First Baptist Church
9 West Main Street, Earlville, New York 1333, J B Stopford, Pastor
“VETERANS: THANK YOU FOR SERVING!”
Luke 9:57-62
Nov. 12, 2017 10:30 AM
TODAY’S SPECIAL: “A Pastry Funny”
On a visit to New York, an Englishman and a Scotsman go to a pastry shop.
The Englishman whisks three cookies into his pocket with lightning speed. The baker doesn’t notice.
The Englishman says to the Scotsman: “You see how clever we are? You’ll never beat that!”
The Scotsman says to the Englishman: “Watch this, a Scotsman is always cleverer than an Englishman.”
He says to the baker, “Give me a cookie, I can show you a magic trick!”
The baker gives him the cookie which the Scotsman promptly eats. Then he says to the baker: “Give me another cookie for my magic trick.”
The baker is getting suspicious but he gives it to him. He eats this one too.
Then he says again: “Give me one more cookie…”
The baker is getting angry now but gives him one anyway. The Scotsman eats this one too.
Now the baker is really mad, and he yells: “And where is your famous magic trick?”
The Scotsman says: “Look in the Englishman’s pocket!”
INTRODUCTION #1
Veteran’s Day is an American holiday where we honor all those who served in the military service. Memorial Day honors those who died in service, and Armed Forces Day honors those who are currently serving in the military. OK, historians – when was the first Veteran’s Day? Actually, it was Nov. 11, 1954. It was originally named “Armistice Day”, so designated by Pres. Woodrow Wilson on Nov. 11, 1919, to honor the first year after the signing of the peace treaty with Germany to end WW1 on 11/11/18 at 11 am. [of course, it wasn’t called WW1 then – they didn’t know there would be another world war!].
So Veteran’s Day got my thinking going – are there Christian veterans, that is, those who have been active in the Christian service? And more importantly, how does one become an active soldier in the Lord’s army? Our text in Luke 9 should give us a good perspective on God’s thinking on this!
Intro # 2 The issues:
This passage is very confusing! Is Jesus being harsh to people – like they can’t bury their dead? Isn’t He the God of compassion?
These are real people – who are following Him along His way to…Jerusalem (v. 53). His focus is on the cross – “going about His Father’s business”. He was asking each of them, “what is your focus?”
Small issue: v. 55. Note the footnotes in our NIV – I’m glad they are there to let us know that in the ORIGINAL language, Jesus gave His real mission: PEOPLE! Without that line, the lines that follow don’t make much sense.
Jesus is looking for true soldiers of the cross! PRAYER.
#1. WHAT IS FIRST? (vs. 57-58)
a. In each of these 3 instances, there is a repeated pattern which will be of tremendous help to us to know Jesus’ heart on what it takes to be a “veteran soldier of the cross”. The first repeated word is, well, “FIRST”! (see v. 59 and v. v. 61). So we can presume that in each of these interactions, our Savior is trying to vividly point out what or Who is to be first. The other repeated word is “follow” (v. 57, v. 59, and v. 61), so we can understand that true veterans of the cross follow something or someone. And the third repeated word is “but” (v. 59, 60, 61). “But” is a word of contrast; so our understanding of this passage is helped knowing that our Savior is pointing out a contrast between the pattern of lifestyles of those who are approaching Him, and that of Himself.
b. So the first cost of following Jesus – the first guide for a soldier of the cross, is to ask ourselves, “WHAT is first?”. Note that Jesus did not mention Himself, but rather His home! The first man said he would follow, and Jesus said, “hey – check out where foxes and birds live, and check out where I live.”
c. Our Savior did this once before! Check out John 1:35-49. Jesus invited two of His disciples to see where He was staying! So the issue is not the size of the house, or the boat, or the cabin, or the bank account, or the IRA, or the _____ (fill in your blank!) The issue is: WHAT is first? In the first instance, for the first potential follower of Jesus, WHAT he possessed was more important than Jesus.
SO: Is what you possess important? THAT is not the question! He is not telling us NOT to have homes, cars, boats, IRA’s. But He is pointedly saying, “do they have US?”.
WHAT IS FIRST?
#2 WHO IS FIRST? (vs. 59-60)
a. The second guide to following Jesus was given by Him, NOT by someone making a statement, but rather by Jesus’ connection with someone. He asks a passerby, “follow Me”. Note He wasn’t concerned with the man’s STUFF. He was concerned with the man’s focus of direction.
b. The man gave a good excuse as to the why he couldn’t follow Jesus at this time: Dad needed to be buried. Isn’t this a reasonable excuse? If you are like us, we have had much – perhaps too much – insight recently into preparing for our loved one’s burials. Life insurance. “Pre service planning”. That’s what we’ve had to do for our loved ones – and perhaps you have too. So this seems like a reasonable argument for not serving.
c. Jesus’ response seems most harsh, doesn’t it? He says, “let your old man bury himself! You go proclaim the gospel!”
d. Fortunately, we have other Scriptures to help us understand this passage. Check out Luke 14:25-27 – Jesus in essence is saying that our love for Jesus in comparison would make our love for our loved ones look like hate. He is NOT saying to hate our loved ones – but He is saying to “love Me FIRST”. And remember the incident in Luke 8:19-21? Jesus very own mother came to see Him but couldn’t get in because of the crowd. He responds by identifying who His true loved ones are. He does NOT discount loving His loved ones – too many verses teach us about honoring our father and mother! But He IS asking us, “WHO is first?”
This question needs to be answered Biblically! It would be easy to say, “oh, I really don’t like my family anyway, so I will go serve the Lord.” But God says that family has a priority and a proper place in your love, but His priority is to be FIRST.
Is He first for you?
#3. WHEN IS FIRST? (vs. 61-62)
a. The 3rd potential veteran of the cross perhaps heard the first two potential followers and their interaction with the Savior. So this one thinks he has the right response, one that will get the Savior’s approval. He says I WILL follow you, but not right now. He is saying, “the heart is right, but the WHEN just doesn’t fit my schedule. In fact, I want to honor my parents – I KNOW you honor parents, right? So I need to FIRST go back and say good-bye to them BEFORE I become a veteran of the cross.”
b. Remember the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19 appointing Elisha as the next prophet of Israel? Elisha said, “I’ll go – but let me say good-bye to my family”. This seems like the same response that the man makes in our present text. But it is not. Elisha then closes the door behind him by destroying his farm implements, slaying the oxen, sharing the food with his family and friends, and then…following Elisha. God honored that “WHEN”.
c. But the third potential follower seems to give a good excuse until Jesus says that the problem is the “when” is not right. WHEN is the time to follow Jesus, always? NOW!
ILLUSTRATION:
A missionary couple knows God is calling them to a foreign field, and their elderly parents – who have prayed for this couple for years – also know that that is where they belong. So the missionary children head to the field NOT KNOWING whether or not their loved ones will die before they return home. All parties here had determined the answer to the question, “WHEN is first?”. The WHEN was now. Have you?
CONCLUSION
Veterans’ Day 2017. We honor those who have served. May I close by honoring a veteran of the cross who served well, Pastor Herman Underwood, now with the Lord. He took me under his wing after I was first saved. He showed me how to walk with the Lord; and then he showed me how to serve the Lord. He has had an eternal impact on my life.
Who are the “veterans of the cross” in your life?
AND for whom are YOU a “veteran of the cross”?
Close in prayer
Website: http://www.fbcearlville.org