Not a fan!
Sermon Six: Is Jesus Enough??
Luke 9:23 (ESV)
Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would
come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Let’s
recap what we have talked about over the last 5 weeks:
Week one: Fan or Follower? Have
you had the DTR talk with Jesus, have you defined your relationship? Are you ready to follow?
Week Two: Anyone, means
everyone! Jesus calls us all, there are no exclusions, no fine print! No matter
what your past he will use you!
Week Three: Intimacy, God
desires it, will accept nothing less than a truly intimate relationship with
you.
Week Four: Comfortable Cross,
do you understand what the cross represents and are you willing to carry yours?
Week Five: Rules or
Relationships? The relationship comes first and then the rules will follow! We
will never make followers on rules without grace.
So
this morning is our last sermon in the series Not A Fan, and I want to ask you
three simple questions, that will help you come to terms with what it means to
follow Jesus. It will kind of bring it all home.
1. Will you go
Wherever Jesus asks?
2.
Will you do it whenever Jesus asks?
3. Will you do
whatever Jesus asks?
Three
simple questions with huge implications, don’t be to quick to answer until you
here what Jesus might ask you to do.
Will you go Wherever Jesus asks?
What about there??
Luke 9:57–58 (ESV)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.”
·
It’s
much easier to speak about following Jesus when you are making a general
statement without any specific commitments.
·
But
the most obvious and basic definition of following Jesus will mean making some
significant life changes.
·
Following
Jesus literally means that you go where Jesus goes
Do you surrender all or some?
Most
of us surrender some, few of us surrender all!
·
Do
you surrender your pride or are you motivated more out of a desire to impress
people than to glorify God.
·
Do
you surrender your plans are you following God will or yours
·
Do
you surrender your selfish desires? How about those lustful thoughts.
·
Are
you surrendering your entertainment choices; do watch what you want to watch
and listen to what you want to listen to.
·
Do
you surrender your money; or is God getting the leftovers.
·
And
are you surrendering your time to God.
What about in your own home?
There
is the tendency to carry a cross and follow Jesus, but before we walk in the
door of our own home, we leave the cross on the front porch.
·
Instead
of submitting, you stand up for your rights.
·
Instead
of serving, you sit around.
·
Instead
of being patient, you are demanding.
·
Instead
of being encouraging, you are constantly critical.
·
Instead
of being a spiritual leader, you are passive and apathetic in your own home.
·
So
what about there?
Wherever? What about at work?
Most
mornings, you’ll find many fans getting out of their cars and saying to Jesus,
“You wait here. I’ll be back to get you around 5.”
When
they clock in to work they clock out of following:
·
You
justify greed by calling it ambition.
·
You
rationalize dishonesty by calling it shrewd business.
·
You
stay quiet about your faith at work and call it being tolerant.
·
What
about in the neighborhood? What about when you’re back home with old friends?
Or what about this, what if God points to a place like China, or Thailand, or
the Philippines or what about if he just said move:
What
about Kansas? My story
The what if? We need to put fear behind us!
Psychologists tell us that the number-one
way people deal with fear is avoidance. We just stay away from the people and
places that cause us anxiety
And
the “what if’s” creep in:
·
What
if he wants me to share my faith and he points to my neighbor’s house?
·
What
if he wants me to serve and he points to a homeless shelter?
·
What if he wants me to adopt and points
overseas?
·
What
if he wants me to reconcile and he points to my childhood home?.
If you say to Jesus, “I will follow you
wherever,” you can be sure that where he points will be out of your comfort
zone. “Out of your Comfort Zone” could be defined this way: “The places where
saying yes to God means saying no to me…
Luke 5:27–28 (ESV)27 After this
he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And
he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving
everything, he rose and followed him.
If you are following Jesus “wherever,” he
will take you towards a sinner that others wouldn’t want to be seen with. You
will find yourself among the sick that others tried to avoid. If you follow
Jesus, expect to find yourself being criticized by some of the religious people
in your life. If you follow Jesus you may find that your family thinks you’re
crazy … his did. You may find yourself being unfairly accused and unjustly treated
by those in political office. Ultimately if you follow Jesus “wherever,” you
won’t just end up covered in his dust, you will end up covered in his blood.
Will you do it whenever Jesus asks?
Luke 9:59–60 (NLT) 59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”
The man agreed, but he said, “Lord,
first
let me return home and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead!* Your duty is
to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”
·
Let
me explain, his Dad was not dead! This was an excuse to put off following
o
Was
he ashamed what his family would think
o
Maybe
there was a big inheritance
o
Maybe
there was a family business
·
“Lord”
he knows Jesus is a teacher and the scarifies he will have to make
·
“first”
her come the excuse, we always are looking to get something else done
·
When
Jesus calls us to follow he means right now, Today!
This Guy lives in the land of tomorrow!
·
The
land of tomorrow is where:
o
You
find divorce,
o
You
find addiction,
o
You
find unmanageable debt.
o
In
the land of tomorrow you will find unfaithful spouses and prodigal children.
For the fan living in the land of tomorrow
Jesus as always been saying Follow me, but you just keep putting it off. You
wait until your life has shattered in to a hundred pieces and then you turn to
Jesus! And for some Jesus hasn’t just been whispering “Follow me”. He’s been
shouting, hoping to get your attention before you lose any more in the Land of
Tomorrow.
Be careful, tomorrow may be come never!
Hebrews 3:15 (NLT)
15 Remember
what it says: “Today when you hear his
voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel
did when they rebelled.”
The
time is now. The day is today. Don’t tell yourself, tomorrow I’m going to
surrender my secret sin. Don’t tell yourself, tomorrow I’m going to start being
generous to those in need. Don’t tell yourself, tomorrow I’m going to walk
across the street and introduce myself to the neighbor. Don’t tell yourself,
tomorrow I’m going to sign up for a Bible study, or volunteer at the shelter,
or call about being a foster home. Today is the day to start following.
Will you do whatever Jesus asks?
Luke 9:61–62 (NLT)
61 Another
said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my
family.” 62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a
hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
·
Let
me start by saying he just wasn’t going home for a quick good by
·
the
plow what does it mean (you need to know your bible)
o read 1 kings 19:19
o the plow represent
something in your life that you won’t give up
Many
fans say to Jesus, “I will follow with Anything and everything I have.” But Jesus points to what you’re hiding behind your back and says,
“What about that…
What about that?
·
Jesus
does not want split affections, or divide allegiance
·
This
is really about idolatry
o Jesus know if he
isn’t first in your life than something else will be
·
Trading
all that we have for all that he offers is the best deal we could ever make
Are you making a trade off?
·
Have
you traded following Jesus for that really nice pickup
·
Have
you traded following Jesus for a job that pays really well?
·
Have
you traded following Jesus for that house with the big barn?
·
Have
you traded following Jesus for that 12 pack?
·
Have
you traded following Jesus for the Sunday NASCAR race?
·
Have
you traded following Jesus for Wednesday night Duck Dynasty?
Too
often these things go from good things to God things is we aren’t careful! They
become more important than following Jesus and get in the way of what’s truly
important.
What is it that is
competing for your allegiance to Christ? You may have both hands on the plow,
but what is it you keep looking back at?
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