The Truth About Following Jesus – Part 3
Luke 9:57-62 (61-62)
December 30, 2018
This morning we are going to conclude this marvelous chapter of Luke 9.
It is the segment which we have referred to as Messianic Misconceptions.
It is where Jesus, after revealing who He was,
Has set the record straight regarding where He is headed
And what it means to follow Him.
HE IS HEADED TO THE CROSS.
He must suffer, be rejected, be killed, and be raised from the dead.
• This is the mission.
• And in doing so Jesus will purchase the salvation of all of God’s elect.
AND THEREFORE ANYONE SEEKING TO FOLLOW HIM
Must wash from their minds any notion of earthly fame or prosperity.
• If you are going to follow a man who has come to be rejected and killed
• Then you’d be foolish for assuming it will lead you to prosperity and fame.
AND JESUS EMPHATICALLY REVEALED THAT TO THE 12.
Luke 9:23-26 “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
And as we have said,
Luke has spent the rest of this chapter clarifying that statement.
We’ve seen incident after incident giving further proof that the disciples NEITHER UNDERSTOOD NOR ACCEPTED that statement from Jesus.
• They argued with Him
• They ignored Him
• They tried to get Him to seek earthly fame here on earth
• They failed to deny themselves,
• They misunderstood the call to follow.
And that has really been the POINT OF THESE LAST 6 VERSES as well.
NO ONE GETS IT
We have here 3 men who share their interest in following Jesus
And we have 3 men who did not understand what that meant
We’ve covered the first two, but let me recap them quickly.
#1 FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE AMBITIOUS
Luke 9:57-58
The man who said the right thing, “I will follow You wherever You go”
But Jesus saw the man’s heart and Jesus knew why he said that.
This man thought Jesus to be his ticket to earthly prosperity and fame.
When we looked at the context in Matthew’s gospel
We learned that this man made that offer on a day when Jesus was wildly popular.
This man thought to capitalize on that fame and offered to follow Jesus.
Jesus set the record straight by revealing that
He had not acquired the world,
And neither would those who followed Him.
“The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
No one buys a homeless man’s book to learn the secrets of getting rich,
And that is what Jesus was pointing out.
You are following Me for prosperity, but if you follow Me, you won’t get it.
Jesus squashed the prosperity gospel
And crushed this man’s hopes of using Jesus to gain the world.
But as we noted last time, THIS MAN WAS NOT ALONE.
There was another man with him.
• They both had approached Jesus,
• They both had their hopes of using Jesus for prosperity crushed.
• And when this man heard Jesus’ response to the first, he seemed content to just walk away,
• But Jesus confronted the second man.
#2 FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ACQUISITIVE
Luke 9:59-60
Not Inquisitive, but ACQUISITIVE;
It means those who wish to acquire the world.
When Jesus crushed the notions of the prosperity gospel
This man was probably willing just to leave,
But instead of letting him, Jesus confronted him saying, “Follow Me.”
This man was now stuck.
• It was a direct order from the Lord,
• But he had just learned that there’d be no money in it for him if he did.
• So he answers with a very sly response. “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
This man’s father was not dead, he just wanted to wait until he died
So that he could collect his inheritance.
He had just learned that following Jesus would not result in riches,
So he told Jesus that he would gladly follow
After he gained riches somewhere else.
And Jesus told him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Jesus associated love of the world with being spiritually dead.
• Concerning yourself with wealth is a worldly, pagan, mentality.
• The righteous concern themselves with the kingdom.
Jesus told this man to follow now,
And give up his love of the world and desire to acquire it.
So you can’t follow Jesus if you are AMBITIOUS
(thinking Jesus will make you rich)
And you can’t follow Jesus is you are ACQUISITIVE
(more interested in gaining worldly wealth)
This morning we come to the final example:
#3 FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ASHAMED
Luke 9:61-62
First I would reveal that Matthew does not include this man’s story,
So it is likely that it did not occur at the same time as the others.
It is more likely that Luke included this conversation here because it fit the theme and reveals yet another instance in which Jesus corrected a would-be follower.
But let’s look at this 3rd man this morning.
“Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord”
There we have a man more like the first of the 3.
• He speaks out with his willingness.
• He walks the aisle
• He is proactive in his commitment.
He even confesses that Jesus is “Lord”, which is certainly notable.
• He knows who Jesus is…
• He seems to know what Jesus wants…
• And he volunteers his life into the service of Jesus.
Those first 5 words are pretty encouraging.
It is the 6th word that messes everything up.
“but”
Like the second man we saw,
This man seeks to attach stipulations to his submission.
