The Struggle

Paul an honest man of God and apostle opens up in Romans 7 about his life.

For all of us who go through struggles, here is a man speaking out about his situation.

“I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.

17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

21-23It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

24I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

25The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”

Wow!? the struggles we go through are not new to God, and dont think that he doesn’t a clue about it. your friends, parents, relatives, pastor, etc, might not know your situation and the pain, sorrow, the hard time you are going through and have gone through, but Jesus knows. He is willing to help at any time, he needs our word to act, He knows before we even think about anything! God is just waiting for us to give up, and just tell him that i need HELP~!!!!!

Go to God and just say ” Help me”

thats all

Big Day?

Many are claiming that today is the biggest day in the history of the world, they are basing this on the US election, most reports have  said that Mr. Barack Hussain Obama will win the election, most christians are dying hard to get more votes for Mr. John Mccain. All hope will be ended by a wait for 5 more hours, the results will be out, Obama claims to bring a change in the the lives of Americans, a new hope for the struggling middle class residents of America, a hope for the aged and immigrants, but the question is will this happen??  will these promises come true?? Well wait and see, thats all I can say, according to several sources, Obama is not a person who can be trusted on his word,  he has changed his words over and over, and I believe there is absolutely no change that he can bring in the American economy as he promises,  the economic downfall in america is global, to be more clear, its going to be more worse in the coming years, according to the bible these are the end times, time for all to put hope in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he is the only one who never changes, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. Don’t be fooled by the deceiving promises the politicians, leaders, and others give to you, there is only  one person who never changes promises, God the father! Man change his word all the time, may be the next very moment, cannot be trusted at all, Put your trust in God, and get right with Him, Time’s running out, Don’t be too late realizing the true God. Truth= Jesus Christ, thats right, now its your choice whether to stand up for your God and overcome every situation and obstacles that you face in the name of Jesus Christ. Stop running after the world and its desires, the world might give you happiness for a minute with the money you have, but when you are out of money, all the happiness you’ve had, pleasures, leisure will be gone, and then you will be doomed, but there is an option!! what????? yea, listen up, run after this God of ours, be the one useful for our God, receive Jesus in your life and live the life with everlasting joy, happiness, peace. When he fills your soul, nothing is much more greater, all the desires of this world will be like a pile of garbage. You will find happiness in everything you do,  and God will sustain you. We do not know what will happen the very next minute, everything is in his hands, we have no clue whether we will live after 3 minutes, so?? make sure you will get eternal life, let Jesus be your daddy, He is so loving, do not be anxious about anything, put all your burdens, sufferings onto Jesus, be free, he has set you free from everything. Freedom is yours, take it its free! Someone had paid the price for you! 

 

Jesus, I love You!

I pray that you all will be blessed, and his guidance and provision be upon your life, and holyspirit will be with you always. Everything you do will be successful, and you will prosper, Praise God!

Amen!

All in All

I feel so blessed today, it was great to be in his presence feeling his love and care towards my life. I believe God has bigger and greater plans for our lives, I m totally under his will now, I pray that God will surely bless each and every one of you, and also reveal his will about your life to you. God is Good all the time! His grace is sufficient for me, I believe all things are possible through JEsus Christ!

Jesus Freak

That’s right, Jesus Freak, thats what I m, Jesus you are my all in all! What are you waiting for?? Make Jesus your best friend! He Rocks!!

