Bible Text: Luke 9:57-62 | Preacher: Pastor Steve | Series: Abiding in the Lord
Luke 17:10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, we are not worthy of praise. We are servants who have simply done our duty.
Successful people are successful because they’re willing to do the things that ordinary people are not willing to do
ABIDING IN THE LORD is radical commitment, passionate, love and a sacrificial in Jesus
Luke 9:57-62
Abiding Requires Sacrifice
Luke 6:57-58 On the road someone asked if he could go along. I’ll go with you, wherever, he said. Jesus was curt: Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know. (THE MESSAGE)
Receiving Jesus as your Savior means that you actually live life differently and it is visible and real
2 Timothy 2:1-7 Timothy, my dear son, be strong with the special favor God gives you in Christ Jesus…Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
we are empowered by the Holy Spirit
we are to endure by the Grace of God
And as Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army. Follow the Lord’s rules for doing his work, just as an athlete either follows the rules or is disqualified and wins no prize. Hardworking farmers are the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.
Abiding Requires Commitment
Luke 6:59-60 He said to another person, Come, follow me.
The man agreed, but he said, Lord, first let me return home and bury my father. But Jesus told him, Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God (New Living Translation)
There is NEVER going to be a PERFECT time, there is just commitment and trust in the Lord and then stepping out and doing it!
No success comes without sacrifice
God calls us to commitment without hesitation Jesus must always come “first,” above all
Abiding Requires Passion
Luke 6:61-62 Another said, Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family. But Jesus told him, anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God (New Living Translation).
1 Kings 19:19-21 So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!
Elijah replied, Go on back, but think about what I have done to you. So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant
The Lord teaches us that our service to the kingdom of God is of such vital importance that His followers must always make it their number one top priority
Luke 9:62 Jesus told him, anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.
Christ says, give me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires, which you think, are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked — the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you myself: my own will shall become yours —
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity