The Evident Pride of the Disciples – Part 3
Luke 9:46-56 (51-56)
December 9, 2018
As you know we are currently in a section of Luke’s gospel
That we have referred to as “MESSIANIC MISCONCEPTIONS”
It is that segment in which we hear Jesus correcting the mindset of the disciples.
And really it all centers around 1 shocking reality and that is THE CROSS.
• The disciples were not ready for that.
• The cross didn’t fit their plan.
• They didn’t have room for a Suffering Servant
• They didn’t have room for a Dying Messiah
They expected Him to rule and reign and receive glory
And to ultimately share that glory with those closest to Him.
Jesus is having to address that misconception here.
It began with Jesus’ shocking statement to those who would follow Him.
Luke 9:23 “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.”
That is to say,
• Get all those notions of fame and glory out of your head
• Let go of your sense of advancement and authority
• I came to die and if you follow Me you should embrace that as well
If you’re going to follow Me, you must deny yourself.
But, as we said, the disciples had not yet fully understood this.
• We can actually go all the way back to Peter rebuking Jesus for even mentioning death…
• We could actually go back and listen to Peter speak out of turn on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured…
• We could go back to the disciples enlisting Jesus in a prize fight with a demon as a means to flex His muscle…
It has really been clear that the disciples
Had not yet embraced this notion of the death of cross
And the reality that they must also deny themselves to follow Him.
But if that reality was yet unclear, Luke sets out to prove it.
In verses 46-56 Luke includes 3 STORIES.
It is highly unlikely that these 3 incidents actually happened as close together as it appears when you read them here.
• Even our verses this morning (51) begins with “When the days were approaching…” Which indicates a period of time had passed in between the two events.
But Luke includes them so close together
Because he is making a point as to how far the disciples still needed to go
In order to understand the concept of self-denial.
And so we have said that the disciples remaining pride or lack of self-denial is actually illustrated here in these 3 stories.
We’ve already looked at 2 of them.
#1 THEIR DISDAIN FOR THE LEAST
Luke 9:46-48
The very fact that they argued as to which of them was the greatest
Indicated that they didn’t think much
Of those they considered to be the least.
And if they could in fact have disdain for they figured to be the least
It only indicates that they didn’t have an accurate view
Of how little they deserved to be there.
• None of us where chosen for our value or benefit or usefulness to the Lord.
• We were all chosen by grace.
• Any notion of my own personal greatness only indicates a terrible misunderstanding of how little worth I actually brought to the table.
And therefore Jesus rebukes the disciples and tells them that
They must learn to receive those whom they discern are the least.
Why?
Because the Lord has accepted them, and the Lord has chosen them, and the Lord has saved them.
If you reject the least then you are in effect
Also rejecting the Lord and the Father.
But their remaining pride is seen in the fact that they did disdain the least.
The last week we saw a second indication of pride or lack of self-denial:
#2 THEIR DISRESPECT FOR THE LAITY
Luke 9:49-50
John tells Jesus that they saw a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name
And they tried to prevent him.
Jesus again rebuked them.
Of all the people in Galilee, and of all the different things they are doing, the man you felt the need to stop was the man casting out demons in my name?
And of course we know the reason.
• It wasn’t because this man wasn’t helping people
• It wasn’t because this man wasn’t glorifying Jesus
• It was because this man threatened to steal the glory from the disciples.
And that is what John basically admitted.
“we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.”
They were concerned that this man might threaten their glory.
And again we saw an evidence of pride and a lack of self-denial
And we reminded ourselves that this entire venture
HAS NEVER BEEN ABOUT OUR GLORY.
We don’t follow Christ for our own personal glory, we follow Christ for His glory.
• And if Christ is proclaimed…
• And if sinners are delivered…
• And if Christ is glorified…
• In that we rejoice!
The fact that the disciples couldn’t illustrated their lingering pride.
Their jealousy testified against them.
Well this morning we come to the third indicator of their lingering pride.
#3 THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE LOST
Luke 9:51-56
Before we get too deep into this story,
We do need to recognize a very important indicator verse.
(51) “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.”
This is now the 4th time in this chapter that Luke has referenced this RESOLUTE COMMITMENT OF JESUS to the cross.
Luke 9:20-22 “And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
Luke 9:30-31 “And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”
Luke 9:43-44 “And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
And here we see it again.
JESUS IS COMMITTED.
The word “determined” is a strong word that literally means “fixed”.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for worldly comfort…
• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for an earthly throne…
• Jesus wasn’t in this thing for fame and honor…
• Jesus had come to die on the cross, to be raised from the dead, and to ascend to the Father.
And although the disciples had seemingly balked at that notion
Jesus isn’t budging.
He is “determined to go to Jerusalem”
Jesus stands as a contrast to the disciples
• He has no pride…
• He has not selfishness…
• He is not simply seeking His own good…
• He is committed to the mission of God to die on a cross for sinners.
