The Radical Cost Of Following Jesus...

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Carl...

Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 11:57 am

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John Piper, in his sermon below, touches upon the topic of following Jesus
Christ and the cost of doing so. It is an eye-opening sermon that is also
encouraging.

May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

---

The Radical Cost Of Following Jesus
by John Piper

(Luke 9:56b-62)
And they went on to another village. 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, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 59 And He said to another, "Follow
Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 60 But
He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go
and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." 61 Another also said, "I will
follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." 62
But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

God is always doing more than we know. In every event in our life and in the
life of this church and this city and this state and this country and this
world God is always doing 10,000 things that we do not know. The designs and
the effects of every event from the fall of a bird, or the birth of a baby,
or the death of a Senator, or the capturing of a sniper, or the storming of
a Russian theater - the designs and effects of every event are 10,000 times
more than we know. 99.9% of God´s specific purposes are hidden from our
eyes.

When he scattered the nations at the Tower of Babel he was doing more than
one thing. He was restraining evil by preserving diversity that would
function as check and balance in the human craving for power and fame and
wealth. But in the same act of judgment he was preserving and increasing the
diversity that would become the many-colored mosaic of redemption. Evil
would be deflected by diversity in language and culture; and the glory of
Christ would be reflected by the diversity in language and culture. "Let the
peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you" (Psalm 67:3). All
the languages, all the cultures, all the colors - let them all praise you.
For you will shine all the more brightly in our eyes when we see you
reflected and praised by all the peoples!

This is the final Sunday of our fall Missions Focus. And God is doing more
in these days than anyone knows for the sake of the nations. His authority
and his love and his mission are having a tremendous effect. "All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).
All authority is mine. God make disciples. I will be with you. That banner
is flying over us, and there are untold thousands of effects being
unleashed.

An Invitation

In a few minutes, when I am finished speaking, I will invite many of you to
come to the front to show some of those effects and to pray with me here,
and with Erik Hyatt downtown, about God´s calling on your life in missions.
"The harvest is plentiful," Jesus said, "but the laborers are few. Therefore
beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest"
(Matthew 9:37-3 Cool

. We have been doing that. And God is stirring in many
hearts.

I will tell you ahead of time whom I will be inviting to come: 1) those who
are already missionaries and are here for a time, and those under
appointment and about to go; 2) those who believe that this is God´s call on
your life, whether soon or later; and 3) those in whom God has been working,
it seems, unusually in recent weeks or months to loosen you from your
present situation to seriously consider going across a culture for the glory
of Christ. Your not sure yet, but you have sensed, or will sense this
morning, some unusually strong desire or pointer to cross-cultural missions.

Jesus´s Response to His Would-Be Followers

God is always doing more than one thing in everything he does. So let´s go
to Luke 9:56-62 to see what Jesus is doing in this unusual and shocking
series of encounters. Three would-be followers meet Jesus. And Jesus says to
each of them something very hard and very sweet.

* In verse 57 to the man who says, "I will follow you wherever you go,"
he says, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

* Then in verse 59 Jesus takes the initiative and calls another, "Follow
me." The man responds, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." To
which Jesus replies in verse 60, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but
as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."

* Then a third candidate for discipleship says in verse 61, "I will
follow you, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." To
this Jesus responds in verse 62, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

More than one thing is going on here in each of these encounters. To see
that clearly the way Jesus intends it, you need to go back to verse 51 to
make sure that you feel the tension in the air. In verse 51 it says, "When
the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined [he set his
face] to go to Jerusalem."

"He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem"

Now we know what Jerusalem meant for Jesus. He said to his apostles in Luke
18:31-33, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written
about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be
delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and
spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day
he will rise." And then when he got to the city Luke 19:41-42 says, "When he
drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'If you had known in
this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been
hidden from your eyes.´"

So there is an ominous ring in Luke 9:51 that we need to hear when Jesus
says, "He set his face to go to Jerusalem." Then to make clear the
implications of going to Jerusalem Luke tells us what happened next and why.
Verse 52: "[Jesus] sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a
village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did
not receive him, because he was going to Jerusalem." This is a signal to us:
if you join Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, you may not have a place to stay.
You may not be popular. You may be rejected.

Now we are ready to see more clearly what is happening in our text, verses
56-62. Three times we read the word "follow" to describe what it means to be
a disciple of Jesus. Verse 57, "I will follow you." Verse 59: "Follow me."
Verse 61: "I will follow you." The point in this phrase is that being a
disciple of Jesus, that is, being a Christian, is more than learning about
him; it includes following him where he goes. "Whoever does not bear his own
cross and come after me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27).

"Follow ME!" - "FOLLOW Me!"