He is seeking to negotiate his terms of following.
Now before we even get into his terms can I remind you that
THIS IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ASPECT OF SUBMISSION?
Those who truly submit do not do so with strings attached.
Romans 14:7-9 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
When we talk about submission to Christ as Lord
We aren’t talking about entering negotiations for terms of submission.
It is full surrender in all things.
Let me give you another picture of Lordship that I have always loved.
• On the day when Absalom launched his conspiracy to overthrow David as
King, David was forced to flee Jerusalem.
• In David’s service were some servants who had accompanied him from foreign
lands.
• One of these servants was a man named “Ittai the Gittite” who had
apparently only joined David the day before.
Let me show you what submission to your Lord looks like.
2 Samuel 15:19-22 “Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why will you also go with us? Return and remain with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile; return to your own place. “You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander with us, while I go where I will? Return and take back your brothers; mercy and truth be with you.” But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.” Therefore David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.”
No ultimatums – No conditions – No arguing – No complaint
Just full obedience to your Lord regardless of the circumstances.
The man here obviously doesn’t understand
What it means to call Jesus “Lord”.
We know that because he is still trying to call the shots.
“I will follow You, Lord; but…”
That is a false confession.
But let’s look at his terms.
“I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”
Again, we are confronted with what appears to be a reasonable request.
• I mean, what man goes off to war without first hugging his momma?
• It just reads like he wants to let his family know where he is going.
And like we did with the last guy, we sort of EXPECT JESUS TO SAY,
“No problem, I am breaking camp tomorrow morning, be back by then.”
But again, that’s NOT what Jesus says.
He tells the man, “No”
(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.”
So not only does Jesus say, “No” to the man’s request,
But He does so with a somewhat cryptic reasoning.
WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN?
Well first we recognize the obvious.
That Jesus equated this man’s desire to first go and say good-bye
To a farmer who is plowing but keeps looking back.
That is clear.
So now we have to figure out what it means to be a farmer who keeps looking back.
Well, one thing I know about TODAY’S FARMERS is that
• When they plow, they are almost always looking back.
• They easily spend more time looking back than they do looking forward.
The reason today’s farmers look back when they plow
Is because the plow is behind them.
But that was different in Jesus’ day.
In Jesus’ day the plow wasn’t behind you, it was in front of you.
So a farmer who was plowing but who kept looking back,
Wasn’t looking at the work he was doing,
He was constantly looking at how good of a job he had done.
WELL YOU SAY, “What’s the problem in that? A man should want to do a good job.”
The problem is that if this farmer takes his eye of the plow in front
And starts looking behind, WHAT KIND OF ROW IS HE ABOUT TO PLOW?
(A crooked one)
IN HIS CASE, IT IS A MISTAKE TO LOOK BACKWARD.
IT INDICATES A MAN MORE CONCERNED ABOUT APPEARANCES THAN HE IS ABOUT HIS JOB.
Jesus said that this is what this guy was doing
In wanting to go home and say good-bye.
Jesus is looking at his heart, and it is apparent that
He doesn’t mind following, but he is concerned
About what his family and friends will think about it.
HE IS CONCERNED ABOUT APPEARANCES.
He’ll follow, but he first wants to stick his finger in the air
And get the public consensus as to whether others think he should.
SO HERE IT IS:
This man will follow Jesus, but only if following Jesus gains the approval of his family.
And how did Jesus respond to that?
“No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Jesus said that this type of mentality means that
A person is not “fit for the kingdom of God.”
“fit” there is EUTHETOS
It means “useful”
Hebrews 6:7 “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;”
Jesus in effect says to this man.
Anyone who is only willing to follow Me if he can gain the approval of others to do so is not useful to Me or the kingdom.
“Don’t bother, I don’t need followers
who are overly concerned about the approval of others.”
This is not the only time Jesus will speak like that.
Luke 14:25-35 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
There Jesus spoke of the importance of counting the cost of following.
And He mentioned it in the context of following Him
Requiring the loss of worldly possessions.
“If you aren’t willing to lose the world you shouldn’t follow Me”
And then He said, “Therefore salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out.”
Literally there the word is again EUTHETOS
Jesus said flavorless salt, “Is only useful for the soil or the manure pile, but not for food”
I don’t need any salt that doesn’t have flavor.
And that is in effect what He is saying to this man.
I don’t need people who are only concerned about the approval of others.
Is that shocking to you?
That this man didn’t turn down the invitation of Jesus,
But rather Jesus revoked the invitation.