[what will people think
When they hear that Im a jesus freak? 
What will people do
When they find thats its true? ]

Separated, I cut myself clean
From a past that comes back in my darkest of dreams
Been apprehended by a spiritual force
And a grace that replaced all the me Ive divorced

I saw a man with tat on his big fat belly
It wiggled around like marmalade jelly
It took me a while to catch what it said
Cause I had to match the rhythm
Of his belly with my head
jesus saves is what it raved in a typical tattoo green
He stood on a box in the middle of the city
And claimed he had a dream

(chorus)
What will people think
When they hear that Im a jesus freak
What will people do when they find that its true
I dont really care if they label me a jesus freak
There aint no disguising the truth

Kamikaze, my death is gain
Ive been marked by my maker
A peculiar display
The high and lofty, they see me as weak
Cause I wont live and die for the power they seek

There was a man from the desert with naps in his head
The sand that he walked was also his bed
The words that he spoke made the people assume
There wasnt too much left in the upper room
With skins on his back and hair on his face
They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate
The pharisees tripped when they heard him speak
Until the king took the head of this jesus freak

(repeat chorus 2x)

People say Im strange, does it make me a stranger
That my best friend was born in a manger
People say Im strange, does it make me a stranger
That my best friend was born in a manger

(repeat chorus 2x)

What will people think
[what will people think]
What will people do
[what will people do]
I dont really care
[what else can I say]
There aint no disguising the truth
[jesus is the way]

A testimony by Anand Mahadevan, Outlook India Editor

I was born a Brahmin and am the grandson of a priest whom I dearly loved. I am educated and my current professional standing indicates that I am reasonably intelligent. I am also affluent and my income would put me distinctly in the upper middle class bracket. I guess that would make me high-caste, rich and smart. In other words, I am not a tribal, or poor or dim-witted. And yet, I chose to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

The world would call me a convert to Christianity. I have no problems with that, though I see my faith more as a relationship with God through Jesus Christ than as a religion. And for the record, I can truthfully claim that no one financially induced or threatened or deceived me into converting to Christianity.

I am fiercely proud of my national identity as an Indian and I am completely at peace with my cultural identity as a Hindu. I retain the name my parents gave me. My wife, who also shares my faith, continues to go by her Hindu name. We have two children and we have given both distinctly Hindu names. In fact, many of my colleagues and acquaintances who may happen to read this column are likely to be surprised. They have no inkling about my faith, for I generally don’t go about announcing it. But if someone does ask me the reason behind the joy and hope that is everpresent in my life, I am always delighted to share it with them.

I write this piece to make one point—that my conversion was not a change of religion but a change of heart. To explain this, I need to go back to my childhood in Chennai, similar to that of so many other Tamil Brahmin boys like me. My grandfather, every bit the virtuous priest, had enormous influence over me. I absolutely adored him and as a toddler, always clung to him. He too loved me to a fault. There was no wish of mine that he would not rush to fulfil. But even in my early, formative years I was unable to relate to the religion he fervently practiced. Later, in my school days, I once spent my summer holidays with him in Trichy. Memories of dawn walks with him, for the ritualistic dip in the Cauvery river, cow in tow, are still fresh in my memory. I learnt many shlokas, some of which I still remember. But I never understood any of it and none of it helped me connect with God.

When I was 19, a Christian friend with whom I used to play cricket invited me to his house for prayer. If he had invited me to a pub, or party, I would have gone too. At his home, he and his sister prayed for me. It was a simple yet delightful conversation with God that lasted all of five minutes. I don’t remember it verbatim, but they articulated a prayer of blessing on my life, future, career and family. It was a simple affair—no miracles, no angels visiting. All they did was utter a deep human cry out to the creator God and His only son Jesus Christ. When they said Amen, I felt in my heart a desire to follow Jesus.

It was a faith encounter with God that I shall not even attempt to understand, rationalise or explain. I simply accept it. It is my faith. It is what I choose to believe. That evening I did not change my religion, for in reality I had none. Hinduism was my identity, not my religion. It still is. 

The Christianity I acquired that evening is not a religion. On the contrary, it is an intensely intimate relationship with Jesus. Over the past fifteen years, I have come to know this Jesus even closer. I know Him as the pure and sinless Son of a Holy God. And I know Him as a dear friend to whom I pray and talk to every day—about my career, my dreams, successes, failures, finances and even my sexuality.

If I read a good book, watch a good movie (Rock On is terrific, mate), or eat a good meal at a new restaurant, I would naturally tell my friends about it.In Jesus, I have discovered a truly amazing friend, guide, leader, saviour and God. How can I not tell all my friends about Him? And if anyone does listen and he too comes to believe in Jesus, I am delighted. The world would call it a conversion; I call it a change of heart, like mine.

But I would never force anyone to listen to me, leave alone financially induce, coerce or con him into believing. That to me is pointless and against the very grain of my faith. But I do have a constitutional right to practice my faith and to preach it without deception, force or bribery. It pains to see such basic rights of mankind being cruelly violated every day in this great Hindu nation. 

God bless India.

What’s going on?

Figuratively Speaking
Percentage growth in population between 1991 and 2001 as per Census

These statistics, giving the percentage growth of population groups, describe a wide variety of situations on the ground. Juxtaposing these figures with the actual population base of these groups—and their proportion vis-a-vis the total—helps clarify this.

For instance, in Arunachal Pradesh, the 130.9% increase in Christian population accounts for an increase from 89,013 in 1991 to 2.05 lakh in 2001 (as the overall population rose from 8.64 lakh to 10.97 lakh). But in Himachal Pradesh, the 73.3% increase describes a growth from 4,435 to 7,687 (in a total population that went from 51 lakh to 60 lakh).

---

	Hindu	Christians	Overall
Andhra Pradesh	14.4	-2.8	14.5
Arunachal Pradesh	18.7	130.9	26.9
Assam	14.9	32.5	18.9
Bihar*	23.0	35.9	27.2
Delhi	44.1	56.7	47.0
Goa	17.2	3.0	15.2
Gujarat	22.1	56.3	22.6
Haryana	27.0	73.2	28.4
Himachal Pradesh	17.0	73.3	17.5
Karnataka	15.3	17.4	17.5
Kerala	7.3	7.8	9.4
Madhya Pradesh*	21.7	33.9	22.6
Maharashtra	21.6	19.6	22.7
Manipur	-5.9	17.7	17.9
Meghalaya	18.3	42.1	30.6
Mizoram	-9.3	30.7	28.8
Nagaland	25.1	69.2	64.5
Orissa	15.9	34.8	16.2
Punjab	28.7	30.0	20.1
Rajasthan	27.9	51.4	28.4
Sikkim	18.6	169.3	33.0
Tamil Nadu	11.0	19.0	11.7
Tripura	14.9	120.5	16.0
Uttar Pradesh*	24.2	20.1	25.5
West Bengal	14.2	34.3	17.7
India	20.3	22.6	22.6
* Population figures for states created after 1991 census have been added to the states they were part of. The 1991 census was not conducted in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Ultimate Gain!

Galatians 6:11-18

 

See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

Exulting in Nothing but the Cross

EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION – in the cross. Exultation in the cross of Christ. That is very strange. Like: exultation in the electric chair. Exultation in the gas chamber. Exultation in the lethal injection. Exultation in the lynching rope. That is very strange: exultation in the cross. But that is exactly what is being said here in verse 14: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And that word boast is translated elsewhere as “exult.” May it never be that I would “exult” except in the cross of our Lord Jesus. Exultation in the cross.

So Paul states one utterly essential part of our vision in EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION, namely, we must educate for the sake of exulting in the cross.

But that’s not quite right, is it? – that exulting, or boasting, in the cross is one essential part of the vision -alongside other things. Paul says, “May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” No boasting except in the cross! No exultation except in the cross. Not: the cross is one essential thing you boast in alongside others. No! No boasting except in the cross of Jesus. No boasting alongside it.

What does that mean, that here must be no boasting – no exultation – except boasting and exulting in the cross of Christ?

But Doesn’t Paul Tell Us to Boast in Other Things Also?

This word for “boasting” or “exulting” was used in the last text that we wrestled with in Romans 5:2, 3, 11. Romans 5:2, “We exult in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:3, “Not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations.” Romans 5:11, “And not only this, but we also exult in God.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses.” So what does Paul mean – that he would not “boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ”? No boasting except in the cross!

He means that, for the Christian, all boasting should be a boasting in the cross. All exultation should be exultation in the cross. If you exult in the hope of glory, let it be an exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in tribulation because tribulation works hope, let it be an exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in God, you are exulting in the cross of Christ. If you exult in your weaknesses, let it be an exulting in the cross of Christ.

Why is this the case? Because for redeemed sinners, every good thing -indeed every bad thing that God turns for good – was obtained for us by the cross of Christ. Apart from the death of Christ, sinners get nothing but judgment. Apart from the cross of Christ, there is only condemnation. Therefore, everything that you enjoy in Christ – everything you boast in, everything you exult in – is owing to the death of Christ. And all your exultation in other things is to be an exultation in the cross where all your blessings were purchased for you at the cost of Christ’s life.

Every blessing in life is meant to magnify the cross of Christ. Or to say it another way, every good thing in life (and every bad thing that God turns for good) is meant to magnify Christ and him crucified. So, for example, we totaled our 1991 Dodge Spirit last week, but nobody was hurt. And in that safety I exult. I glory in that. But why was nobody hurt? That was a gift to me and my family that none of us deserves. We are sinners and, by nature, children of wrath apart from Christ. So how did we come to have such a gift for our good? Answer: Christ died for our sins on the cross and took away the wrath of God from us and secured for us, even though we don’t deserve it, God’s omnipotent grace that works everything together for our good. So when I exult in our safety, I am exulting in the cross of Christ.

And the insurance paid us about $2800 for the car and Noel took that money and went to Iowa and bought a ’91 Chevy and drove it home in the snow yesterday. And now we have a car again. And I exult in the amazing grace of so much bounty. Just like that. You wreck your car. You come out unhurt. Insurance pays up. You get another one. And move on almost as if nothing happened. And in thanks I bow my head and exult in the untold mercies even of these little material things. Where do all these mercies come from? If you are a saved sinner, a believer in Jesus, they come through the cross. Apart from the cross, there is only judgment. Therefore, every gift is a blood-bought gift. And all boasting – all exultation – is boasting in the cross.

Woe to me if I exult in any blessing unless my exulting is an exulting in the cross of Christ.

The Glory of Christ in All Things

This means that the cross of Christ is utterly pervasive in our vision of EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION. The cross is not one piece among many. No. Galatians 6:14 will not let us think of it that way. “May it never be that I would boast (glory, exult), except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Only in the cross. Only in the cross. No boasting. No exulting. No rejoicing. No thanksgiving. Except in the cross. Why? Because every dream dreamed for the future of this church, and every hope-filled meeting held, and every plan formed, and every notebook filled, and every dollar given, and every brick laid, and every student taught, is blood-bought mercy for us redeemed sinners because apart from the cross all we deserve is condemnation. And therefore, every exultation, every thanksgiving, every boast, every joy is in the cross.

Another way to say this is that the design of the cross is the glory of Christ in all things. The aim of God in the cross is that Christ would be honored in all things. When Paul says inGalatians 6:14, “May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he is saying that God’s will is that the cross be always magnified – that Christ crucified always be our boast and exultation and our joy and our praise -that the crucified Christ get glory and thanks and honor for every good thing in our lives – and every bad thing that God causes to turn for good.

But now here’s a question: if that is the aim of God in the death of Christ – namely, that “Christ crucified” be honored and glorified for all things -then how is Christ to get the glory he deserves? The answer is that children and youth and adults have to be taught that these things are so. Or to say it another way: the source of exultation in the cross of Christ is education about the cross of Christ.

That’s my job: to get glory for Jesus by teaching you these things. And then your job is to get more glory for Jesus by acting on them and teaching them to more people. Education about Jesus is for exultation in Jesus. And if we want there to be no exultation except in the cross, then we must pursue education about the cross – and under the cross.

Or maybe we should say, “on the cross.” Education on the cross will lead to exultation of the cross. What do I mean?

