Luke 9:51-62, "Fit For The Kingdom"

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Nov. 8 sermon from Clifford Baptist Church, 6:35 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Today's scripture is Luke, chapter 9, verses 51, 62. And the sermon is entitled Fit for the Kingdom, Delivered today by Pastor Jeffrey Campbell. [00:00:14] Speaker B: Go to Luke, chapter number nine. Today we're going to talk about a word that we call commitment. And that definition of commitment is the state or quality of being dedicated to. To the course. Dedicated to the course. Loyal to someone or something. We understand commitment in many different ways. Maybe today you're sitting here and you understand what commitment means in marriage. When you think about marriage, the commitment is. Marriage is. I do, through the good and the bad and especially through the difficulties and the disagreements and the disappointments. Because if you're married long enough, those things will come. Now, my prayer is this, that you have many, many, many, many more good days. But when you think about the people that have been married, there's a couple just this past week, 55 years of marriage. Mike and Becky McMurray, 55 years of marriage. They've been married over. They've been married longer than I've been alive. That's commitment. Till death do us part. When we think about commitment in parenting, to continue to love and to guide and to pray, no matter the age or the situation of your children, some parents in this room today, you may be heartbroken, but your job at parenting your children never stops. Commit your child in prayer to the Lord. Maybe you think about commitment and work the season, or you show up despite. You may not enjoy the season that you're in at work, but you continue to go. You understand what commitment means in your financial realm, where you have to pay the bill. You're committed to pay the bill of what you owe. We understand what commitment means and the promises that we make to one another and we press on. But today I want to ask you the question, what about ministry and what about worship? And what about your commitment to Jesus? What does that look like? Our commitment to Jesus is. Is a corporate thing as we gather as a church. But individually, when you express faith in Jesus Christ, there is a commitment that follows what you offer, what you told Jesus the day that you accepted him. You did not make a commitment to Jesus to have faith for one minute or one moment or one season, and then you go and live your life however you want to. That's not faith. And so what we understand today, our commitment to Jesus extends to his word and extends to a life that lives out that word and extends to our relationship to the one that we call our Lord today. It's rooted in the verse that will end our chapter and end our time together today. In Luke chapter 9, verse 62, Jesus said to him, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. So today, here's the question. You ready? Are you fit for the kingdom of God? Are you? I'm not asking about your family. I'm not asking about the church. I'm asking about you. Are you fit? When you said yes to Jesus, did you really mean it? Let's pray, Father. Lord, as we approach your word, Lord, I pray that you will lead us in this study through your word and through the closing of Luke chapter nine. Lord, thank you for Jesus teaching to the men that he loved the most on this earth. God. I pray, Lord, through your Holy spirit, Lord, that you will speak to our hearts. Because today I believe that love extends to us, Lord. Thank you Lord, that you loved us enough to go to a cross and to lay down your life and to resurrect out of a tomb that we may have a relationship with our God. Lord, today, as we look at our commitment to you, Lord, I pray that you will open our eyes and our hearts to what our yes truly means. Lord, we love you and we thank you in Jesus name, Amen. Look at Luke, chapter nine, verses 51 through 53. And it came to pass when the time was come that he should be received up. He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and sent messengers before his face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. And they did not receive him because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. Today, as we ponder the question about being fit for the kingdom, point number one. Today, people that are fit for a kingdom fit for the kingdom of God, look for direction. Write those three words down. Look for direction. You remember last week as we ended our sermon together that the disciples were told that the Son of man would be delivered into the hands of men. And Jesus desired to make sure that his disciples understood that. And we talked about it. God's word said they didn't really understand and they didn't ask any questions. But what we get from that is Jesus is focused on what God's will for his life is. In Luke chapters eight and nine, we see a turn in the life of Jesus focusing on the cross and in which Jesus has called him to. And he wants those that are around him to understand what this truly means and Luke tells us in verse number 51 that the time has come that he should be received up. What does that terminology mean, to be received up? He's going to be taken up. Received up? Certainly I believe this appoints ultimately to the ascension of Jesus to be with God the Father. But practically in