Fit For The Kingdom / Luke 9: 51-62
Intro: Challenge – What if God said, “You must be able to fold a piece of paper into a perfect square while blindfolded to be fit for the kingdom of God?” IMPOSSIBLE? – what would I have to do to learn how to do that?
I. Verse 57 “I will follow you wherever you go.” - lofty, enthusiastic promise.
A. Crisis Christianity – “I’ll do whatever you want, go wherever you lead, if you’ll just get me out of this mess.”
B. Verse 58 - odd response? Concern with self, especially one’s own comfort and well-being.
C. Before you follow, count the cost. – self-denying devotion to the kingdom of God.
II. Verse 59 – OK; but.
A. The duty to bury the dead was binding on all devout Jews.
B. In all probability the man’s father was not dead, and not even nearly dead. “I will follow you after my father has died.”
C. Verse 60 – Crucial moment when writing thank you note to someone – if you don’t do it when you think of it, likely won’t get done. – Top Priority.
III. Verse 61 – OK; but, first I’ve got to do this.
A. When I taught school, I would give instructions to class – some students would be busy watching what others were doing, being more concerned about their neighbors than on the task.
B. Verse 62 – Focus – pay attention to the task.
C. You can fold paper rectangular piece of paper into square and even do it blindfolded! I you know how.
Conclu: Learning to fold a piece of paper into a square blindfolded requires the same three things as Jesus requires of us to be fit for the kingdom of God: Self-denying devotion to the task, making it an absolute priority and giving it your undivided attention.