Crucified with Christ

Look at the rest of verse 14: “May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Boasting in the cross happens when you are on the cross. Is that not what verse 14 says? The world has been crucified to me, and I have been crucified to the world. The world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. Why? Because I have been crucified. We learn to boast in the cross and exult in the cross when we are on the cross.

Now what does that mean? When did that happen? When were you crucified? The answer is in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” When Christ died, we died. The glorious meaning of the death of Christ is that when he died all his own died in him. That death, that he died for us all, takes effect as our death when we are united to Christ by faith.

But you may say, “Aren’t I alive? I feel alive.” Well, here is a need for education. We must learn what happened to us. We must be taught these things. That is why Galatians 2:20 and 6:14are in the Bible. God is teaching us what happened to us, so that we can know ourselves and know his way of working with us and exult in him and in his Son and in the cross as we ought.

So we read Galatians 2:20 again to see that, yes, we are dead and, yes, we are alive. “I have been crucified with Christ [so I am dead, and he goes on]; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me [Why? Because I died, that is, my old rebellious, unbelieving self died]; and the life which I now live in the flesh [so, yes, I am alive, but it isn't the same "I" as the "I" who died] I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” In other words, the “I” who lives is the new “I” of faith. The new creation lives. The believer lives. The old self died on the cross with Jesus.

And if you ask, “What’s the key for linking up with this reality? How can this be mine?” the answer is implied in the words about faith in Galatians 2:20. “The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God.” That is the link. God links you to his Son by faith. And when he does, there is a union with the Son of God so that his death becomes your death and his life becomes your life.

Now take all that over to Galatians 6:14, “May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Don’t boast in anything except in the cross.

Dead to the World

And how can you become that radically cross-centered – so that all your exultation is traced back to the cross? Answer: realize that when Christ died on the cross, you died; and when you trusted him, that death took effect in your life. Paul says, it’s your death to the world and the world’s death to you.

Meaning: when you put your trust in Christ your bondage to the world is broken, and the overpowering lure of the world is broken. You are a corpse to the world, and the world is a corpse to you. Or to put it positively, according to verse 15, you are a “new creation.” The old you is dead. A new you is alive. And the new you is the you of faith. And what faith exults in is not the world, but Christ, and especially, Christ crucified.

This is how you become so cross-centered that you say with Paul, “I will not boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The world is no longer my treasure. It’s not the source of my life and my satisfaction and my joy. Christ is.

But what about safety in the car accident? What about the insurance payment? Didn’t you say you were happy about that? Isn’t that the world? So are you dead to the world?

I could be. I hope I am. Because being dead to the world doesn’t mean going out of the world. And it doesn’t mean not feeling things about the world -some negative and some positive (1 John 2:15; 1 Timothy 4:3). It means that every legitimate pleasure in the world becomes a blood-bought evidence of Christ’s Calvary love and an occasion of boasting in the cross. We are dead to insurance payments when the money is not what satisfies, but Christ crucified, the Giver, satisfies. When our hearts run back along the beam of blessing to the source in the cross, then the worldliness of the blessing is dead, and Christ crucified is everything.

That is the goal of EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION – in the cross. O may God grant us to dream and plan and work and give and teach and live for the glory of Christ and him crucified!

Do we pay a price?

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. Go 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 9:37-38). 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 19:41-42says, “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 you 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.

For the sake of Christ…….

Philippians 3:7-15 says, 

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

Paul has a way of playing your game, winning, and then saying the game is bunk. He does it, for example, in 2 Corinthians 11:21-12:11 where he lists his “superior” achievements and then says, “I have been a fool! You forced me to it” (2 Corinthians 12:11). In other words, I can play your game of measuring myself by your standards, win, and then call it all worthless. It is fool’s play.