Nothing has been able to sidetrack Him from the cross.
And Luke continues to reference that reality
Because it only reinforces the truth that
If we are going to follow Him then we must also deny self.
You cannot walk a path of self-serving gratification
And follow Jesus at the same time.
Jesus was selfless, to follow Him you must be as well.
Well, the disciples struggled here and this morning we see another way and it is THEIR DISREGARD FOR THE LOST
As He is headed to Jerusalem,
He is cutting through the region of Samaria.
(52-53) “and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.”
Just A LITTLE BACKSTORY on the tension here
That will help you better understand the setting.
• You are familiar that under Saul and under David and Solomon Israel was a big as it ever was.
• But when Solomon’s son Rehoboam became King he was foolish and he actually split the kingdom.
• In fact the Northern 10 tribes defected and so throughout the period of the Kings you have Israel referred to, which was the north, and you have Judah referred to which was the Southern tribe.
The capital city of the Northern Kingdom was Samaria
The capital city of the Southern Kingdom was Jerusalem
Long story short, The Northern Kingdom of Israel rebelled against God and God destroyed them by the hand of the nation of Assyria.
TURN TO: 2 Kings 17
This is the story of their ultimate demise.
(READ 1-6) – So Israel was conquered and their people deported.
• Verses 7-17 explain why God was so angry with Israel, and then in verse 18 we read again. “So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight; none was left except the tribe of Judah.”
And then in verse 24 we learn something of the root of the Samaritans.
(READ VS. 24-41)
Now there is a lot to see there, but basically you learn this.
• Assyria brought in foreigners to live in the land of Israel
• Those foreigners worshiped other gods and thus incurred God’s wrath
• So a priest was sent back to show them how to worship the true God
• They then added Him to their list of gods to worship
In short, you have a polytheistic people
Who do know something of worship of the true God.
• So you have foreigners living in Israel’s land while Israel is in exile.
• It is also generally believed that some of the poor of Israel had remained in the land and intermarried with these foreign refugees.
Now, 186 years later (after Judah is conquered and spends 70 years in captivity in Babylon) all of Israel is granted by God to return to their land.
And as Israel is setting up her new society and rebuilding the temple,
We run across these people living in the land.
Ezra 4:1-5 “Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
• There was no mix and no agreement.
• Perhaps you even remember the battles Nehemiah fought as he sought to rebuild the city wall.
This tension is seen all the way into New Testament times.
Remember the woman at the well?
John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
So between the two peoples you have a lot of disdain.
• The Samaritans resented the Jews for coming back to Israel and seizing their land and instituting worship in Jerusalem alone.
• The Jews resented the Samaritans for being idol worshipers and seemingly traitors who intermarried with Gentiles.
And here we run into a pocket of less than gracious Samaritans
Who will not allow Jesus and His disciples to stay in their village
Simply because He is headed to Jerusalem.
This had nothing to do with Him being the Messiah,
They just wanted to prevent any Jew from worshiping God in Jerusalem.
And this was more than the disciples can handle.
(54) “When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
This of course was “James and John” appropriately nicknamed “The Sons of Thunder” because they were callous and harsh and full of judgment.
The same John who just tried to prevent a man for casting out demons.
They approach Jesus after having been disrespected in Samaria and ask, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
Now first you might ask, “Where did they even get an idea like that?”
Well they got that idea from their history book.
In 2 Kings 1 you have an Israeli King reigning in Samaria named Ahaziah
• And he injured himself and became sick and he wanted to know if he would get better
• So he sent messengers to “Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron”
• And when he did this God sent Elijah to rebuke the king for seeking a pagan god instead of the true God of Israel.
• This offended the King and he sent to apprehend Elijah.
Here is what happened.
2 Kings 1:9-15 “Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.'” Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.'” Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. “Behold fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.” The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king.”
No doubt remembering that story and keenly aware of the power of Jesus,
And having recently seen Elijah on the mountain,
John and James want to know if it is time for history to repeat itself.
• Don’t you think it’s time that these pagan sinners know who they are dealing with?
• Don’t you think it’s time they learn a little respect?
• There’s no way they should have the audacity to treat You like that, how about we call down fire on them like Elijah did?
That’s the disciple’s response.
It is the response of Jesus that helps us understand
Just how little the disciples understood about self-denial
And the mission of Jesus.
(55-56) “But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.”
Now first of all you recognize that much of these [two verses is in brackets] indicating that it is not in the oldest manuscripts.
If you read the NIV you actually have to look down into the margin
To see the middle statement.
When a passage is found missing in an older manuscript it is an indicator that it is a phrase which must have been added later and not a part of the original text.
(There are several of these in Scripture: John 5:4 where the angel stirred the water, John 8 and the story of the woman caught in adultery, the end of the book of Mark)
What this means is that in copying the original text someone added the verse in to most likely give clarification.
