THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS
Luke 9:51-62
DETERMINED TO DO GOD’S WILL
V:51 And it came to pass,
when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his
face to go to Jerusalem
A. Jesus, in obedience to the
Father, headed to His crucifixion in Jerusalem
1. Our Lord sets the example of obedience
in the face of adversity.
2. Even when it seems not to our
advantage, following God’s commands
is always the best solution.
B. God designs adversity for
us to test and strengthen our faith in Him.
1. Since we are in Christ, we are in His
protection.
2. Instead of saying, “why me” we should
ask God to strengthen us
to do His will.
3. Jesus said to the Father, not my will
but let your will be done.
PREPARE THE WAY FOR JESUS IN
ADVERSITY
V:52. And sent messengers before his face: and they
went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive
him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem
54 And when his disciples
James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to
come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked
them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not
come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another
village.
A. As believers, our job is
to get non believers ready to receive Christ by
proclaiming the good news about Him to
them.
1. Not everyone will believe the word from
you or want to hear you.
2. At times in our lives, we all have
rejected a word about Jesus or
at least part of someone’s teaching.
3. God was tolerant with us; therefore we
ought to accept rejection
and be tolerant with others,
B. The high minded disciples
were ready to destroy those who rejected Jesus.
with fire.
1. They were ready to get revenge because
their master was rejected.
2. It was the pride of their religion that
drove them to the extreme
measure of persecution.
2. You cannot condemn others because they
don’t value what you
value.
C. Notice, Jesus did not tell the disciples to
shake the dust off their feet
As He did when He sent the twelve out to
heal and spread
Word in Luke 9:5.
1. It was the compassion of our Lord to
give the seed that was planted
by the disciples time to germinate in the
hearts of the hearers.
2. Jesus by his rebuke of James and John
makes it plain to us that
the spirit of evil which is Satan, works in
us to find fault in those
who disagree with our beliefs.
3. Second, Jesus makes it plain that our
mission is to save souls
and not to destroy that which He
created.
4. Thirdly, once we have proclaim the Word,
even though rejected,
our job is to walk away and let the Holy
Spirit do it’s work in the
hearts of the hearers.
D. The disciple had knowledge
of Old Testament Scriptures.
1. Like us, they picked and chose
scriptures to justify their attitude.
2. We must be careful not to take scripture
out of its context to
justify our actions or opinions.
3. Scripture should be used to enlighten,
uplift and build up the hearers.
4. We should never use God’s Word to
condemn others.
5. We are not the judge, just the
messengers.
6. In all our efforts, we cannot persuade
anyone to believe in Jesus,
but we can be the light that leads them
to Him.
COUNT THE COST OF FOLLOWING
JESUS
V:57. 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.
58 And Jesus said unto him,
Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not
where to lay his head.
A. It is good to get excited
about the Gospel, but we must be realistic about
what we expect following Jesus to do for
us.
1. Salvation come though our faith in
Jesus, but it does not eliminate
hardships, adversity or pain.
2. God does not tell us anything about the
man who came to Him.
a. He does tell us that following Him
comes with some discomfort.
b. Jesus reminds us that others who
don’t know Him, may do
well while you struggle in comparison.
3. Following Jesus comes with inner peace
and joy in the mist of
trials and tribulations.
B. One must be ready to
endure the cost of following Jesus.
Luke 14:28
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR
DISOBEDIENCE
V:59. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he
said, Lord, suffer me
first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let
the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God
A. This second potential
follower put his own obligations before the mission
of Jesus.
1. If our plans are not designed to glorify
the Father, they are dead in the
world.
2. To follow Christ we must be estranged
from the world.
3. The world will always present us with
opportunities
which we must weigh against following
Christ.
B. God wants first place in
our lives
1. It is only by putting Him first that we
can clearly hear his voice.
3. It is only by putting God first that we
will act according
to His will promptly.
C. Jesus design for our lives
is that we preach the Word in season
And out of season.
1. Jesus said
But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be
given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
2. If Jesus is first, any obligation we have will
be met.
FAMILY IS BLESSED ABUNDANTLY
WHEN GOD IS FIRST
V: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.
62 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. We do have an obligation
to our families.
1. But family has to second to God.
2. Putting God first insures the best for
family.
B. There will be times when
the believer will have to choose serving
God over family events.
1. I can assure you that sometimes the
choice we make to serve God
will cause some short term conflicts.
2. I can also assure you that God is
conscience of our sacrifice and
family will be blessed by our devotion
to Him.
C. We should not hesitate or
second guess our devotion to God.
1. We should give our time to God
willingly.
Every man according as he purposeth in his
heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver.
2 Cor 9:7
2. God created and ordained family and
His will is sufficient for all
the provisions of family.
3. If our decision to serve God cause
conflicts in our minds, we should
check our devotion to God.
Luke 14:26
If any man come to me, and hate not
his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple.
a. The word hate used in this verse
is the Greek word “miseo” which
means to love less
b. Our first love must be God.
c. If we love God first, there is
Godly love for everybody else,
and it will be sufficient.
d. If we do God’s work, He will take
care of the family
If you don’t believe me, ask
Peter. Jesus heal his mother in the
middle of the mission. Matthew 8:14-15
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me
on facebook and visit my blogs;
revmmitichell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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