“I’m sorry, I can’t use you.”
Is it true that a man can be unusable to Jesus?
2 Peter 1:5-9 “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”
Peter gave a list of qualifications and said
If they are yours then you are useful and fruitful,
But if those qualities aren’t yours then you really aren’t.
Do you remember the argument of between Paul and Barnabas?
• On Paul’s first missionary journey he took Barnabas and John Mark.
• But John Mark deserted them on the journey.
• And so when it came time for the second journey, when Mark wanted to go, Paul said, “no”.
Acts 15:36-41 “After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”
And most of my life I heard that story preached as though Paul was in the wrong, that he should have taken Mark.
But if you’ll read the text you’ll find that it was Paul, not Barnabas,
Who was commended by the brethren.
Paul was on mission.
• This was serious.
• It wasn’t a sight-seeing tour.
• And it wasn’t that he didn’t like Mark, it’s that there was no room on the mission for those who didn’t see it through.
Now, to give balance, it is obvious that later on Mark proved himself.
For in Paul’s last letter, from prison, he wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:11 “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”
• That is NOT Paul saying that he messed up previously.
• That IS Paul recognizing that Mark has now overcome his previous fear and is
now useful.
Listen to what Paul said about himself:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”
Did you hear there the threat?
“so that…I myself will nto be disqualified”
Listen to Paul write to Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:5 “Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.”
What happens to an athlete that breaks the rules?
He is disqualified.
Have we not read about overseers and deacons the “qualifications” for service?
IT IS EVERYWHERE.
And I share that simply to point out that
There are requirements for those who follow Christ.
Christ expected that those who followed Him,
Would do so without an attachment to this world.
(That could be money, power, or even concern for reputation)
But you couldn’t follow if you were concerned about wealth
And you couldn’t follow if you were concerned about what people think
Those types of people are not useful.
They are not “fit for the kingdom of God.”
That’s what Jesus said.
That’s why we say that: FOLLOWING JESUS IS NOT FOR THE ASHAMED
Isn’t that what Jesus said earlier in Luke’s gospel?
Luke 9:26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
Matthew’s gospel says the same thing, but records different terminology.
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
Different wording, but the same point.
If all you are worried about is what people will think,
Then you will never follow Jesus.
CAN I TELL YOU WHY?
BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THIS WORLD: ONLY FOOLS FOLLOW JESUS.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The word there for “foolishness” is MORIA (mor-ee-a)
It means “siliness” or “absurdity”
The root word “fool” is MOROS
And it means “dull” or “stupid”
That’s what the world thinks of the gospel message
And that’s what they think of those who pledge their life to it.
That is so much the case that Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 4:10 “We are fools for Christ’s sake…”
Or again:
Galatians 1:10 “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”
Which is to say that there are better ways of gaining the world’s approval
Than being a Christian.
We go and tell the world that
• Jesus is God who became humble man
• That he lived a perfect life pleasing to God
• And that He died on the cross bearing the wrath of God for sinners.
• We say that our sin was imputed to Him and His righteousness was imputed to
us.
• And we hold that through no works of our own, we are now pleasing to God
simply by faith in this crucified and resurrected Son of God.
And the world says, “That’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heart; only a fool would believe that! Only a stupid person would believe that.”
So, if you’re signing up to follow Jesus,
But you hope to keep your reputation intact, well think again.
THIS WORLD WILL NOT HONOR YOU, IT WILL HATE YOU.
Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”
Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. “For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN’S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.”
John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
1 John 3:13 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.”
1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;”
Do you see that?
One of the great mistakes of our modern Christianity
Is that so many “Christians” seek to follow Christ
While remaining credible in the world.
If you seek credibility in the world, you will deny Christ.
I see it all the time under the heading of being “Culturally Relevant”
• That is people or churches or pastors who do everything they can to please the world and they do it under the pretense of trying to win the world.
• Look like the world, act like the world, even make the worship service something the world will enjoy
• Accept everyone, don’t confront sin, be friendly, be loving, be warm and welcoming.
• What they’re really saying is “when sinners come to your church make sure they like you.”
• Because if they don’t like you then you they won’t listen to you.
Is that really the goal of the church? Is it our objective to be liked?
I see it in would be scholars who want to follow Jesus, but still be acclaimed for their scholarly intellect in the world.
• Preachers chasing PhD’s and Degrees wanting to be regarded as scholars and experts.
But the message we are commanded to preach
Is not a message that the world finds scholarly.
But I hear pastors educate themselves in philosophy or psychology or even in our day a fascination with scientific data called “apologetics”.