What do we do with it?
1. We recognize it wasn’t part of the original and so are careful awarding full authority to it as the inspired word of God.
2. We recognize that God has allowed it to remain so we understand that while we may not treat it as fully authoritative, we don’t necessarily treat it as inaccurate.
Luke’s original statement was simply that Jesus rebuked the disciples
And they went on to another village.
The added statement just gives us insight into the specifics of the rebuke,
And since it is a statement consistent with what Jesus says in other places we have NO PROBLEM WITH IT remaining.
NOW, WHAT WE KNOW IS TRUE is that Jesus rebuked James and John for their desire to bring ultimate judgment down on the Samaritans.
And even if Jesus didn’t specifically give the clarification here,
He did plenty of other times as He reminded the disciples
That He did not come to condemn but to save.
AND THERE IS SOME IMPORTANT THEOLOGY THERE TO UNDERSTAND.
You are all familiar with John 3
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
What do we learn there?
It is NOT AS THOUGH man is in a neutral condition before Christ came
And He either condemns them or saves them.
Man is already under divine condemnation by reason of his sin.
If Jesus wants men to be condemned all He has to do is “nothing”
He didn’t have to come to condemn, man was already condemned.
John the Baptist mentions this again at the end of the chapter.
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Paul alludes to this in Romans 1
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
What that indicates is that there is only 1 reason
To explain why Christ came to this earth.
AND THAT IS TO SAVE MEN.
Man didn’t need to be condemned, he was already condemned.
Jesus came because they needed to be saved.
Everything about His ministry was all for this purpose.
• His birth
• His righteous life
• His miracles
• His preaching
• His death
• His resurrection
• His ascension
IT’S ALL ABOUT SAVING MEN, NOT CONDEMNING THEM
Paul said it as clearly as anyone:
1 Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”
And if you understand the fundamental purpose of Jesus
Then you understand why this is such a bizarre question
From James and John.
“Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
Seriously?
• You think I left heaven, was born of a virgin and dwelt among men,
• Lived a righteous life,
• And have repeatedly told you of my upcoming death on a cross
• SO THAT WE COULD CALL DOWN FIRE ON MEN?
Do you understand now the rebuke?
And the added informative statement indicates
That this is not an indicator of the Spirit of God, and misses the point.
“And they went on to another village.”
Now let’s talk about that statement for a moment
So that we can get full understanding.
I don’t want you to misunderstand what happened.
• The disciples asked if they should call down fire. Now that would be final
and permanent judgment.
• Jesus rebuked them because He came to save.
However, Jesus then DID PERFORM a symbolic judgment on them.
WHAT WAS THAT?
He left.
Let me remind you of the missionary call of Jesus.
Even when Jesus sent out the 12 the first time, He said:
Luke 9:5 “And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
Matthew’s gospel expounds:
Matthew 10:14-15 “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”
There was a temporal judgment here.
• That Samaritan village lost their opportunity to house the Son of God and to hear the gospel message (at least that night)
Jesus did enact a FORM of judgment,
But He did not enact a FINAL judgment of condemnation.
And this is SO IMPORTANT to remember
When dealing with an unbelieving world.
There are a couple of passages I want to put in your mind here.
1 is the infamous “Judge Not” passage.
Matthew 7:1-6 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Now I’m not going to work all through that one again right now.
• You know that the issue there is self-righteousness and how in your quest to
stomp out sin you should start with your own.
• Jesus doesn’t say you shouldn’t point out the splinter in your brother’s eye, it’s
just that you should clear out your own eye first.
But at the end of that Jesus does give a very important warning.
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pears before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
That is to say, if they don’t want to hear it,
You can’t make them. And you shouldn’t make them.
Things like the religious crusades are not proper evangelism.
You can’t kidnap a non-believer, tie him in a corner
And force him to hear the gospel.
The judgment is seen in that you take what is holy;
You take your pearls, and you move on.
You don’t call down fire on them, you don’t shoot the pigs,
YOU JUST MOVE ON.
Another important perspective is found in 1 Corinthians 5.
• You know that chapter as the chapter about the immoral sinning brother.
• The man who “has his father’s wife”.
• And Paul categorically calls for the church to pass judgment on that man and remove him from the body.
• It is arrogant to smile at what God condemns
• It is a dangerous influence to allow to remain in the church
• Paul commanded that church to hand that “so called brother” over to Satan
However Paul makes a very important clarification after that instruction.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”
I hope you pick up on Paul’s clarification.
When we are dealing with a professing believer.
• We are most certainly supposed to understand the role of discipline.
• Now it is not to condemn, but to redeem.
• We discipline so that his soul may be saved.
However non-believers are not treated this way.
• They don’t know any better.
• Why would we expect a non-believer to care about the righteous standard of God?