Now we are ready to see that more than one thing is going on here. When
Jesus says, "Follow me," and says it in the context of going to Jerusalem
and having just been rejected in Samaria for going to Jerusalem, he is
clearly saying two things, not just one thing. He is saying: "Follow ME."
And he is saying "FOLLOW me." There is me, and there is my mission. There is
a person, and there is a path. There is a sweetness, and there is suffering.
There is Jesus, and there is Jerusalem.

This is the way missions has always been and the way it will always be. When
Jesus said at the end of his life, "Go, make disciples of all nations!" he
wrapped that mission and that path and that suffering and that Jerusalem in
his mighty and merciful self. First he said, "All authority in heaven and on
earth is mine." And last he said, "I will be with you to the end of the
age." There is the "FOLLOW me!" (Go!) And there is the "Follow ME!" (I will
be with you). There is the path to the nations through Jerusalem, and there
is the person who will be with you, Jesus. So when you hear the words,
"Follow me," hear two things (at least!) not just one thing.

Now what was Jesus doing in responding the way he did to these three
would-be followers? No place to lay your head. Let the dead bury their dead.
Put your hand on the plow and don´t look back. What was he doing? He was
teaching, and he was testing. He was teaching that the Calvary road through
Jerusalem will be a very hard road, and will require sacrifices of home and
family. And he was testing to see if he himself was the greatest treasure of
their lives. They said, "I´ll follow YOU." And Jesus said, "Really? You love
me, you treasure me that much? Here´s what it will cost." So he is testing
how much they treasure the "you" in "I will follow you," by telling them
what the "follow" will cost.

So there are two things going then and now in this room and downtown. First,
Jesus is offering himself for our fellowship and friendship and partnership
in missions. Just think of it. This is the Creator of the universe. The King
of kings and Lord of lords. The one who upholds all things by the word of
his power. The one who is from everlasting to everlasting. Born of a virgin
as the Holy One of God. Perfect in life. Triumphant over sin and death and
hell and all the demons you will ever meet. In him are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. This Jesus says to you, as you ponder the
possibility of missions, "Follow me." Not, "You go there while I stay at
Bethlehem." But, "I am going there. Follow me . . . I will be with you to
the close of the age . . . I will never leave you or forsake you."

John Paton´s Experience of This Promise

John Paton´s experience of this promise in the New Hebrides over a hundred
years ago is deeply moving. He was being pursued by hostile natives.

Being entirely at the mercy of such doubtful and vacillating friends, I,
though perplexed, felt it best to obey. I climbed into the tree and was left
there alone in the bush. The hours I spent there live all before me as if it
were but of yesterday. I heard the frequent discharging of muskets, and the
yells of the Savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the
arms of Jesus. Never, in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and
speak more soothingly in my soul, than when the moonlight flickered among
these chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I
told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my
God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel
again my Savior´s spiritual presence, to enjoy His consoling fellowship. If
thus thrown back upon your own soul, alone, all alone, in the midnight, in
the bush, in the very embrace of death itself, have you a Friend that will
not fail you then? (John G. Patton: Missionary to the New Hebredies, An
Autobiography Edited by His Brother [Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust,
1965, orig. 1889, 1891], p. 200)

A Treasure Test

Then the second thing that Jesus is doing in our text is to test you, to see
if this is enough, to see if he is really your treasure, your joy, your
security, your hope, your friend in times of loneliness, your home, your
father and mother, your power to look straight ahead - to test you in all
these ways, he tells you what it will cost.

Don´t make these hard words more difficult than they are. He is not saying,
"There will never be time when you have a bed and pillow and a roof." He´s
not saying, "It will always be wrong to be at your parent´s funeral." He is
not saying that one battle with fear that you might have made a mistake in
going to the mission field will make you unfit for future service.

Understand these hard sayings the way you understand Jesus´ words to the
rich young ruler and his words to Zacchaeus. To the rich young ruler Jesus
said, It is going to cost you all your possessions to follow me: "Sell what
you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and
come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21). But when Jesus came into the house of
Zacchaeus, the little tax collector said, "Lord, the half [not 100%] of my
goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I
restore it fourfold." And Jesus responded with joy: "Today salvation has
come to this house." (Luke 19:8-9).

Jesus Knows Your Idols!

In other words, the point of all these tough words as Jesus interacts with
different people is not to create laws that all disciples or all
missionaries have to keep: Thou shalt give all your money! Thou shalt give
half your money! Thou shalt go without a bed! Thou shalt go without a
funeral for your dad! The point is that Jesus knows everyone´s idol. Jesus
knows perfectly what is competing in your heart with affection for him. He
looks everyone of us in the face this morning and sees right to our heart.