They think if they can argue scientific data, and debunk philosophical theory,
And hold their own in intellectual debate with atheists
That they are somehow doing the Lord’s work and following Christ.
I would submit to you that when the Bible says to “contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints” it is NOT SAYING that you should familiarize yourself with scientific arguments debunking evolution.
I would submit that the Bible is telling you to be true to the gospel.
Preach the gospel.
But if you enter a scholarly debate with a scientific genius and all you do is preach the gospel, then you’re going to look like an uneducated fool.
YEP!
What did they say about Paul in Athens?
Acts 17:1 “And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,” — because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.”
Yet many today, wishing to be accepted in an academic community,
Actually stray from the foolishness of the gospel
In exchange for intellectual arguments.
Can I tell you that Paul warned explicitly against this?
1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”
Do you know what Paul was telling Timothy to guard? (The gospel)
But some through “worldly and empty chatter” and what they call “knowledge” actually deny it and go astray.
• We aren’t called to be regarded as wise men.
• We aren’t called to be respected by the academic community.
• We aren’t called to be loved by an immoral society.
We are called to proclaim the gospel even if we are hated for it,
And even if we are regarded as fools for it.
But Paul said:
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
He told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
If you are going to follow Jesus,
Then you had just better understand that
This world is not going to applaud you.
In fact, if they are applauding you, you had better check whether or not you are actually following Jesus.
Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”
As I heard one preacher say, “How is it that the world couldn’t get along with the holiest Man who ever lived, but it can get along with you and me? Are we compromised?”
You can’t follow Jesus if you are afraid of disappointing the world.
I JUST WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU THIS MORNING
That if you are intent upon following Jesus
Then you need to know that you can’t do that
If you are AMBITIOUS, or if you are ACQUISITIVE, or if you are ASHAMED.
NOW HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS.
Do you find yourself falling short in one of these areas?
• Have you found that at times you disdain the least?
• Have you found that at times you despise the laity?
• Have you found that at times you disregard the lost?
• Have you found that at times you are ambitious?
• Have you found that at times you are acquisitive?
• Have you found that at times you are ashamed?
Well, let me encourage you,
So were the disciples at the time when Jesus said this.
• James and John would even get their mother involved in trying to gain them places of honor.
• Peter would deny the Lord 3 times.
• All the disciples would scatter in fear at His arrest
They, at a point in their life, followed wrong too.
But they didn’t follow wrong forever.
At Pentecost Jesus filled each of them with the Holy Spirit
And resting upon His power, they denied themselves
And took up their cross and followed Jesus.
They did it without a desire for applause
They did it without a desire for gold
THIS MORNING I WOULD REMIND YOU THAT
Even if you have currently failed to follow correctly,
• That Jesus is merciful and forgiving
• And if you will humble yourself before Him,
• He will raise you up.
In fact that is why we are ending this study with the Lord’s Supper.
Luke 9 has been a tough chapter.
Luke 9 has confronted us in many ways.
But I don’t want you leaving Luke 9 thinking
That your failures render salvation impossible for you.
So this morning we conclude by coming to the Lord’s Table
Where we remember that Jesus satisfied the righteous requirement for us,
And Jesus satisfied the just wrath against us.
We aren’t going to be saved because of our flawless living.
We are saved because of His flawless living.
So let your failures drive you closer to Jesus
YES, we have much to work on in our lives as we seek to follow Christ,
BUT we never lose sight of the reality that our salvation is not accomplished by how good we follow, but rather, it is accomplished by the One we follow.
We tune our hearts to His sacrifice.
IT IS CHRIST WHO NEVER disdained the least, or despised the laity or disregarded the lost.
HE WAS NEVER ambitious, or acquisitive, or ashamed.
And we stand before God clothed in His righteousness, not our own.
These requirements we have studied over the last 6 weeks
Are certainly God’s expectation, and they are certainly our desire,
But they are ultimately only fulfilled in Christ.
And so at the end of the day, regardless of my best efforts,
I still throw myself at the feet of Jesus
And trust only in His life and death as my justification.
And that is why we come to this table again this morning.
We remember His righteous life and we remember His atoning death.
And we come in humility pledging that though I have failed to deny myself as I should, and though I have failed to follow as I should, that is my desire.
And I come here again proclaiming Him as Lord, denying myself to the best of my ability, and following with all the commitment I can muster, but ultimately trusting His faithfulness, not my own for my salvation.
At the end of the day we always end at the cross.
And we rejoice in what He did.
As always we have a time of preparation.
1 Corinthians 11:27-28 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”
