Discipleship

Going to follow you with all my heart and all my soul and where you live me I will follow you tomorrow to relate to this following Jesus with all of my heart and soul is something I would like to do, but at the moment it is not my top priority is familiar to many of this because it sort of describes we have great intentions. We set out to accomplish great things for the kingdom to other things get in the way that I am Renewing Your Mind. We continue Dr. Darcy's groceries to the gospel of Luke, who concentrate today on what it means to truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Continuing our study of the Gospel according to St. Luke's morning text is Luke nine verses 49 to 62.

No John answered and said master.

We saw someone casting out demons in your name and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us but Jesus said to him, do not forbid him for he who is not against us is on our side okay in the past when the time had come for him to be received up, that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for him they did not receive him, because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem when his disciples James and John saw this lady said, Lord, you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did. But he turned and rebuked them, and said you do not know what manner of spirit you are off for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them and they went to another village when it is happened that they journeyed on the road that someone said him, Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.

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 and he said to another, follow me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father and Jesus said, let the dead bury their own dead.

But you go and preach the kingdom of God in another also said, Lord, I will follow you. But let me first go bid them farewell, who were at my house. But Jesus said to him, no one having put his fans of the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God you just heard the word of God in its unvarnished truth.

Please receive it as such (father some of the words that we've just heard from the lips of Jesus are hard for us to digest in their fullness and so we ask that you would temper our heart sends help our minds and understanding these things, for we ask it in Jesus name, amen. Luke tells us that immediately following the debate as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God that John replied as the word changing the subject, said master. We saw someone calling out demons in your name and we forbade them because he does not follow us know what's going on here. Some say that John is just offering this comment as a diversion to reflect the words of Jesus of rebuked that he had just given to them other side of that know it's an earnest concern that John had seen somebody actually casting out demons using the name of Jesus, but he wasn't one of the 12, and presumably not one of the 72 in the broader company of Jesus disciples and he was met at this and wanted Jesus to rebuke the fellow and stop them from carrying out this ministry that he was doing in the name of Jesus.

What does Jesus see in John he sees a spirit that is contrary to authentic discipleship to Christ. He sees a narrow exclusiveness. A parochial attitude. The setup is not part of our group in its purest form that he has nothing whatsoever to do with us. Does that sound familiar, do we not commit this same offense again and again. While he may claim to be a Christian buddies not really reform so we can't trust him or he's not an Episcopalian or a loser like we are so we can't trust him. I don't know of anybody who's a greater fan of Martin Luther than I am. But one of the low points of the Reformation took place in the decade of the 20 uses the 16th century when the attempt was made to create a unified front between the reformers of Switzerland and the followers of Luther in Germany and sought Marburger's important historic colloquy was held with representatives of both sides, including Ulrich Zwingli from Switzerland trying to hammer out a position of unity so that I can stand together for the Reformation, but they couldn't agree on some of the points of understanding of the Lord's supper in the manner in which Christ was present both sides believed that he was present, but the motive that presents was a matter of dispute from the Luther of course insisted on the physical corporeal presence of Christ in the sacrament and like Nikita Khrushchev years ago at the United Nations, 20 slanders shoe on the table.

Luther pounded the tables like Polk past 4+ my this is my body. The only way we can take these words of Jesus are in the fullest corporeal sense. Zwingli and the others were stable when I'm in a Jesus that I'm the bind I am the door. The word is used in a way that it represents something without this assistance by literalism I couldn't get together that was sad enough. The saddest thing was for Luther turned a Zwingli and said you are on God's difference. Questioned his Christianity altogether.

Shame on you Martin Luther.

You are just like John don't agree with us at every point, then you're really not of Christ, and we should learn not only from that tragedy at Marburg, but also from this encounter here in the Scriptures, but the spirit gets worse for the narrative continues that Jesus set his face steadfastly toward Jerusalem, but had to pass through Samaria on the way and so he said some of his disciples to the village of the Samaritans, to prepare for him, but they did not receive them. Where did they receive Jesus there thrown out of Galilee.

They wouldn't accept them in Judea. The Samaritans rejected him. The Gadarenes expelled him everywhere he went. He was treated as being unwelcome when James and John saw this rejection of the Samaritans, they said, Lord, you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did. Member Lord were in the contest at Mont Carmel between the profits of bail and Elijah. Elijah called Ahmed fire and consume the altar the priests of bail like that now Jesus they Samaritans that happened been nice to us. They Samaritans you have insulted us. Let's give them a taste of the wrath of God that day so richly deserve. Wanted God to pour down fire from heaven on somebody that you knew who offended you this this not our nature, even as Christians to flee from God's wrath for ourselves but for sure our neighbor and for the direct path of it. Well, Jesus turned and again rebuke them, and he said you don't know what manner of spirit you are, here's our Lord.

Almost anticipating the words of Martin Luther urine on your spirits. What's wrong with this spirit, don't you know that the Son of Man didn't come to destroy people but to say I am not come to be Jesus Christ, the destroyer, but Jesus Christ this year and James and John the message I want you to preach is to point people to me as their Savior. This time enough for wrath to come.