He does it again here in Philippians 3. He warns the church to watch out for the evildoing dogs who mutilate the flesh (people who insist on circumcision as a way of getting right with God). The problem with these people is that they “put confidence in the flesh”—that is, they bank on their works for justification (vv. 2-3, cf. v. 9). So Paul says, OK let’s play that game for a moment. And then he lists his works of the flesh and knocks his opponents out of the ring with legal achievements. “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.” Indeed he does.

Then come three of the best verses in all the Bible. In essence: the victory I just won in the contest of the flesh is a pile of garbage (the Greek is skubala, v. 8). And the reason he uses such a strong word (refuse!) is that the alternative is Christ. Compared to Christ, being the greatest Pharisee of his time was foul garbage.

But that is too vague. Paul is not vague. He does not simply say that compared to Christ legal achievements are garbage; he is more specific. He says that what is superior to moral and religious achievements is 1) knowing Christ, 2) gaining Christ, and 3) being found in Christ.

1. Knowing Christ. “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (v. 8). “Knowing” here is not just knowing the fact that Jesus is Lord. It is the kind of knowing that prompts the phrase, “my Lord”! He knows the supreme Lord of the universe (see 2:9-11) as his Lord. So there are two aspects to Paul’s passion for Christ here. One is the rational and relational knowledge of the greatest person in the universe. Paul’s mind and heart are full of Christ. The other is that he belongs to Christ as subject to the all-ruling, all-protecting Lord. This is better than being at the top of any human heap.

2. Gaining Christ. “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (v. 8). “Gain” means get all that Christ is for us in heaven, not just on earth. Paul has already said, “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (v. 21), because “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (1:23). And he is about to say, “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (3:12). So it is clear that part of what makes human achievement a pile of garbage compared to Christ is that soon (and very soon!) he is going to meet the king—in a way far more full and intimate and stunning and satisfying than anything he has known here. And he has known so much of Christ here that the garbage verdict has been rendered on that alone.

3. Being found in Christ. “. . . and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (v. 9). Paul was overwhelmed by the fact that “in Christ”—that is, united to Christ by faith alone—he possessed a righteousness that was infinitely better than all his legal achievements could ever be. Paul knew he needed a righteous life in order to be accepted by God and in order to enjoy all the glories of Christ forever. He did not have such a righteousness in himself. He needed the free gift of righteousness from God himself. God gave it to him in Christ.

Therefore Jesus Christ was both the treasure he cherished and the one who provided the right to have the treasure. In Christ alone Paul had a right to know and gain Christ. And that is all he wanted. That is the gospel. This is what we mean at Bethlehem by Treasuring Christ Together. Christ alone is the ground of our acceptance with God and the goal of our heart’s desire. He is our righteousness and our reward. Compared to him (knowing him, gaining him, being found in him) all else is garbage.

His Grace…………….

I m forgiven because Jesus Christ died for me and paid the whole price on that cross of calvary, he bought me with his precious blood, cleansed my soul with his righteous blood. God is full of love, my heart is broken when I understand his great love for me, in spite of all that I’ve done against him, he still loves me, he still cares about me, he still guides me, he got bigger and greater plans for my life. Though one may have received Jesus Christ in his life, we are not away from sin, Sin is always here in this world, and it is very tempting. It is only the Grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we live everyday in this world. We often do not know how sin comes into our life, its very quick, it doesn’t take minutes. I cannot betray the love that he has offered me, there is always a door wide open for you, The only one door Jesus Christ, Get Right With Him. His grace is indescribable, transforming hearts and touching souls, making each one of us God’s dear child, reaching out to all lots and perished, giving us liberty, peace, and heaven, setting our lives and spirit free, taking away our burden and shame, bringing us closer to his Glory, giving us a new life and identity. 

Jesus Christ! You Rock!

 

Thank You Jesus, Thank you Master, Jesus I Love You, Thank you for dying on that cross bearing all my sin and shame, It is you who made my life full, it is you who made me who I am, There is no one like You God! I Love You! thank you Jesus for your grace upon my life, thank you choosing me. I love you Lord! 

Amen!