Let him do that for you now. Don´t take offense. He does this to win us for
himself. "Follow me!" is the goal. Being with Jesus is the goal. It won´t be
easy. But it will be good. There will be joy even if there is continual
sorrow (2 Corinthians 6:10 - "sorrowful but always rejoicing"). Because he
will be with us.

Attachment to Your Home

So he raises the issue in verse 58 about your attachment to your home: "The
Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Will you follow him? What about
your home, your furniture, the security you enjoy there, your comforts in
the climate controlled year-round perfect atmosphere, your roach-free,
mouse-free, ant-free, totally automated kitchen, your new surround-sound
home entertainment center? Jesus says, Follow me. Am I more precious, more
satisfying than these?

Attachment to Your Family

He raises the question about our family in verse 60: "Let the dead to bury
their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of
God." Whom do you cherish more: Spiritually dead relatives, or the giver of
life, Jesus Christ? The point is not that it´s never right for a missionary
to come home for his dad´s funeral. The point is that it might be right not
to, and the issue is how it serves the proclamation of the gospel, and how
it reveals your treasures. Who is first, Christ or family? The point here is
that Jesus Christ is absolute and all other allegiances are relative. There
will be a hundred choices you must make in missions - indeed in life - that
have no simple biblical command to settle the issue. The issue will be: Do
you want Christ above all? Do you want to follow him more than anything?

The Danger of Indecisive Discipleship

And he raises the question in verse 62 about fickle following. The danger of
indecisive discipleship. "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." You can´t plow a straight
furrow while looking back. You can´t serve Christ, that is, you can´t make
Christ look great, if you are always second-guessing the value of following
him. Looking back means longing back. It means that we are not really sure
he is worth following, especially to Jerusalem. Divided hearts like that are
not useful in displaying the worth of Christ.

Jesus Is Worthy!

But I want to close by saying, He is worthy! He is worth following, even
through Jerusalem to the cross and to the nations. Yes, he will die in
Jerusalem. But that is not bad news. Not anymore. That is our life. He loved
us and gave himself for us. He didn´t say "Follow me to Jerusalem" because
he needed help with his redeeming work, but because if your are with him you
will be saved, and not only will you be saved, you will be given a mission
that according to verse 60 is more precious than burying your father.
Namely, "Go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus."

If God is moving you at all to consider the possibility of missions in your
future, know this: He is worthy. Following him will always mean more than
one thing. If it means for you the place of suffering and loneliness, he
will be there. "Follow me" means there is the path, and there is the person;
there is the suffering, and there is the sweetness; there is the Jerusalem,
and there is Jesus. Follow him.

Carl...

Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 11:57 am

Guest

(Luke 9:56b-62)
And they went on to another village. 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, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 59 And He said
to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and
bury my father." 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their
own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of
God." 61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit
me to say good-bye to those at home." 62
But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

Carl...

Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 11:57 am

Guest

Carl...

Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 11:57 am

Guest

John 10:3-5
3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his
voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has
brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep
follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a
stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not
recognize a stranger's voice."

May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim...

Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 2:40 pm

Guest

where was the all-powerful christian sky pixie on 9/11/01? was he busy as
usual, sitting on his FAT, LAZY ASS, LAUGHING HIS SICK SADISTIC ASS OFF
as he watched his followers being killed ?

Chris Ý. Rimmlicker...

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 1:50 am

Guest

Quote:

where was the all-powerful christian sky pixie on 9/11/01? was he busy as
usual, sitting on his FAT, LAZY ASS, LAUGHING HIS SICK SADISTIC ASS OFF
as he watched his followers being killed ?

Hey man, it's *ALL* in "Thee Plan" man...don't you get it? The "Plan" man,
The "Plan"! It's *ALL* right there in "Thee Plan" man...got it straight now
man?

--
At the RNC incest is priority-one because that's how the GOP got started,
yes, all the way back to THEE Virgin Birth ;)

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

Carl...

Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 2:53 am

Guest

Luke 7:50
50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

John 1:12
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave
the right to become children of God

John 3:14-18
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must
be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God
did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the
name of God's one and only Son.

John 3:36
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son
will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

John 5:24
24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death
to life.

John 6:28-29
28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has
sent."

John 6:35
35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will
never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:47
47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.

John 7:38
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living
water will flow from within him.

John 9:35-39
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said,
"Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with
you."
38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind
will see and those who see will become blind."

John 11:25-26
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes
in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in
me will never die. Do you believe this?"

John 11:40
40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see
the glory of God?"

John 12:36
36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become
sons of light.

John 20:31
31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Acts 16:29-31
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul
and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to
be saved?"
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and
your household."

Romans 3:21-26
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to
which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God
presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He
did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left
the sins committed beforehand unpunished- 26 he did it to demonstrate his
justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies
those who have faith in Jesus.

May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/

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