Jesus day, Jerusalem was an upward elevation. It was a trajectory that he had to go up. So as Jesus turned his eyes and his focus toward Jerusalem, he literally was going to be taken up to Jerusalem. Ministry would lead him that way. He would be taken up not only to Jerusalem, but but he would be taken up and put on a cross before all people. When we understand not only would he be going up to Jerusalem and be put upon a cross and he would be called upwards to heaven by God the Father. We understand this, that Jesus focus is simply about carrying out His Father's will. Listen, people that are committed to the work of God, that desire Jesus to be glorified through their lives, have a direction, have a focus in their life as well. We understand that Jerusalem is not a strange place for Jesus. Jerusalem was the place that in the Temple, Jesus was there with his parents at 12 years old. And he sat with the teachers of the law. And he would debate with them in Jerusalem. He would teach in Jerusalem. He would over the years understand the rejection as they too would reject him as the Savior. He would enter Jerusalem as the King. He would gather disciples there for the Last Supper. He would be arrested, condemned, crucified and resurrected. All in the place of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is not a place that he does not know. So as he goes up to Jerusalem, he is following what the Lord has for his life. His focus, his face is set toward Jerusalem. That's what verse number 51 tells us. He understands that his earthly days are numbered. But even though this is not a desirable way, he knows it is God's way. And he goes to Jerusalem. In verse number 52, we're told that some messengers were sent before him. Now remember, Jesus is steering toward Jerusalem. And the messengers are sent toward him in a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. Now, in the Bible and to the Jews, that word Samaritans is a cuss word. Okay? It's a bad word. It's a bad group of people. It's a hated group of people. Hated so much that the Jews would often do whatever they could not to go through Samaria. They would go around Samaria because they hated these people so much. But what does Jesus do? Jesus sends his messengers ahead to secure lodging and to find a place to stay. And when those messengers show up, guess what? They are rejected. How many of you know that if you reject the messengers of God, ultimately you are rejecting God? And that's what you see here. The Samaritans don't want anything to do with this. And so they are rejecting not only the messengers, but they are rejecting Jesus Christ coming through their city, their place, staying there, because his face is set toward Jerusalem. When you are fit for the Kingdom, here's what you need to understand. Here's what I need to understand. Your life has purpose and direction. And everything that has happened in your past has helped shape you and who God needs you to be in order to be faithfully, in order to faithfully follow him. And so as he is rejected in this city of Samaria or in this village of the Samaritans, he still, even though he faces rejection, he goes through it. Now, how many of us understand that we are entering a time in our country where Christianity will be rejected? A month back, I was in a different country. Only 3% of the people there are Christians. I'll tell this story on a Wednesday night. I was in the middle of 20,000 Muslim people. And here's what I want you to know. That's the darkest place I've ever been in the world. When we understand what rejection is like, Christianity is not the culmination, it is not the priority in our country anymore. And church, we've got to wake up to that fact. We got to wake up that people will reject you. People don't want to hear about Jesus. And what Jesus does here in Samaria is as he faces that rejection, he continues to move toward Jerusalem because that's what God wants him to do. And so this morning, as we think about being fit for the Kingdom, is your face, is your heart, is your life sent toward Jesus? So much so that when rejection comes, it doesn't matter. You're here to follow Jesus. Maybe you're here this morning. And I've been this way in the past. I feel like my life is just spinning in circle and I'm chasing my own ideas, my own hopes, and my own dreams. The Bible says In Matthew, chapter 9, verse 36, as Jesus sees the crowd and has compassion on them, he says this. They were harassed and helpless like a sheep without a shepherd. Now listen to me. If you are a believer, you should not live your life like a sheep that does not have a shepherd. Because if the Lord is leading your life, you shouldn't be spinning in circles. No, you may not always have the answers. You may have to trust him through prayer. But as a believer, your life should not feel like you are spinning out of control and you have no hope because you have Jesus. You have the good Shepherd. And so today, what we read here, if Jesus faces rejection, guess what? You better bank on it too. It's not a smooth paved way to heaven. I want you to understand that rejection will come. But when we think about today, about being fit for the kingdom, God's people have direction and godly people want to follow God. It's that simple. When people look at you and me, our life should show them the way to Jesus. So today, where is your focus? Where is your heart? It's so easy to rest