JESUS DIDN’T DIE TO CREATE A SERVICE WHERE PEOPLE WENT BASED ON CONVENIENCE, BUT TO CREATE A CHURCH WHERE PEOPLE WERE COMMITTED TO EACH OTHER AND PARTNERED WITH EACH OTHER IN A COVENANT.
FBC....
THE LOCAL CHURCH IS GOD’S INSTRUMENT TO CHANGE THE WORLD AND TO NOT PARTNER TO ONE IS TO BE SITTING ON THE BENCH
• HAVE YOU MADE A COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?
IT WAS 34 YEARS AGO I ENLISTED IN THE UNITED STATES ARMY AND I MUST TELL YOU THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE I WENT IN.... A FEW DAYS AGO, I SAW A POST ON FB ABOUT ALL OF THE BENEFITS AND GREAT INCENTIVES TO JOIN — THE STANDARDS TO GET INTO THE US ARMY HAVE BECOME MINIMAL.....YOU DON’T NEED A HS DIPLOMA OR EVEN A GED TO ENLIST NOW....AND THE ASVAB TEST SCORE IS MINIMAL.... AND IN EXCHANGE......YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR...
• A SIGNING BONUS
• EDUCATION ASSISTANCE
• REPAYMENT OF COLLEGE LOANS
• GUARANTEED SALARY
• PAID VACATIONS
• RETIREMENT BENEFITS
• FREE MEDICAL AND DENTAL
• GUARANTEED HOME LOANS
BUT WITH ALL THESE GREAT BENEFITS..... THERE IS SOMETHING THAT IS NEVER MENTIONED.
IT IS ALMOST LIKE THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
• THERE MUST BE THE WILLINGNESS FOR THE PERSON WHO MAKES THE COMMITMENT..... TO RISK THEIR LIFE AND EVEN DIE FOR THEIR COUNTRY
• IT IS SIMILAR TO CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP
• IF WE ARE TO TRULY ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WE NEED TO COUNT THE COST AND MAKE A TOTAL DEDICATION, NOT A HALFHEARTED COMMITMENT
IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING , JESUS HAD THREE CONVERSATIONS WITH THOSE WHO WANTED TO FOLLOW HIM.
• TO THE FIRST PERSON HE SAID -- “COUNT THE COST”
• TO THE SECOND, THE MESSAGE WAS -- “LEAVE IT BEHIND”
• TO THE THIRD HE SAID -- “DON’T LOOK BACK”
IT SEEMS THE FIRST PERSON HAD A DESIRE TO FOLLOW JESUS. I THINK DEEP DOWN, HE WANTED TO BE PART OF THE ADVENTURE OF SEEING THE KINGDOM OF GOD UNFOLD IN PEOPLE’S LIVES, TO ENJOY THE SPECIAL POSITION OF BEING SEEN AS A DISCIPLE.
• IT IS AS THOUGH HE HAD SEEN THE THAT FB POST I MENTIONED AND SAID, I’LL SIGN UP
• DID YOU EVER GET CAUGHT UP IN THE EXCITEMENT OF THE MOMENT AND FOUND YOURSELF SIGNING UP FOR SOMETHING?
HUMAN BEINGS CONTINUALLY MAKE DECISIONS, LARGE AND SMALL - AFTERWARDS, THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES. HAVE YOU EVER -
• BOUGHT A CAR AND LATER THOUGHT YOU HAD BOUGHT THE WRONG CAR
• TAKEN A JOB AND THEN THOUGHT IT WAS THE WRONG JOB
• ORDERED A MEAL AT A RESTAURANT AND THEN REGRETTED YOUR CHOICE?
• SOMETIMES OUR DECISIONS DON’T LEAD TO DESIRABLE OUTCOMES AND WE WISH WE HAD MADE DIFFERENT CHOICES
• WHEN THIS HAPPENS, WE ARE EXPERIENCING WHAT IS TERMED AS BUYER’S REMORSE
FBC
GOD HAS DESIGNED THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT….THE BAPTISM OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT, TO BRING ALL OF THESE BASIC HUMAN NEEDS TO YOUR LIFE!
IF HOWEVER, AS CRAZY AS IT SEEMS, A LOT OF PEOPLE CONTINUE TO TRY TO BUY RIGHTNESS - PEACE - JOY - FROM THE ENEMY.
GOD HAS PROMISED YOU ALL OF THESE THINGS BY SIMPLY RECEIVING THE FREE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
• IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD
• THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WOULD RATHER CONTINUE TO PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE OF SIN JUST TO HAVE TEMPORARY PEACE AND JOY
• THEY WOULD DO ANYTHING BUT RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE BOOK OF ACTS SAYS THEY CAN HAVE!
