STAYING ON TRACK

Luke 9:57-62

When I was in High school, I thought every test that my teachers gave were given to get me to fail. For the most part – that just wasn’t true. Now, I do believe that a few teachers through the years gave tests to do that, but the vast majority of them were actually rooting for the scholastic underdog named Mark Sage.

The Lord’s testings, or even temptations that coming our way that the Lord allows – it is God’s will that we would pass them as well – that we get through them without falling into sin or without becoming completely discouraged.

The Christian life is not a life that was meant to be simple and without complications – it is a life that is full of wonderful things and it is full of trials as well.

Why does God allow testings and trials in our life anyway? Why does permit the temptation? What is its purpose. Even in our passage that we have read, why are these things in these men’s lives that would pull them away from following God. If God knew that they would allow them to be pulled it away – well then why did He allow it in the first place?

Disappointments are all his appointments—so put him between you and your circumstances.

God will take care of what you go through; you take care of how you go through it.

— Complete Book of Zingers, The

I don’t want to talk about the kinds of trials there are or their classifications – instead, I want to talk about the things that can get us off track this morning. We all have trials, but it is usually not the trial that gets off track.

Here are some things from the passage we have read this evening.

I. Not being aware of the consequences of your decisions

Luke 9:57 KJV

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

I believe we could call this man impulsive. Christ came into his village, the man heard a sermon and said, I’ll follow thee withersoever though goest

I don’t think the message the Lord spoke was one of leaving all and following him as far as in that moment – as a matter of fact, he usually told those who healed and who cast out demons to go home and tell them of your hometown, what wonderful things God had done.

This man, though, was like, I’m following you Lord, but he did not have a grasp of what that decision would mean. For all the disciples save one were martyred the best we can tell from church history.

Luke 14:26-33

The teaching of this is for us to realize that our service to God and our decision to commit to serve a very serious endeavor. Lets make it well and forethought and not flippantly

When we make flippant, uninformed decisions we fail, if we make a life changing decision on the fly, we will get off track.

Being a believer today requires wise and holy decision making skills – unfortunately, most of our decision are made without much consideration at all let alone considering what God would have us to do.

II. Not keeping your priorities straight

Luke 9:59 KJV

And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

This verse has been greatly misunderstood. Jesus was not forbidding this fellow to attend the funeral of his father. Rather, he was saying that he would have to take care of his father until he died. After his father was gone, he would be free to follow Jesus.

When it comes to discipleship, human affection takes second place to His will. When a conflict arises between human affections and Christ, He claims the first place. However, His will and human affection may not always conflict.

Priorities are developed with a God on down approach. What does God desire, what does my need want, what others need, what do I need.

When asked why he had been so successful, Tom Landry responded to a crowd of more than two thousand students at Baylor University:

"In 1958, I did something everyone who has been successful must do, I determined my priorities for my life—God, family, and then football."

—Dallas Morning News

III. Having no sense of urgency

Luke 9:61 (KJV)

61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

One day Hudson Taylor was traveling on a Chinese junk from Shanghai to Ningpo. He had been witnessing to a man named Peter who rejected the gospel but was under deep conviction. In the course of events, Peter fell overboard, but no one made any effort to save him. Taylor sprang to the mast, let down the sail, and jumped overboard in hopes of finding his friend. But no one on board joined Taylor in his frantic search. Taylor saw a fishing boat nearby and yelled to them to help, but they wouldn't do it without money. Finally, after bartering for every penny that Taylor had, the fishermen stopped their fishing and began to look for Peter. In less than a minute of dragging their net, they found him, but it was too late. They were too busy fishing to care about saving a drowning man.

We can easily condemn the selfish indifference of those fishermen, but by indicting them, we may condemn ourselves. Are we too busy with our jobs and other activities to take the time to rescue those who are perishing without Christ?

IV. The solution for staying on track

Luke 9:62 KJV

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

A. Don’t look back

o Not your past success nor your past failures.

o Do not look back at sinful circumstances with fondness or the good old days.

o Don’t look back to when life was easier in many ways.

o God said you are not fit for the kingdom of God if you are always looking back and wishing for the old days before you gave your life to him or before you committed your life to service.

Men, how many of you would like if your wives looked on the internet and found some old boyfriend, and wondered what life would be like with him.

How would you like it if she was constantly dreaming about him – you would be crushed by that, it would be a betrayal – yet we do not think how our desire of going back to the world and reliving those days hurts our Lord.

B. Don’t be distracted

• What are some of the things that distract us.

• Our Goals.

• The world’s allurements

• Our pride

• Our hurt feelings

• Our ailments, physical or emotional

• Opportunities

C. Don’t become bitter

o Bitterness, not matter the wrong, not matter the hurt, not matter the pain, will put you out of the will of God.

o If I’m bitter in my home, towards friends or loved ones, toward co-workers, because of health or financial problems, because of a loss or because of an attack on me, if I remain bitter it will be ruin, it will put me out of the will of God – it will cause me to become fruitless for my God.

D. Keep your eyes on the prize

Philippians 3:13–14 KJV

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

This world is lost and we need to keep bringing them gospel, but to do that for a long we must stay on track, we must