our heart on our own desires or on our own plans. But when you lay it before the Master, when you lay it before Jesus, Jesus can take the mess of the past and make it something beautiful for his glory in the future. Future. Today. Today, if you've said yes to Jesus, your life should be one that follows his direction. Look at verses 54 through 56. And when the disciples, James and John saw this, they said, lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, you know not what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. Point number two today, if we are fit for the kingdom, we long to deliver, not destroy. We long to deliver, not destroy. When we think of rejection, I don't know a man or a woman in this room that likes to be rejected. Real quick this week I was flashback to when Terri and I first met. Somebody asked what that story looks like, right? And I saw Terri. We worked together at the same place. She was a beautiful girl in a young man's eyes. I want you to know that, okay? And when I saw her, I said, I need to see if she wants to go on a date. Don't look at me like that. Y' all do the same thing. So I approached Terri and I said, listen, there's a concert that's in the local area. Let's go to that concert together. You know what she said? No. You know why? I had General Mission and she had fifth row seats. She should have known then I was a cheapskate, right? I hold that over her head. I told her, I said, I should have took my clue then. I should have just took it then. But Listen, rejection, what does it look like? What does it look like to not get the job that you desired? What does rejection look like for you? And when we understand it, none of us like to be rejected. And so, as these disciples were rejected by the village, guess what? They have two options. What they should do and what they actually did. And you and I have that same situation, that same choice many times throughout our life. What should we do? And what did we do? Or what do we do? Right. Well, when the disciples face rejection, what should they do? Real quick, look back at verse number five of chapter nine. Here's what Jesus says. And whosoever will not receive you when you go out of that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them. Here's what they should do. Jesus already gave them what they should do. When somebody rejects you, when you leave the city, leave the city, Shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. Now, what does James and John do? Okay, Jesus, let's call fire down on them. Let's destroy this city. You remember what Elijah did as they poured water upon the altar and they were testing their gods. And Elijah called out to his God and God sent down fire and destroyed the altar. Licked up the water off the altar, destroyed that place. Let's do that here. Hey, hey, hey. Listen. This week, some good Christian people have wished that upon America because the vote didn't go their way. Let's just destroy them. How many of us in righteous anger, we say, God, just destroy them. Wipe them off the earth. That's the solution. And what we see here is the sons of thunder want to destroy it all in the name of Jesus. And Jesus quickly says this. No, absolutely not. Look at verse number 55. He says this, but he turned and rebuked them and said, you know not what manner of spirit you are of. You don't have the right spirit in your heart. And there are people that sit in churches, good people, that have the wrong spirit in their heart. And here Jesus simply says, the Son of man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. How many of you know, but by the grace of God, we could be in that other country and we could be the Muslims today, but by the grace of God. And the first thing in our mind is we want to call them down or we want them destroyed. How many times instead of asking God to destroy them, do we pray for their salvation? We are in a wicked world, no doubt. We are in an evil world, no doubt we are in a world that does not know Jesus. That's not a surprise. What are we going to do about it? Clifford Baptist Church Are we going to sit here and say, okay, we're okay. God, take us home? Are we going to get out in the fields that are white and ready for the harvest and get to work? You see people that are fit for the kingdom. They don't want people destroyed, they want them delivered. Jesus simply says this in verse number 56. The son of man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And so today we understand what Peter writes about in 2nd Peter 3. 9. The Lord is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God's heart doesn't want any soul condemned, separated from his presence. The likelihood of that, I believe God knows that's not going to happen. But that's God's heart. Heart. But how many times, just like the disciples, have we missed what Jesus is trying to do drastically? And today I don't want you to miss the point. And so the point is twofold. Individually, if you are here today, you may be the worst person, the worst sinner. You may have done bad things in your past. Here's what Jesus word says. He loves you and he wants you to turn from that sin. And he wants a relationship with you. He doesn't want your life destroyed. He wants to save your life. And so today, if you wandered into Clifford Baptist Church today, thinking God cannot do anything, I've been too bad, that is false. Jesus desires to save you. But as a church, we must pray for workers in the harvest. We must be willing to share the good news of Jesus Christ. And we must desire to see people saved. Our witness, our words, our lives should show that we are on a mission not to destroy, but for God to deliver through us. There's a little book so many Christians love. The book of Revelation, right? There's a little book right before the book of Revelation in your Bible. Only one chapter. It's the Book of Jude. Listen to these words from the Book of Jude, starting with verse number 21. Listen. You don't have to turn over, just listen. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion making a difference and. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. There are some people that we need to snatch. We need to pluck them out of the fire by offering them the good news of Jesus Christ. And the only way that these people who are destined and determined for hell will understand that is through people like you and people like me. And so today, when you think about the direction of your life, you also have to remember Jesus wants to save people. He's out to deliver, not to destroy. And people who are fit for the kingdom of God want the kingdom of God to grow in the name of Jesus, not for a pat on our own back, but that God gets all the glory. And so today, I'm gonna personally ask each one of you, what are you, those of you that have said yes to Jesus as sav. What are you doing? What are you doing to grow the kingdom of God? What are you doing to deliver people out of the fire church? We must be about that business. There's one more point today. Look at verse 57 through 62. And it came to pass that as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, follow me. But he said, lord, suffer me first to go and to bury my father. And Jesus said to him, let the dead bury their dead and but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, lord, I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell which are at home in my house. And Jesus said to him, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Point number three. If we are to be fit for the kingdom, we are to live with determination. And what do I mean by that? This is where that word commitment comes into play. As they move to another village, Jesus encounters three unnamed men. In our Bibles. The first offers this. Jesus, I'll follow wherever you go. Well, we understand this. This man did not know where Jesus was going. This man didn't know that his face was set toward Jerusalem. This man did not know Jesus would have to endure the cross. And yet out of his. I'm going to use the word ignorance here because he didn't know. Out of his own ignorance, he said, jesus, I'll do this. I'll follow you wherever you go. How many of us are guilty of being like man number one? Man number one tells God what we will do only if he does something else, not knowing the full cost. Somebody in this room may have said, God, I'll be a missionary for you be careful because the field is white and ready for the harvest. How many of you know we need missionaries? How many of you, our churches need pastors. But let's say you say, I'll be a missionary, but, God, you only have to keep me close, and it has to be in the United States. And what if Jesus lead you to the other side of the world? There's a young lady from our congregation that came through my youth group that grew up, that got a hunger for missions, and that is on the other side of the world today for Jesus. You know what I say? I know that's not me, but be careful of being like man number one, saying, God, I'll do this. I'll make this promise to you, not knowing what that promise might entail. And so this man number one, this first man speaks too soon before he counts the cost. He commits to something that he can't follow through with. But there's a second man. And this second man, Jesus, initiates that conversation and simply says this. Follow me. Jesus says, I'll follow you, but I've got to go take care of my dying father first. Now, listen, following Jesus and taking care of a dying relative, both of those are admirable things. They're good, they're noble. They're admirable things that you can do. But admirable things can stop you from following Jesus. Good intentions can hold you back from going where God wants you to go. And so really, in this situation, if this man, if this man's father was close to dying, he would have been by his bedside anyway. And so what this man probably means it's a process. My father's dying. He may have weeks or months or a year to live. I need to take care of my father. Now, listen, don't kill the messenger. Don't shoot me, okay? Don't kill the messenger. That's a wonderful thing. I watched my mom take care of my stepdad for five years of her life. That's a wonderful thing. But listen, good things can get in God's way, too. The first man spoke too soon without counting the cost. The second man is too slow. He counts all the costs and says, God, it'll be a year before I'm able to follow you. But I really want to. Maybe that's like you today. Maybe you want to make a decision. You want to follow Jesus. You want to surrender your life, but now's not the time. This is person number two. There's a third person that we meet, and that third person says this, I'LL follow, but there's going to be a little delay. I just got to go say goodbye. And Jesus says in the last verse