THE COST OF COMMITMENT

THE COST OF COMMITMENT

Luke 9:18-27

Introduction: Kenneth Bailey tells the story of teaching some short courses at the Lutheran Church of Latvia. While there, he observed the interviewing of prospective students and inquired of the interviewers what questions they asked. They said, “The most important question is ‘When were you baptized?’ And he asked why is that so important? They answered, ‘If they were baptized during the period of Soviet rule, they risked their lives and compromised their futures by being baptized. But if they were baptized after liberation from the Soviets, we have many further questions to ask about why they want to become a pastor.” And then he writes, “the master challenges his servants to live boldly and publicly as his servants, using his resources and unafraid of his enemies, confident in the future as His future.”

            Fewer than 10 percent of Americans are deeply committed Christians, says pollster George Gallup, who adds that these people "are far, far happier than the rest of the population." 
Committed Christians, Gallup found, are more tolerant than the average American, more involved in charitable activities, and are "absolutely committed to prayer." While many more Americans than this 10 percent profess to be Christians, adds Gallup, most actually know little or nothing of Christian beliefs, and act no differently than non-Christians. "Overall," says Gallup, "The Sunday School and religious education system in this country is not working." 

            On the contrary those perspective students at the Lutheran Church of Latvia seemed to have understood what commitment to Christ was all about and were willing to pay the price of risking their lives. For them nothing mattered when it comes to following Christ in the waters of Baptism. For the past twee weeks, we have been working through our Mission statement: Glorifying God by becoming devoted followers of Christ.”  Today we will look at what it means to become devoted followers of Christ. THE COST OF COMMITMENT Luke 9:18-27

Background: Jesus’ sends out the twelve disciples giving them power and authority to cast out evil spirts, to heal and to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  The disciples returned to Jesus with exciting reports. The crowds gathered to hear Jesus speak about the Kingdom of God. It was lunch time; the disciples requested Jesus to disperse the crowd so that they can go out and get food. Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish feeding over five thousand people.

            During one of his private moments of prayer Jesus, was with his disciples. The Holy Spirit dispelled the myths surrounding who Jesus was and revealed through Peter that he was indeed the Messiah. Using his own life as an example Jesus explains what is required of anyone who wants to be his disciple. Jesus talked about the cost that comes with the commitment.

I. SELF DENIAL & PICKING UP OUR CROSS (Vs 23)

            To refresh our memory, our mission statement reads, “Glorifying God by becoming devoted followers of Christ.” How do we glorify or honor God? We do it by becoming devoted followers of Christ. It is not accomplished by one simple decision or activity, but by intentionally committing ourselves to a lifelong process. The word devotion is a deep and action filled word. It means, “love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause fidelity, faithfulness, and commitment. When we say “by becoming devoted followers of Christ,” our goal is to become committed, loving, enthusiastic, and faithful followers of Christ.

            We are saying Jesus is our first priority in our lives and everything else becomes secondary. Jesus is looking for such loyal and committed followers not, feeble and weak followers. So, he laid out a three-fold process to all those who want to be his disciples.

            The first step in the process is, “Self-denial and Picking up our cross.” Vs 23, “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

            Self-denial means, giving up of one’s own needs and interests, self-sacrifice. It is the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of the increased good of another.  In 2013, a British soldier was beheaded in broad daylight outside his barracks. The Telegraph, a British paper, reported that a mother and Cub Scout leader, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, age 48, confronted the terrorists immediately after the grisly murder.

            She was one of the first people on the scene. While one of the terrorists held a bloodied knife, she selflessly engaged the terrorist in conversation in an attempt to prevent him from killing others. A Christian blog for "First Things" noted the real factor that motivated Ms. Loyau-Kennett to risk her life and get involved was her Christian faith. She said, "I live my life as a Christian. I believe in thinking about others and loving thy neighbor. We all have a duty to look after each other."

            Following Christ involves both self-denial and picking up our cross on a daily basis. Denying self is seldom that dramatic or high profile but it is often that demanding. Mrs. Loyau-Kennett understood that her faith is about far more than her own personal well-being. It is about obeying God and loving humanity. Self-denial was a common thread in the teachings of Christ.

