Luke - Part 5

Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 11 July 2010 09:00

Sermons - The Gospel of Luke - That You May Know

Intro

Part 5 in series “that you may know” … Today we are dealing with core Jesus material – no matter your perspective this is core Jesus material If we draw a map of THE SPIRITUAL LIFE this would be the main intersection between KOG and our lives; two main implications

2 Profound Implications when the Teaching of Jesus Intersect Our Lives

1. He gets the stool

• Luke 5:11
  • Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." (11) So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
• Luke 5:27-28
  • (27) After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, (28) and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
• Luke 9:23-24
  • (23) Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (24) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
• Luke 9:42
  • (42) Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
• Process of disciple-gathering - well-known but a little different with Jesus
  • He chooses
  • He expects whole-life devotion
  • He gets the stool
  • Some have never made this decision
  • Some of us forget it’s an everyday decision
• The main implication of our interaction with the life and teaching of Jesus is: he gets the stool!

2. We get moving

• Christian life is an active life; it is an adventure.
• When it comes to religion, many of us have created two categories:
  • On the one hand is my life; here’s what I do
  • On the other is my religion; here is what I believe
  • But there’s only one category. Jesus calls us to put our belief into our do.
• Listen to Jesus’ phrases: “fishers of men”, “lose your life”, “don’t look back”, “you go and proclaim”. All of these phrases are images of action, this is a call to adventure - and we’ve spent our lives trying to create comfort and nurture pleasure.
• If he were around today, I think he would say: “log on to me. I am your connection and your internet browser.” “You have 2,000 facebook friends? Hang out with me and I’ll show you how to have real friends and how to help them change their lives.”

Pathway to faith:

Faith is based on:

• A heart-changing encounter with SOMETHING greater than ourselves.
  • Some of us have never had a heart-changing encounter. I’m not talking about sentimental moments. Has your heart been rattled by and encounter with God? Do you want the things that God wants? Are you interested in prayer? Are you interested in knowing more about God? Does your heart break with the things that break God’s heart?
    • There are a few of you who are bummed because you don’t want God more! This is a good sign.
• A reasoned decision that grows out of a thoughtful investigation of the facts.
  • Some of us slid into Christian belief. We did not make a decision, so much as it always seemed like the right thing to do.
  • This may not be adequate. A decision is required – a decision to hand him the stool and to get busy!
• So where are you today? Are you hanging on to your stool? Or are you sitting in your comfortable chair?
• "Luke 9:23-25"
  • (23) Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (24) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. (25) What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?