Sermon Series - Luke 9:37-62 - Go to God!

There seems to be a potluck of lessons at the end of Luke's Gospel in chapter 9, however, a similar pattern can be seen.

We need to go to God for several things, well really for everything, but in this episode Ron discusses how we need to seek Him and go to Him for:

• Surrendering whatever is holding us back from following Jesus
• Wisdom to understand His Word
• Understanding what it is God wants us to do for Him
• Direction

Seek Him for these and other answers, and remember why we do what we do.  For God so loved the world...

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Good believers, welcome back to the very good field podcast. I'm your host, Ron Scheffler. We're in our sermon series today, although I'm stepping out of Genesis and going away from Abraham today, as we are going to be getting into the Gospel of Luke. I recently preached on the last several verses of Luke, Luke chapter 9, and I want to give that out today and share that with you as I think there's a lot of pondering thoughts on that. But before I get into the exact section that I had preached on, which was Luke chapter 9, starting with verse 37 to the end of the chapter, I want to read the transfiguration because that came before I was preaching, and it it plays a part into what I talk about today. So we're going to be getting into Luke chapter 9, verse 28, initially. And here we go. Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who saw his who are with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory in the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my son, my chosen one, listen to him. And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone, and they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. So this is an awesome, detailed story of what Jesus' closest friends and inner circles saw and heard. This should have knocked them into another dimension, seeing this, hearing the words. And you know, hearing the gospel, the good news, the teachings of Jesus, the story of Christ really should knock us into another dimension, another realm of thinking, if you will, really a radical change in our attitude, our entire way of living, our thoughts, our speech, the way we hold up our head, our mannerisms, the everyday things we do or don't do, we ought to be really aggressive in the way we follow Jesus. Now, as I continue on in the Luke chapter nine, we have a potluck of stories of Jesus and things that he did that should remind us of who Jesus is and why we should still, to this day, be amazed, be in awe, and be following fully our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So I'm going to read certain sections of chapter 9 of these verses. I won't read them all at once. I'll read the segments, and then we'll discuss on each one separately. All right, here we go. Luke chapter nine, verse thirty-seven. So on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him, and behold, a man from the crowd cried out, Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child, and behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. And I beg your disciples to cast it out, but they could not. Jesus answered, O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here. While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him, but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father, and all were astonished at the majesty of God. So can you hear the words that are played out here? A man cried out from the crowd and said, Teacher, I beg you, crying out to Jesus, acknowledging him as a person of authority, meaning teacher, and telling him how awful it is when his son has a seizure. You can hear it in the father's choice of words, how it shatters him. You know, when my oldest son Jake, who has been on the podcast here, he was uh about two years old. He's certainly a toddler, sitting in the high chair, and my wife and I, and oldest daughter were having dinner, and all of a sudden, he just cried out, just went, ah, and he got stiff as a two by four. And I was trying to get him out of the high chair, he was so rigid, and I finally wiggled him out, unbuckled him, and ran him out into the living room, and he was just stiff, just so stiff, I couldn't get him to relax, and I was holding his head, and I didn't know what was going on. I was just so scared, praying over him. God, please help me. You know, my wife, knowing what was going on, you know, he he had a febral seizure. And for those who don't know what that is, you know, it's a seizure that skyrockets. It could still be a low-grade fever, but it just jumps a couple of degrees, and your body can't react, and so you go into a seizure. Well, my my wife knew about that. I didn't, and so she called 911 and you know, she told me it's gonna be alright, but I I just didn't know. So I know this father's anguish, this father's plea. I can see myself begging in the crowd. Nowhere else to turn. Please, teacher, please, Jesus, help. Help me. I've nowhere else to turn. This father is desperate. You know what this recording? Uh we're only about six months away from Christmas. And I anytime I hear the word desperate, I'm reminded of the Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life. Remember George Bailey at the bridge pleading for his life again? Please, God, let me live again. Is there something in your life currently that you are desperate for? You have nowhere else to turn. Maybe it's not as dire right as this father had to face it. Maybe you just keep hitting a roadblock, a wall over the last several weeks, months, or even a year that you just can't seem to get over the hump on. You keep struggling. You don't understand what's going on. You yet you keep trying to persevere. You keep trying to do this in your own strength. Stop struggling. Reach out to our Savior, Jesus, with whatever it is that you're dealing with. And sometimes, you know, you may do that. You may surrender something and then you start worrying about it again, or you take it back. You know, I've all throughout my life I've gone to Christ and surrendered something to him only to take it back a few minutes later, right? And I get back to praying. But look at what the story is saying here. The followers of Christ could not do what the Father needed. They couldn't drive the demon out. Only Jesus could. The disciples were powerless just like us without Jesus. Only Jesus can save. Only Jesus can save the world. So what are you waiting for? Seek Christ with your whole life, with whatever you feel is holding you back from a victorious situation. And I know that there's something in each one of our lives, myself included, that is holding us back. Something that we cling to, even nurture sometimes, or just kind of loosely hang on to because we don't want to let it go. We'll let it go and give it over to Jesus. You know what irritates me in this story, though? I've read this a whole bunch of times, and I just kind of realized it this time that the demon throws this boy into one last convulsion. And it made me think, it probably knows this is his last chance, so one more gotcha. It's like the demon knows it's in trouble, and he's not going down with what without one more, like up yours. Like always, and let me say that again, like always, Jesus wins. Jesus saves, and Jesus conquers over evil. And he will again. Go to God and give what you have to him. Okay, let's continue on. Genesis 9. But what they while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, Let these words sink into your ears. The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men. But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. In the midst of this amazing miracle, Jesus drops this bomb on the disciples. Like Jesus drives this demon out of the kid, the crowds going wild all around him, and Jesus says, Hey, uh, listen up, guys. Well, scripture states here that it was concealed from them to know what Jesus was talking about. I'm sure the disciples were confused on a couple of fronts here, right? First, how could Jesus with his awesome power experience some form of death? I'm sure that was very confusing. And secondly, how could this crowd, the one that's currently in this frenzied amazement, be turned on Jesus? Well, if we take a look also the same section in Mark's gospel, which is uh chapter nine, verses thirty to thirty-two, it reads this. They went on from there and passed through Galilee, and he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise. But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. So both accounts, you know, Mark and uh uh Luke's gospel, both accounts state that they one failed to understand, that they were both afraid to ask. Right now, now in the uh gospel of Mark and verse uh uh chapter eight, verse thirty-three, right before that story in Mark's gospel, Jesus rebuked Peter, where his line says, you know, get behind me, Satan, when when Peter's like, No, that will not be done, Lord, right? And Jesus rebukes Peter, get behind me, Satan. Now, who wants to be called that, right? Who wants to be called out on that too? Called out in front of your peers, your fellow disciples. Now, can't you see you know one of the other disciples saying something to Peter when they when Jesus drops this line on them too? Like, hey, look, Pete, like uh, you're already in the doghouse with Jesus, right? Like, he already called you Satan, he's already mad at you. Like, ask him what he meant about in three days, right? Ask. Or perhaps it could have been that they could not fathom that Jesus would be gone when they were looking for a reigning king. But whatever the reason, Scripture states it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it. So what can we take away from this uh section, right? Well, if you're you're reading something in the Bible, and it's just not you just can't connect the dots on this idea or why something reads that way. Ask God for clarity. I promise you, he wants you to know his word. You know, King Solomon, what did he he could have had anything, and he asked for wisdom and it was granted to him. God wants you to know his word. Pray that his word will sink in, go deep into you, seep into your bones, become a part of you. Do not be afraid to go to him for understanding. Okay, that's uh two sections and two items that we should go to God for. One, you know, we take something to him to surrender from or break free from, and secondly, for wisdom to understand his word more. Okay, let's get into the next uh section. And actually, we're going to look at the next two sections here, Luke 9 and verses 46 to 50. So verse 46. An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest, but Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side, and said to them, Whoever receives this child in my name and receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great. John answered, Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us. But Jesus said to him, Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you. So in your Bible, if you're following along, and and you should be, this this is broken out into two different sections. However, they they are kind of connected. So the question comes up, who is the greatest? And if I think about sports, right, our culture is obsessed with great players in sports. Goat conversations come up all the time, right? Greatest of all time. But in reality, like who who cares? Is it that important? Sure, I get rooting for someone, right? I uh I do, I understand that. But Muhammad Ali said he was the greatest. And guess what? He gets knocked down. And he's gone. You know, who beat who at martial arts? Bruce Lee or Chuck? I don't have to say his name, Norris. Back in the 70s, that was a big debate. Doesn't matter. They're both gone. I used to watch Iron Mike Tyson fight just to see how quick the fight would go, right? I mean, really, man. He knocked those guys into the next dimension. But recently he fought some young online star named Jake Paul, and Tyson was the shell of the fighter he once was. You know, he only landed 18 punches in the whole night. I was ticked. I was like, I stayed up past 10 o'clock for this. Come on. And what are these sports figures or whoever you spend some time thinking on, energy on, celebrities or reality TV people ever do for you, right? Other than maybe cause you some grief because of yet another losing season. How can any of these people really be the goat? The greatest person of all time is the one human who rose again and is still alive today, Jesus Christ. In that name, my friends, is the most important person we should be pouring our energy into, should be focusing our concentration on. Not someone whose current record will be broken by someone else one day. And look, I get it. It would be fun to say I was at the game where so and so did what and what. But the reality is that's not that important. Let me tell you a more contemporary story of why Jesus is the greatest. In World War II, on the German side, there was a colonel, Klaus von Stauffenberg, who was part of the German resistance and a key player in Operation Valkyrie, which was an operation that tried to assassinate Hitler at his own Wolfslayer with a bomb. Others in the operation also included Dietrich Bonhoeff, by the way. Well, Stauffenberg and his adjutant Werner von Heffen were found guilty with multiple others. However, a handful of men, including Stauffenberg and Von Heffen, were put in front of the firing squad one at a time. Now, as these men were lined up to be shot, Stauffenberg was pushed to be shot next. Stauffenberg is facing the firing squad, knowing that in a mere few seconds he will be dead. And out walks Van Haften. He walks out with his back facing the firing squad and his face fully looking at Stauffenberg. So he's in between Stauffenberg and the firing squad. And by doing so, he looks Stoffenberg in the eye and gives Stauffenberg a few more precious moments of life and probably some added courage. Von Haften laid down his life for just a moment before Stauffenberg was shot. Werner Von Heeven showed one man that he stood by him and loved him. Just one man. For just a moment. My friends, Jesus laid down his life for everyone listening here, for the entire world, by suffering and hanging on that cross. He did it for love, and he did it not just for a moment for us, but for eternity for us if we just trusted him. John 15, verse 13 states this greater love has no one than this, that someone laid down his life for his friends. Folks, Jesus is the greatest of all time. To restate what Jesus said, he who is least among you all is the one who is great. You gotta love how John answers here in verse 49. John answered, Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name. We try to stop him because he does not follow with us. It's almost like John was trying to say, Jesus, look over there. But Jesus' response suggests that the disciples should not look at themselves as being in God's exclusive representative club. Instead, he's telling them, Rejoice! The word is spreading, help is coming. And if they change their attitude, instead of squalling about who the greatest is, then they would show truly how they are in service to God's kingdom. Are you ready to serve in God's kingdom? God believes you are. What does he want you to do? Well, seek him. Ask him, take your questions to him, and dig into the work that he has prepared for you to do. Okay, three sections here in Luke, and three opportunities to go to God with what? Well, first, take something to him to surrender from or break free from. Secondly, for wisdom to understand his word more. And third, where does he want you to serve or work? Okay, let's read the next section. Luke 9, verses 51 to 56. When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him who went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, Lord, do you want us to tell to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them? But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village. The transfiguration just happened. And Moses and Elijah appeared to talk to Jesus about his departure that would take place in Jerusalem. So in order for Jesus to fulfill his mission and be taken up, he first has to get to Jerusalem. So Jesus set his face to go there. He knew his mission. Transfigured into something unworldly, something utterly amazing, supported by friends of God. And Jesus is ready. What is the mission that God has you on? Are you set for it? Are you on the right path? Stand strong. Be confident in what he is showing you, and go forth forthwith. So these messengers are sent to a Samaritan village, and since the Samaritans and Jews did not care for each other, remember they were in conflict for a few hundred years, the people said no to Jesus. Now the Samaritans who rejected Jesus would be judged, judged for their rejection. And you gotta love the disciples. They continue, right? They continue this on. Peter screwed up with the transfiguration. Then John today says, you know, uh what he said about you know, look over there. Um who are these people? And now James and John, you know, reread, I'll I'll reread uh verse 54 here. And when his disciples, James and John, saw it, they said, Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from the heaven and consume them? I mean, man, this is so great. Now, if you don't, if you don't know James and John, you know, their nickname uh is the Sons of Thunder, and this is where they received their nickname from. And James and John were probably referring to the story of Elijah that we can find in 2 Kings. So let me go there. 