Steadfastly Following Christ
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Rev. Jim Bogle, given August 5, 2007
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I hope you got a good night’s rest last night! I
want to share with you this morning the words of a very familiar lullaby...
The nursery rhyme:
Rock a Bye Baby,
In the tree top.
When the wind blows,
the cradle will rock.
When the bow breaks,
the cradle will fall,
and down will come baby,
cradle and all.
Luke 9:57
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the
way,
What way?
Luke 9:51
And it came to pass, when the time was come
that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his
face to go to
Christ was on His way to the cross...
In fact the Bible says, “He steadfastly set his face
to go to
Stead“fast”ly:
adv, meaning that His body, mind, and spirit were fixed to go to
Galatians 4:4-5
4. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5. To redeem them
that were under the law,
The fullness of time had come. The misery, the
suffering, and the shame of the cross was the “way”
Christ was now hurrying on...
He loved His Father so much that He was willing to subject
himself to the misery and reproach of the cross, that you and I might have
fellowship one day with him in glory.
Is there anybody here this morning that would like
to accompany Christ to the cross?
Is there anybody here this
morning that would like to be of service to the LORD as He travels to the
cross?
Well there were some in Christ’s day that thought
they were ready to follow Jesus, even as there are in the church today!!
The Bible says,
Luke 9:57-58
…a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will
follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
This man, who would follow Christ, said hastily, “I
will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” Now he wasn’t really ready to do that (many
theologians believe). And this is why the LORD cautioned him...
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.
Mind you, Christ has nothing of this material world
but a robe...and possibly a pair of sandals. And he is on his way to be
executed in a most gruesome and horrible way.
And here is this one that steps forward to announce that he will follow Christ! But God’s response to him seems to indicate that the man’s decision was hasty and rash.
He had not yet considered the cost!
He thought Christ was
going to set up a kingdom.
He was
thinking of thrones, and dominions and power.
And yet following Christ would mean facing days of
uncertainty and struggle. It was not going to be a comfortable venture.
I don’t know of any true Christian today who can
honestly say that since they’ve received Christ as Lord and Savior, everyday
has been milk and honey, or peaches and cream.
If we mean to follow Christ, there is going to be
some unsettling and uncomfortable moments in our lives! We will have to follow
Christ by faith!
Luke 9:58
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.
If God provides a dwelling place for the fox, and
nests for the birds, why then should we doubt that God will provide all of our
needs as well?
Luke 12:24
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and
God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than
the fowls?
If God can provide for all of natures creatures, he
can sure enough provide for you. But we must trust him and follow him.
No one knows if this man followed Christ, or turned
away....
Luke 9:59-60
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
Here is a man that Christ calls to follow Him. There
can be no greater priority in any person’s life than making a commitment to
follow the Lord Jesus.
This man said he would follow later, but at that
moment family affairs were more of a priority than Christ’s call to service!
The devil can always make family affairs more
important than following Christ!
Religion certainly teaches us to show piety at home
and to care for our loved ones; but we must not make these an excuse for
neglecting our duty to God.
Luke 9:60-62
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their
dead: but go thou and preach the
Did you know that the
The preaching of the kingdom is more important than
anything else, even the funeral of one’s own loved one. It is not that God is
against funerals, or that we should never attend a funeral. But for this man,
God had called him for a particular work, and he chose to delay God’s work for
what he considered a more important work, to bury the dead!
God has called many of us to his service, some to
preach, some to teach, some to sing, some to lead, and some to follow! Many of
us this morning have answered His call, but along the way somehow, we have made
other things of greater priority.
Anything that we consider more important than
serving Christ, is service to dead works!
God calls this man, but he delays…
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
Here again is the one that is willing to follow
Christ, but he must have a little time to talk with his family and friends
about it, and to set in order his household affairs.
My friends, let me tell you
this. If you’re waiting to set your household in order before you step out to
follow Jesus, you will never follow Christ, because in a true spiritual sense
your house can never be in order if your heart is not FIRST in order with
Christ.
Christ will set your house in order, when you set
your mind and heart to follow him.
This man was, no doubt, sincere in his desire, just
as all the others were, but family concerns were more important to him at that
moment than truly following Christ! This
man was willing to enter into a temptation leading him from his purpose, rather
than dropping everything (as the Apostles did), and following Jesus.
Conclusion: One theologian wrote,
“Those who begin
with the work of God, must resolve to go on, or they
will make nothing of it. Looking back, so many times leads to drawing back, and
drawing back, the Bible says, is to perdition.”
Today, many Christians who have answered God’s call
to service, whether in the sharing of our faith, the support of His church, the
teaching of His Word, singing in the choir, serving on the Board of Deacons, or
preaching from the pulpit, somehow completely forget about our call and our
commitment the moment we pass out through the church doors.
Satan has so effectively rocked us to sleep, and
made life so comfortable and relaxing, that we like the little baby in the tree
top can hardly feel the wind blowing, or hear the limbs cracking…
But the bow will break one of these days, sooner or
later, and every one of us will give an account to God of our stewardship,
because very soul God calls to salvation has a service to render to Him.
The pastor, the deacons, the choir, the Sunday
School teachers, the congregation, and yes even the youth, if they have
answered God’s call, and have somehow drifted off to sleep, the LORD says,
Romans 13:11
…now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed
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