• SIN BRINGS BUYERS REMORSE
• THE EFFECTS ARE NEVER PERMANENT, AND ONLY SATISFY FOR A SHORT TIME
SO, JESUS SAYS IN THIS FIRST CONVERSATION - FOXES HAVE HOLES AND THE BIRDS OF THE AIR HAVE NESTS, BUT THE SON OF MAN HAS NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD.
• IT WAS AS IF JESUS STRIPPED AWAY THE EXCITEMENT OF MINISTRY RIGHT BEFORE HIS EYES AND SHOWED THERE WAS A COST TO FOLLOWING THE LORD
• TO LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND
• JESUS ALSO SAID, “WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE SHALL FIND IT”
AS WE CONTINUE TO READ FURTHER IN OUR TEXT, WE SEE IN VS. 59 WHERE JESUS SAID TO ANOTHER - FOLLOW ME.
BUT THE MAN REPLIED, LORD FIRST LET ME GO AND BURY MY FATHER.
JESUS SAID TO HIM, “LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR OWN DEAD, BUT AS FOR YOU, GO AND PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”
• IN THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE, SOME WOULD SAY THAT JESUS’ RESPONSE WAS HARSH
• HOWEVER, IF THE MAN’S FATHER HAD JUST DIED, THE SON WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE
• HE WOULD HAVE BEEN AT HOME BECAUSE IT WAS JEWISH TRADITION TO BURY A PERSON ON THE SAME DAY THEY DIED
• THEY DID NOT DO AS WE DO TODAY AND WAIT UNTIL SATURDAY OR WAIT A WEEK UNTIL ALL THE FAMILY CAN ARRIVE
• THEY BURIED THE SAME DAY OF DEATH
WHAT I BELIEVE PROBABLY HAPPENED WAS THIS.
IT WAS THE CUSTOM ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF A PARENT, THE SON WOULD GO INTO THE TOMB, GATHER UP THE BONES, AND PUT THEM IN A SPECIAL REPOSITORY.
• THAT WAS DONE TO MAKE EXTRA SPACE IN THE TOMB
• I BELIEVE IN THIS INSTANCE, THE SON REQUESTED UP TO A YEAR’S DELAY BEFORE HE WAS TO FOLLOW CHRIST
• HERE, JESUS DOES NOT ACCEPT SECOND PLACE, BUT DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ALLEGIANCE
WHEN JESUS SAID FOLLOW ME, WE ARE CALLED TO TAKE UP OUR CROSS AND FOLLOW HIM, NOT TO GO BACK TO OUR OLD WAY OF LIFE.
WE ARE TO SET OURSELVES FREE FROM ANY WORLDLY ENTANGLEMENT AND LOYALTIES THAT MIGHT COME BETWEEN US AND OUR LORD.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NEXT VERSE IN OUR TEXT ANOTHER SAID TO JESUS - “I WILL FOLLOW YOU, LORD; BUT LET ME FIRST SAY FAREWELL TO THOSE AT MY HOME.”
ON THE SURFACE, THE THIRD MAN’S REQUEST SEEMED REASONABLE, BUT HIS FAREWELL WAS PROBABLY A LONG SERIES OF GOOD BYE PARTIES GIVEN BY HIS FRIENDS.
NOT JUST A SIMPLE HANDSHAKE, HUG OR A KISS GOODBYE.
CHRIST DOES NOT CALL US TO DISHONOR OUR PARENTS OR DODGE OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR FAMILY.
BUT IF WE ARE PRESSED INTO A CHOICE BETWEEN THE TWO, OUR LORD MUST COME FIRST. JESUS SAID TO HIM, “NO ONE WHO PUTS A HAND TO THE PLOW AND LOOKS BACK IS FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”
• IN THIS SITUATION, THE ONE WHO PLOUGHS THE FIELD MUST LOOK STRAIGHT AHEAD AND DEVOTE THEIR FULL ATTENTION
• IN CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP, ONCE WE MAKE A DECISION FOR THE LORD, WE ARE NOT TO LOOK BACK AT OUR OLD WAY OF LIFE, BUT TO MOVE FORWARD
•
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
LIKE THE APOSTLE PAUL WE MUST “FORGET WHAT LIES BEHIND AND PUSH FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD.”
THERE IS A NATURAL, HUMAN TENDENCY FOR US TO LOOK BACK.
• LIFE MAGAZINE -- HAS THE “YEAR IN PICTURES”
• SPORTS ILLUSTRATED -- HAS THE ”YEAR IN SPORTS”
• WE HAVE –
O HISTORY BOOKS
O YEARBOOKS
O PHOTO ALBUMS
O HOME MOVIES AND MEMORIES THAT ALLOW US TO LOOK BACK
• AND THERE CAN BE GREAT VALUE IN LOOKING BACK
• WE LOOK BACK TO LEARN
• WE LOOK BACK TO AFFIRM THE PLACES AND FACES AND CIRCUMSTANCES FROM WHENCE WE HAVE COME
SO THERE IS, INDEED, A TIME FOR US TO LOOK BACK, IF THAT LOOKING BACK CARRIES WITH IT A POSITIVE PURPOSE.
AT THE SAME TIME PAUL TELLS US TO “FORGET WHAT LIES BEHIND.”
• BUT PAUL IS SAYING DON’T LOOK BACK IN A WAY THAT WILL KEEP US FROM GOING FORWARD
• DON’T LOOK BACK IN A WAY THAT MAKES US PRISONERS OF OUR PAST
• BECAUSE LOOKING BACK IN THE WRONG WAY ENSLAVES US OR ENSLAVES OTHERS TO PAST MISTAKES AND SINS
• LOOKING BACK IN THE WRONG WAY DOES NOT ALLOW THE HEALING OF OLD HURTS AND PAINFUL MEMORIES
THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR THE CHURCH. WE CAN NEVER “BE SATISFIED WITH WHAT WE ALREADY ACHIEVED AND STOP STRIVING FOR FURTHER SUCCESS ,” OUR PAST ACHIEVEMENTS.
• WE NEVER REACH A POINT WHERE WE SHOULD BE LOOKING BACK
• OUR FAITH IS AN EXPECTANT FAITH, ONE THAT ALWAYS POINTS US TO THE FUTURE
• AS CHRISTIANS WE SHOULD NEVER LONG FOR THE “GOOD OLD DAYS,” BUT FOR THE NEW AND EXCITING DAYS YET TO COME
• A CHURCH THAT LOOKS BACK INSTEAD OF AHEAD IS A CHURCH THAT ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE! TRUTH BE TOLD….A CHURCH THAT FOCUSES ON HOW IT USED TO BE….IS A DECEASED CHURCH
• AS INDIVIDUALS, AS A CHURCH, GOD ISN’T MOST CONCERNED WITH WHERE WE’VE BEEN, WITH WHAT WE USED TO DO
• HIS CONCERN IS WITH WHAT WE’RE DOING RIGHT NOW AND WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO TOMORROW
• HAVE YOU MADE A COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?
JESUS HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THREE INDIVIDUALS, AND WE CAN EXTEND THOSE WORDS TO US.
• TO THE FIRST, AND ALSO TO US, HE SAID, “COUNT THE COST”
• TO THE SECOND, AND TO US, HE SAID, “LEAVE IT BEHIND”
• TO THE THIRD, AND TO US, HE SAID, “DON’T LOOK BACK”
• FOLLOWING CHRIST HAS A COST; IT IS A TOTAL DEDICATION, NOT A HALFHEARTED COMMITMENT
• WE NEED TO ACCEPT THE CROSS ALONG WITH THE CROWN AND ALLOW NOTHING TO DISTRACT US FROM FOLLOWING HIM
• HAVE YOU MADE A COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?
THERE’S A STORY OF AN OLYMPIC MARATHON RUNNER NAMED JOHN AKHWARI WHO REPRESENTED THE COUNTRY OF TANZANI IN AFRICA.....
....AS HE WAS TRYING TO ESTABLISH HIS POSITION IN THE GROUP OF OLYMPIC RUNNERS….AKHWARI FELL TO THE GROUND GASHING HIS KNEE CAUSING HIS KNEE TO DISLOCATE. MOST OBSERVERS, SEEING HIS INJURIES, ASSUMED HE WOULD DROP OUT OF THE RACE AND GO TO HOSPITAL. INSTEAD, HE RECEIVED MEDICAL ATTENTION AND RETURNED TO CONTINUE HIS RACE.
HE LIMPED THE REMAINDER OF THE RACE...
MORE THAN AN HOUR HAD GONE BY SINCE THE WINNER OF THE RACE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE
--ALL THE RUNNERS EXCEPT ONE HAD COMPLETED THE RACE - JOHN AKHWARI OF TANZANIA
--LONG AFTER THE PREVIOUS RUNNER, JOHN AKHWARI WAS THE LAST MARATHONER TO ENTER THE STADIUM
--HIS LEG WAS BANDAGED AND BLOODY
--WHEN HE ENTERED THE STADIUM FOR THE FINAL LAP, ONLY A SMALL CROWD WAS LEFT, BUT THEY STOOD AND APPLAUDED
--WHEN HE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE, A REPORTER ASKED, “WHY DIDN’T YOU QUIT? WHY DIDN’T YOU GIVE UP?”
--AKHWARI SAID - MY COUNTRY DID NOT SEND ME 5,000 MILES TO START THIS RACE
--MY COUNTRY SENT ME 5,000 MILES TO FINISH....
--AND SO IT IS WITH OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH
--WE ARE TO FINISH THE RACE THAT HAS BEEN SET BEFORE US
--WE MUST MAKE AND ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE OF FOLLOWING THE LORD
--HAVE YOU MADE A COMMITMENT TO CHRIST?