Why Most People Aren’t Commited To Christ!
Luke
9:57-62
DATE:
4 Feb, 1996 AM
PLACE: Bible Baptist Church
of Blarney
I. Introduction - Luke 17:32
A. A pretty short command! Something big about this little lady (Gen 19)
1. Lot and his family have been warned about coming destruction of Sodom and Ghomorrah
2. Lot gets out with only his wife and 2 daughters - inconsistancy in his life as a Christain costs him most of his family!
3. On his way out he was told not to look back - just to keep going
4. But, Lot’s wife just HAS to have one last peek! One little yearning for the good ol’ days back in Sodom!
5. And in that instant, she dies - turns into a pillar of salt - a forever testimony of the danger of looking back to this world for our joy
B. In Luke 9, the Lord brings us up to date, and reminds the Christian just how important our walk with Him is
1. Compared to being a famer - a plough-boy!
2. This is not mainly dealing with a person becoming a Christain, but rather, how important the life is AFTER salvation!
3. Lord calls it in Luke 9:62 “putting our hand to the plough!”
II. Message - Putting Our Hand To The Plow (Luke 9:57-62)
A. What Christians Are Called (Challenged) To Do
1. To Follow Jesus Christ (5:27; 9:23; 9:57,59,61; Matt 11:28-30)
a. His word (5:4,5)
b. His example - lots of living in this Book
c. His will - whatever HE thinks best for me!
2. To Follow the Lord Willingly (9:57-61)
a. God has no “grandchildren” - not automatic!
b. Dealing with an act of the heart (Mk 12:28-34)
c. Salvation is a choice (John 1:11,12) - surrender is a choice
3. To Count the Cost (9:58) - pay the price to do your best
a. Be aware of the cost - no unlimited credit-card payments
b. Be commited to the worthiness of the Saviour - same with your mate! Your job!
c. Be willing to invest in the future, instead of always just for yourself right now - sacrifice for the Lord
4. To Keep God’s Will Your Priority (9:59,60) - Keep your focus!
a. We are dealing with surrendering to the only One who ever loved you, and knows you inside and out
b. HE ought to know what lies ahead, and how best to face it!
c. But the Christian must be willing to do someone elses will AHEAD of his or her own (that is aclled a relationship - not me first, you next)!
d. Things will always come up that can seem more important that the Lord - but that is how the devil works!
e. Just like a runner - keep focused!
5. To Proclaim the Good News (9:60) - Gospel - God’s kingdom, not the kingdoms of this world
a. That is all Jesus ever talked about! - the disciples
b. That is the only hope for this world! If you were a surgeon who found a cure for cancer, THAT would be the mainstay of your EVERY conversation - we have something better!
c. This world talks about everything but the Gospel - if the Christain doesn’t proclaim it, no one else will!
d. There is truly nothing that works like the Gospel (John 8:32,36)
6. To Be Mature (9:61,62) - not babies
a. Plowing (the Christian life) is not for children - not a playground - Children get saved easiest, but NO ONE is supposed to stay children forever (Eph 4:13,14)
b. God is sick of people finding every excuse under the sun why they cannot make time for God - cannot put the Lord first - cannot love God!
c. GROW-UP! There is a world going to hell, and “Christians” are playing on the field instead of working it!
d. Quite trying to just get something out of God, and start living all-out for our great God!
7. To Endure Hardships (9:62) - to finish the job! Go the whole distance (9:57)
a. Stay with it - keep your hand on the plough - keep working till the job is done!
b. The Christian life sometimes is just pure work! So what! What did you expect? Just don’t forget the benefits!
B. What Most Christians End Up Doing
1. Back-out when the going gets rough (57,58) - Why? Shallow type of Christianity - shallow type of relationship!
2. Look for excuses of why they cannot serve Christ (59,60) - Why? Jesus Christ is not their GOD! Something else is! Not really saved
3. End up looking back the whole time (61,62) - Why?
a. Heart not in their task
b. Mind on things they miss - like the people of Israel coming out of Egypt!
C. How Important Is The Christian’s Consistant Walk with Christ? - How Our Inconsistancy Affects the world around us
1. Makes Jesus second-rate. If Christ is not important to the Christian, how can Christ expect the unsaved to hear about Him?
2. Gives a false view of what is really important - if a Christian is not willing to pay the price to live for God, what else is there worth living and dying for?
3. Makes for crooked furrows - if there is anyone that ought to be interested in living straight and clear-cut lives, it ought to be the born-again child of God!
4. Confuses those working with you - Christians need each other to be strong in the Lord.
4. Slows down our pace. Holds back the Lord from answering prayer (Ps 78:40,41)
5. Leaves the job never finished! This is the real failure of Christianity in any generation - we who are saved, never set out to finish the job of going, and reaching out with the Gospel!
III.
Conclusion -
A. Is you hand on the Plough? Serving our Lord?
B. Are you even saved? Are you in God’s kingdom yourself?