Luke 9:57-62
How Far Will You Go?
Introduction – Burning the Boats
On April 21st, in the year 1519, the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez sailed into the harbor of Vera Cruz, Mexico. He brought with him only about 600 men, and yet over the next two years his vastly outnumbered forces were able to defeat Montezuma and all the warriors of the Aztec empire, making Cortez the conqueror of all Mexico. How was this incredible feat accomplished, when two prior expeditions had failed even to establish a colony on Mexican soil? Here’s the secret. Cortez knew from the very beginning that he and his men faced incredible odds. He knew that the road before them would be dangerous and difficult. He knew that his men would be tempted to abandon their quest and return to Spain. And so, as soon as Cortez and his men had come ashore and unloaded their provisions, he ordered their entire fleet of eleven ships destroyed. His men stood on the shore and watched as their only possibility of retreat burned and sank. And from that point on, they knew beyond any doubt there was no return, no turning back. Nothing lay behind them but an empty ocean. Their only option was to go forward, to conquer or die.
Cortez knew how important it was for his crew to understand there were no options. He burned it all because he was committed to a cause. There was no price too high to pay. They would succeed or die trying!
Jesus, too, understood there are no options for those who follow Him! We have nothing else to fall back to. It’s all or nothing!
Let’s examine the text today to discover what God demands from those who name Him as Savior!
The first thing we notice is…
The Cost Required 57-58
The first man stated that he wanted to follow Jesus. Jesus gave him discouraging words because discipleship is not easy. It has a cost!
Before we build a house, buy a car or join an organization we must discover what it is going to cost us personally. You will have to endure hardships. There are no guarantees for success. In fact, in the Christian walk, you will fail…many times. But God notices your willingness to abandon your former life and persevere through the trials. Believers must pick up the cross daily and die to self. So what do we die to? There are five.
You must die to your Position. That’s your status in life. You are no longer your own. You have been bought with a price, therefore, you are His servant. Act like it!
You must die to your Possessions. In America, we have plenty of stuff. You can tell when our garages, attics and storage facilities are overflowing with things we don’t need, purchased with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like, in a world we don’t belong!
You must also die to your Privileges. That means you give up all your rights. The government doesn’t owe you and God doesn’t owe you. You have no privileges so quit bellyaching about what you deserve! If you got what you deserved, you would be in hell right now.
You must die to your Pursuits. We all love doing what we love to do what we love to do. Have you ever wondered what God wants you to do? What activities are you involved in which limit or restrict your work for God? If your hobbies or interests take more attention than the things of God, maybe we need to reexamine our pursuits in life.
Finally, you must die to your Profession. Often we are married to our jobs or career. They can become more important than our relationship with the Lord.
Illustration
When God called me to follow Him, I ran into a problem. I loved professional football…especially the Dallas Cowboys! They were MY team. I would miss church on Sundays to watch them because I was a committed fan. (Note--I probably should’ve been committed!) Anyway, after my salvation experience, I went cold-turkey off of football for three years. I watched very little because Jesus became more important to me!
Not only do we need to notice the cost required but we must also understand…
The Commitment Involved 59-60
The second man was told to follow Jesus. His response was one delay. Yes, Lord, but… is a message of procrastination. It is putting off today what one MIGHT do tomorrow. The only problem is there is no promise of tomorrow. Jesus gave him a sense of urgency. It was an urgency of proclaiming and possessing the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
What kind of commitment do we need to know? Let’s look at four.
First there is a commitment of your Time. Time is one thing that is never renewable. It can only be used once and never be reclaimed. Yet, we use time as if it is a commodity which can be purchased. Often, I have found that some people spend inordinate amounts of time on Face Book. Why? To say, “I’m brushing my teeth now?” When you stand before God and eternity, what will you say on how you used your time here on earth? Was it used for self-centered reasons or for God’s glory?
Secondly, there is a commitment of your Talents. Your gifts were given to you to be used as tools, not toys. God equipped you as a believer to live for Him and share Him with others. So what are you doing with your gifts?
There is also a commitment of your Treasures. Your calendar and checkbook is a witness on what is really important in your life. Your calendar is a testimony on where you spend your time but your checkbook is a witness on what you really think about God. Where do your treasures go? Do they go for temporal or eternal things?
And finally, there is a commitment of your Testimony. This is your witness for Christ. What do you talk about? What do people say about your character? Is there enough evidence to convict you in a courtroom concerning your Christian testimony?
Illustration – Christian convert Rifqa Bary
Rifqa Bary, a Christian convert whose parents are Muslim immigrants from Sri Lanka, will remain in foster care in Florida until another hearing is held Sept. 3, 2009.
Rifqa fled to Florida after her parents, Mohamed and Aysha Bary, learned that she was baptized earlier this year without their knowledge. The parents reported her missing to Columbus, Ohio, Police on July 19. Weeks later, using cell phone and computer records, police tracked the girl to the Rev. Blake Lorenz, pastor of the Orlando-based Global Revolution Church.
Florida’s Gov. Charlie Crist weighed in on the mater Friday with the following statement: "I am grateful to Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson for his decision to grant Fathima Rifqa Bary the right to remain in Florida. ... We will continue to fight to protect Rifqa’s safety and wellbeing as we move forward."
In an emotional six-minute interview with WFTV in Florida, Rifqa, who met Lorenz through an online Face Book group, said she expects to be killed if she is forced to return to Ohio.
"If I had stayed in Ohio, I wouldn’t be alive," she said. "In 150 generations in family, no one has known Jesus. I am the first — imagine the honor in killing me."
"There is great honor in that, because if they love Allah more than me, they have to do it. It’s in the Koran," said in the interview, which has been posted on YouTube.
Rifqa, who is seen wearing a large diamond cross during the interview, said she had to hide her Bible "for years," and she repeatedly "snuck out" to attend Christian prayer meetings. She referred to previous victims of so-called honor killings, in which young Muslim women were murdered for bringing dishonor to their families.
"They love God more than me, they have to do this," Bary told WFTV. "I’m fighting for my life. You guys don’t understand. … I want to worship Jesus freely, that’s what I want. I don’t want to die."
Contacted by FOXNews.com, Rifqa’s father Mohamed Bary said he has no intentions of harming his daughter.
"I love my daughter and I want her to come back to the family," he said, declining further comment.
If sent back to Ohio, Rifqa would not be allowed to live on her own, since the state does not have an emancipation statute.
The Bary’s reportedly emigrated from Sri Lanka in 2000 to seek medical treatment for Rifqa, who lost the sight in her right eye following an accident at home.
Barbra Joyner, Mohamed Bary’s lawyer, declined to comment on Rifqa’s interview with WFTV but said transferring the case back to Ohio will be in the "best interest" of the girl.
Craig McCarthy, an attorney for Aysha Bary, agreed that the case should be moved back to Ohio and added that the girl’s mother is afraid for her safety.
"[Aysha Bary] has shifted to downright frightened, scared of what might confront her publicly on Friday," McCarthy told FOXNews.com. "She is scared for her family, of losing her daughter, of never knowing the truth of what happened and for her own safety."
McCarthy said Rifqa’s account of how she traveled to Florida has "holes in it," but declined to elaborate. He also declined to respond to allegations that Bary’s father abused the girl when he learned of her conversion to Christianity.
Dr. Phyllis Chesler, an author and professor of psychology at the Richmond College of the City University of New York, said she believes Bary will be in danger if she is sent back to her parents.
"Anyone who converts from Islam is considered an apostate, and apostasy is a capital crime," Chesler wrote FOXNews.com. "If she is returned to her family, if she is lucky, they will isolate her, beat her, threaten her, and if she is not ’persuaded’ to return to Islam, they will kill her. They have no choice."
Chesler, who wrote "Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?" for Middle East Quarterly, said the tradition of such slayings is not fully understood by most Americans, including those in law enforcement.
"She escaped from her family’s brutal tyranny and shamed her family further through public exposure," Chesler said. "Muslim girls and women are killed for far less." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
So now that we notice the cost required and the commitment involved, we also discover…
The Conflict Described 61-62
Jesus described the thirds man choice to saying good-bye as tensions between two worlds. We have the earthly, fleshly world and the spiritual, immaterial world. Often what we see, feel, taste, touch and hear overwhelms the faith we “know” is there. But this conflict is not all bad. It requires us to revisit what is essential in our lives.
First, we should consider our Priorities. We want to add Jesus along with everything else in our lives. But what He is saying is that He must be first! He must be our priority!
Then we must consider our Potential. We are given opportunities for decisions and choices. God did not create robots or androids. He created man to willfully worship and praise Him! It comes down to your potential of becoming the disciple He desires.
And finally, we discover our Presumptions. I have seen many people presume upon God’s good graces. They presume they can make the decision later. But it doesn’t always happen. In fact, it rarely happens when someone decides later to commit their life to Christ. It is the exception rather than the rule.
Illustration – William W Borden
Borden was the heir of a wealthy Chicago family. In 1904 and 1905, at the age of 18, he traveled around the world. This was followed by a brilliant education at Yale and then Princeton Seminary, where he committed his life to seek to win the Muslims in China to Christ. Before he left, Borden gave away some $500,000 (equivalent to $10 million in the 1990s) and served at the age of 23 as a trustee of Moody Bible Institute. In 1913, in his 26th year, he left for Egypt and never looked back. It was the final year of his life, because in Cairo he contracted cerebral meningitis. As he lay dying, he scribbled this note: “No reserve, no retreat, no regrets.”
Have you burned it all for Christ? Have you lived a life of no reserve, no retreat and no regrets? Jesus is calling, not for a few good men, but for law breakers and sinners to sell it all and follow Him!