of chapter nine that you can't put your hand to the plow and look back and be fit for the kingdom of God. I'm old enough to have been able to help my grandfather plow a garden with a horse and buggy. I know that's a thing of the past. Some people still use it, but the majority of our young people today have never seen that. But I remember hitching up to the horse, I remember the plow. I remember trying to hold the plow, the reins, and keep a straight line. And how do you do that? You can't look back because if you've ever taught somebody how to drive, wherever you look, that's where the horse goes, right? When you look back, you're gonna pull that horse this way and the line's gonna get off, the road's gonna get off. And so you just gotta look where you're going. You gotta be focused on where you're going. And you've got to take care of that. Some people in this room today are looking back and saying, look, I've been too bad of a person. I've done too many bad things, I've got too much sin, too many wrong decisions in my past that God doesn't want me. Do you know, people actually believe that I've been too bad. And the person number three teaches us this. When you put your hand to the plow, when you say yes to Jesus, your yes better be yes. There's no time to waste by looking back or second guessing, thinking that the old life could have been very well. So today, people who are fit for the kingdom live with a determination to be focused on Jesus and listen to me, nothing else. Your primary focus as a believer should be to honor Jesus Christ with your life. And yes, God has called us in different directions to different duties, to different responsibilities. Praise God for that. But you've got to be faithful in what God's called you to do today. Are you here needing direction? Listen, maybe you're trying to figure out what God's will is for your life. I met with a young lady this morning, just talking through small talk with her, and I asked her, what's your next steps as you're facing graduation? And she was just talking, what that looks like. Listen, you may be sitting here today at that point of if I don't know what God's will looks like, here's what I'm gonna Do I'm gonna invite you to come down and bow before a holy God and say, God, listen, I don't know, but you do. You know where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be doing and whom I'm supposed to be with for the rest of my life. I wanna honor you by being faithful to you first. God, put that, that person, that place, that job, that school, put that in my life. Give me that direction today. Is there somebody in this room that would be so bold to come and pray? God, I need direction. Don't think of yourself less. I pray for God's direction every day. Today. Are you here? Are you longing for someone to be delivered, not destroyed? Parents? Is there a child that's wayward? Is there a friend that you know that is lost? Will you as a believer, look to Jesus as the one that will deliver, not destroy, and will you pray? Give me those opportunities to share the good news and God will open those doors today. Maybe you need to put your hand to the plow. You've been talking about doing something. You've been wanting to do something. But you've never grabbed ahold to a ministry. You've never grabbed ahold to a relationship with Jesus and said, jesus, I'm all in. I'm not gonna look back. I'm gonna trust you for what's ahead today. If that's you, you come. My desire today, as I close this message, is for all of us to grow, that we are fit for God's kingdom when the knock comes on our door, when the timeline expires on our life, that we can stand before a holy God knowing that we've done what he's called us to do. Don't go to your grave wondering if you got it right. Don't go to your grave wishing you would have done something. Make that decision today. Grab ahold of the plow and don't look back. Remain faithful to Jesus Christ and he will bless you. One more thing today. If you are in this room and you've never committed your life to Jesus, it's not my job to twist your arm, beg you to come. I want you to come. I want you to know Jesus. Jesus changed my life. The desire of my heart is that Jesus will be your Lord today. If you've never accepted him as Savior, that's the first business. Because here's the truth of that. If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, you're not fit for the kingdom. That's where it all begins. If you need him as Savior, don't you walk out of these doors saying, I'll do it another time, do it today. Let's go to the Lord. Father, thank you, Lord, for meeting us in this place and in this moment of invitation. God, we just lay it before you, God, you know the room, you know the hearts that are in the room. And as you search and know us, God, I pray that you will just do business with us right now. Lord, there are decisions that need to be made today that can't wait. God, as that hand is put to the plow, God, I pray that you will lead by your holy spirit, Lord. Give direction, give wisdom. Lord, I pray. Lord, we thank you and we pray for that one that needs you ultimately as savior. God, that you will rescue, that you will deliver, not destroy. That one. God, thank you. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your love for us today. I pray that Clifford Baptist Church will be committed to following Jesus. Lead us in that we pray in Jesus name, Amen.