But before that our we come to seek and to save those who are lost. Now it happens they journeyed on the road, someone came up to Jesus and said, Lord, I will follow you wherever you go dear at this from Lord, Lord, my sovereign one, the one who has absolute authority over me. Whenever you saying for me to do, I'll do it wherever you tell me to go I'll go. I'll never forget the first year of my Christian experience right after my conversion I was welcomed into a small group of college men who met regularly on one night during the week for prayer and Bible reading and we used to sing hymns and we sang hymns, I've never heard of before in my life comes from Fanny Crosby him loose from the roaring Methodists of the past that I have never experienced in my eye Presbyterian background and one of my favorites was where he leads me I will follow where he leads me I will follow and I remember as a young Christian saying those words over again and how my soul would be thrilled. But I would always have this question in the back of my mind. Do I really mean this will I follow him wherever that pass takes me. I wanted so much to be sincere. I wanted so much to say Lord you know me, that were ever you send me I'll go.

I hope because I really didn't know where he would leave me in where he would call me to follow in this man had that kind of enthusiasm he said Lord, I'll follow you wherever you go. Jesus didn't say to him.

Oh yes really. Are you sure don't be impetuous now. Instead, he spoke to him in figure he said Fox's have hope the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his said go out and look in the field you can see the box. The box enrage the vineyards during the day and what he wants scratched what he seeks refuge.

They return for that hole.

They crawls on that whole day hides in that hole and he sleeps in that place until he's refreshed and strengthened once more to go out on the pray for. Look at the birds of the air, how marvelous it is to watch them coasters that were on the currency of the year without any labor.

Another chimes flying into the breeze flapping their way and working so hard to make progress against the wind.

The and when they get tired just fly back to their nests when they land in them that summarily receive rest and refreshment until tomorrow and they take flight again. The Son of Man doesn't happen fast. He doesn't have it done. It is not a house.

He has nowhere to lay his if you want to follow may don't come on plush reservations at the next. Are you sure you want a life like that what Jesus is saying to this man is that there's not a lot of glamour in following after me. Then he said to another person, follow me and that person said, Lord, of course, I follow you. I can't wait to follow you to my life's ambition to follow you. But wait a minute. First let me go and bury my father. I can't start a ministry with you today. I have to postpone it.

But ever so briefly because of a family emergency in the family emergencies. My father.and I have to go bury him before I can follow you know in Jewish categories. If there ever was a legitimate excuse for avoiding service. It was to make certain that one of your loved ones, your father receive a proper burial among the rabbis, the need to give up burial for your father which burial took place very shortly after death was reason to be excused from religious services and and the other service requirement. This was seen as one of the highest priorities that a Jewish person could have is to make sure that their loved one received a proper burial, and surely Jesus did not despise that tradition for geniuses to call somebody not to go home and bury their father would require a calling so high so old so important that it would make the burial of your own father pale into insignificance and so he said, let the dead bury their own dead. Did you come there something more important and that is to preach the kingdom of God. Another also said, Lord, I'll follow you.

The first, let me go home and bid farewell to those who were at my house. I'm going to follow you with all my heart and all my soul and where you lead me I will follow you tomorrow but not now relate to this someday I will devote myself unequivocally to following Jesus. But first I have other matters to attend to. I have other things to take care following Jesus with all of my heart and soul is something I would like to do, but at the moment it is not my top priority. Let me just say it like it is. If you don't want to follow Jesus as a top priority in your life. He doesn't want you as a disciple elsewhere. Our Lord said seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else will be added to you. Jonathan Edwards said this, the seeking after the kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life. It's not a secondary endeavor is not a concluding on the scientific postscript to your devotion and I have to say it over foaming majority of people who claim to be Christian follow him with no more than half of their hearts is a religious thing and I had on, but it is not that which defines their lives to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to have the following of Jesus Christ. That which defines who you are as a person and then he said finally, no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Now he draws an illustration from the agrarian culture of the day and what he's saying is what could be more absurd than a man going out to plow his field and that's he starts to plow the roads that he will soon plant in the middle of this process of steering the plow forward.

He looks back over his shoulder to see how straight the furloughs are. You can't plow fields like that you're trying to plow straight while your eyes are straight behind you. Can you imagine where that plow is going to go. So Jesus says once you start you don't turn your eyes back remember this passage and told us where the eyes of Jesus were where his face was.

His face was set like a flint steadfastly pointing to Jerusalem he didn't say let's go to Jerusalem. No, wait a minute, let's go back to the Mount of Transfiguration.

Once he realized his vocation was to go to Jerusalem, he set out to go to Jerusalem, and there was no turning back. This raises a theological question of the perseverance of the saints. Is it possible for a person to begin in grace and lose their salvation. I don't think so. There were those who joined the disciples group of Jesus, who then turned away and John said those who went out from us, were never really with us. No want to sign up urine for the duration you don't get a diploma from the school of Jesus until you're in heaven.

Once you set your hand to the plow. If you look back like lots wife looked at Sodom libel turn into a pillar of salt, but those who have been born of the Spirit of God, whose lives have been changed and are now walking with Jesus Christ. They may stumble. They may lose resolve from time to time, but their face set in one direction to finish the course of following him to be a disciple of Jesus Christ means to follow him with great resolve. No regrets, no turning back. Glad you joined us today for Renewing Your Mind, Dr. RC Sproul sermon series from the gospel of Luke is our focus each Sunday here in the program and through nine chapters so far we have seen the amazing life and ministry of Jesus through the pen of Luke will return to the series every week in the coming months so I hope you make plans to be with us.

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