• We don’t shoot them…
• We don’t hand them over to Satan…
• We don’t call down fire on them…
What do we do?
We give them the truth!
We preach to them the gospel!
Consider Jesus:
Luke 5:29-32 “And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
In Luke 15 you’re going to see it again:
Luke 15:1-2 “Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Do you know how Jesus responded there?
He gave 3 parables:
• The Lost Sheep
• The Lost Coin
• The Lost Son
It was meant to show that His purpose was to save sinners…
NOT DESTROY THEM!
AND HERE WE HAVE THE DISCIPLES,
IN TOTAL CONTRAST TO THE PURPOSE OF JESUS
Ready to call down fire on the Samaritans all because they don’t like them
And they have inconvenienced them a little.
They would just as soon see the Samaritans burned with fire
As saved with the gospel.
And how tragically we see this.
• Remember Jonah?
• Didn’t want to go to Nineveh.
• In fact, when God finally carried there via the belly of a whale and Jonah did preach, and Nineveh did repent we see Jonah’s response:
Jonah 4:1-3 “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”
Why was Jonah so angry?
• Because the Assyrians had been brutally awful to the Jews,
• And in Jonah’s mind they didn’t deserve saving.
Many years ago before coming to Spur, I preached in a little church in Byers and an older deacon there took me to lunch and shared his testimony with me.
• He told me how he had served in WW2
• He told me how he had fought on the islands of Japan
• And he told me how joyful he was when his daughter surrendered to be a
missionary
• But he was not ready to hear her say she had been called to Japan.
His words to me: “Rory, those were dirty Japs and they didn’t deserve saving.”
He then went on to share how God changed his heart and how he had been to Japan and had grown to love those people, but you get the idea.
That tells something of the disdain of James and John.
• They hated the Samaritans.
• The Samaritans represented everything that was wrong in that region.
• The Samaritans represented hardship and struggle and immorality and it was nothing but a pain to have to pass through that region time after time.
• It would be better if God just blasted them off the earth.
The disciples had JEALOUSY, PREJUDICE and BITTERNESS in their heart
And they still lacked the denial of self that is required.
And can I bring that a little bit closer to home for you?
Homosexuality is on the rise in America,
• Is it a sin? Yes, that’s clear
• Will they be judged? Yes, that’s also clear
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!
Muslims, militant to Christianity and even America.
• Is it sin? Yes
• Will they be judged? Yes
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!
Political tensions are high in America. People who support abortion and the spread of sexual immorality.
• Is it sin? Yes
• Will they be judged? Yes
• But is it God’s desire that you call down fire on them? Of course not!
It’s your job to lovingly give them the gospel.
WE DO NOT DESIRE THE DEATH OF SINNERS
• Christ didn’t leave us here to desire the death of sinners
• He left us here to proclaim to them the gospel.
Want a good example of what this looks like?
• Paul went to Philippi where he cast a demon out of slave girl and ended up
being beaten and thrown in the stocks.
• About midnight he and Silas were praying and singing hymns and God sent an
earthquake and opened Paul’s cell door.
Acts 16:25-30 “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
How easy would it have been to just wait for that jailor to kill himself
So that you could be free with no roadblock?
And yet Paul knew he was not there to seek the death of the unredeemed.
Do you understand the point?
I am well aware that America has a growing population of people
Who do not share your values and who seek to make America
Into a land that we don’t want to live in.
It’s the whole: “Don’t California my Texas” bumper sticker…
And yet, this world wasn’t a pleasant place for the Holy Son of God either. But even in the midst of our filth,
He did not come to condemn, but to save.
AND WE MUST DIE TO SELF
AND SEE THOSE WHO THREATEN OUR WAY OF LIFE
AS A MISSION FIELD, NOT AN EXPENDABLE CASUALTY.
And we must understand this.
• If we are only concerned about our own comfort
• If we are only concerned about being around people like us
• If we are only concerned about not being inconvenienced
• Then we’ll never follow Christ.
Look, I realize we can talk about them offending God and deserving judgment. And that’s true, and they must be warned.
But we are talking about our treatment of them,
And that must be like Christ.
Jesus left the glories of heaven to walk among a sin-infested world. Everything about our world must have been an offence and inconvenience to Him. And yet He did not call down fire.
He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
So you want to know WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE if you have lingering pride and have not yet understood what it means to deny yourself?
1) Do you have Disdain for the Least?
• Do you think yourself more worthy than other less important believers?
2) Do you have Disrespect for the Laity?
• Do you think ministry is a means for you to get glory and are you jealous when
the Lord seeks to use someone else?
3) Do you have Disregard for the Lost?
• Do you see your mission field as an inconvenience and would rather see them
dead than redeemed?
Those were the struggles of the disciples,
And they are still indicators of people who have not yet fully understood
The necessity of denying self to follow Jesus.