            Jesus elsewhere said, to the travelling crowds with him, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Picking up our cross here doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to be crucified in a literal sense, but it could mean a possible death. I know in Islamic and Hindu cultures following Christ means certain death. Yet many are following Christ. The kind of self-denial that Jesus expects from his disciples is not a reclusive ascetism, but active engagement in the society, fighting against the evils and injustices. Jesus is calling for a willingness to obey his commandment of loving our neighbor as ourselves, serving one another and to suffer for the sake of the gospel.

            What does self-denial and picking up the cross look like for us today? If you wonder if you are ready to take up your cross, consider these questions: Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing some of your closest friends? Are you willing to follow Jesus if it means losing your job and your very own life? That leads us to the second step in following Christ.

II. IN LOSING, WE GAIN (Vs 24-25)

            Vs 24-25“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? This is a very counter cultural statement from Jesus. For a modern man who only thinks about self-preservation and amassing wealth and riches for their own pleasures and comfort, the thought of letting go everything including their own lives sounds rather ludicrous.  

             But this is exactly how it works in Kingdom economics. In losing we gain, in giving up we receive and in dying we live. The key here is not losing everything for wrong reasons, not giving up things for wrong purposes and dying for wrong causes, but for the sake of Christ and for his cause of spreading the good news, that is what will earn us the crown of eternal life.  

            In addition to the command, “follow me” this saying, “whoever loses his life for my sake” is repeated more times in the gospels than any other saying of Christ. That shows how much importance Christ has attached to this principle of “in losing we gain and in dying we live.” We have many examples in the scriptures who gave up everything for the sake of following Jesus. In fact, Peter wanted to really make sure whether it was a worthy bargain so he asked Jesus this question, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

            And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matthew 19:27-30.

            This scripture is so true in my life. When I heard the call of God to follow him and serve him fulltime, I had decided to go straight after completing my college degree to join YWAM as a missionary.  I left my immediate family to follow Jesus, and he gave me a wife and my own family, along with that many brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers in the family of God.

            God has been faithful in meeting all my needs sometimes beyond my needs. Over the years of following Christ, I have learned that in losing I gain and in dying for the sake of Christ I live. God is no debtor of people. If we give our broken lives completely over to Jesus, he will heal, put the broken pieces together and use our lives for his glory.

III LIVING WITHOUT EMBARRASSMENT

            Following Christ involves self-denial, picking up our cross daily and a willingness to lose our lives for the sake of the Gospel. The third step in the process of becoming a committed follower of Christ may not be as drastic as the other two. Vs 26, “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

            Elsewhere in Matthew we find a similar admonition, “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³ but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. Matt 10:32-33. This is talking about, how are we to stand up for who we believe in, and what we believe in a world that is increasingly becoming adverse and intolerant towards the people of faith. It is all about being unashamed, and living without embarrassment as Christians in a secular world.

            I read a blog where a blogger seems to be ashamed of being a Christians, so she wrote, Why I'm Embarrassed To Call Myself A Christian But Proud To Say I Love Jesus.” Really? I know where this person is coming from but don’t quite get it why she should be so embarrassed to call herself a Christian? What is it in the name Christian, that makes so many people hate us? Why are we so surprised when people hate us? Hasn’t our Lord told us, this would happen? “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-13

            I am sure many of you here would be proud to be call yourself Christian, and not ashamed to live as a Christian. It’s high time Christians in the USA to rise up and take our rightful place as Christians, in our schools, work place and in our neighborhood. You may suffer ridicule and may even lose your job for taking such a position, but it is worth taking such risks for the sake of the gospel. The apostle Peter who once denied Jesus three times in front of people, has something to say to us this morning, “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” I Peter 4:15-16.

      As we are deciding to become committed followers of Christ, let’s remember the cost of such commitment. It involves, self-denial, picking up our cross daily, willingness to losing everything for his names sake and living without embarrassment. Our Lord himself has set an example for us to follow. It is up to us now to follow in his footsteps. My prayer is that at Hope Church we will do our best to live out our mission statement, “Glorifying God by becoming devoted (committed) followers of Christ. Amen.