2 Kings chapter 1 verses 9 through 12. So Elijah the prophet uh was did what God said to him, but you know, the rulers of the day, he didn't want to hear it, so they sent Elijah to to grab him, or they sent the troops to go get Elijah and and take him into custody. And so here we are, 2 Kings chapter 1, verses 9, reads this. Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty, meaning going to Elijah. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, O man of God, the king says, Come down. But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Verse eleven. Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty, and he answered and said to him, O man of God, this is the king's order, come down quickly. But Elijah answered them, If I'm a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Funny sidebar here. If you were the second captain, now I don't know what it would have looked like. Perhaps they were all consumed and taken up and gone. I don't know. Doesn't say exactly, it just says consumed, the fire consumed them. Were that was even their bones burnt? You know, was the grass and everything around them burnt? Or was it kind of like, you know, uh if you know the story of Daniel's friend Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo were not even a singe of their hair or their garments were burnt, perhaps, but if you were the second captain, you had to wade through the first wave of like charred bodies, I'd be like uh I resign from my captainship. Look, Elijah destroyed those who were opposing God's work. In contrast, Jesus is showing restraint and called for tolerance. There are more important matters to attend to. Jesus wanted to get to Jerusalem. When God gives you a clear directive, don't get sidetracked. And if along the journey you aren't sure about stopping along some waypoint here, there or everywhere, go to God and ask him. Go to God. First, right? You're gonna take something to him to surrender from or break free from. Second, you're gonna go to him for wisdom to understand his word more. Third, you're gonna go to him to ask him where he wants you to serve or work. And fourth, you're going to him for direction. Okay, let's continue on. Luke nine. We're gonna hit the rest of the chapter. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, I'll follow you wherever you go. And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. To another he said, Follow me, but he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, Believe the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home. And Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Let's take a look at these three guys. Jesus' response to the first man was stating that people must give up what some would consider necessities. They were on their way to Jerusalem where Jesus would be put to death. There was no need of anything. The second guy, Jesus said to him, Follow me, using the same words that he called his disciples. Remember that, right? The disciples dropped their nets and immediately followed. Well, this dude doesn't do that. He says, One sec, Jesus. Now there's a couple of different theories here when he's talking about the father being dead. Some maintain that the man's father was indeed already dead, which is a little odd because the man would have been involved in the burial procedure already. But secondly, a more likely the man's father was ready to die, and the younger man was potentially going to inherit something. So this request was more like give me a little bit here before I follow Jesus. Jesus' response is to let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. Slam. I'm thinking here that Jesus saw the potential in this man's heart. The man chose to stay for whatever reason for a bit. Something familiar, maybe, maybe something less scary, but here is the point. Proclaiming the kingdom of God was so important that it could not wait. Now, if the man chose to follow right then and there, there would certainly have been a community uproar due to that culture at that time, with the man's father on his deathbed or dead, but that was less important. Proclaiming the kingdom of God was most important. Time is of the essence. Now, unfortunately, this man is known in history as declining Jesus' invitation. Oh, how he missed out. What are you missing out on? A disciple of Christ must make a radical commitment. Is your life radical enough for the kingdom of God? Do people know that you follow Jesus? Is your life any different enough from our culture that you could stick out in a positive way? Do people seek you out for godly advice? If you have not followed Christ your entire life, I mean radically followed him, but you are now. Do people see the difference in you from maybe being a comfortable Christian, if you will, to living boldly for him? Now this third guy, can you can you really fault him? I mean, all he really wanted to do was to go home and and say, hey, so long, folks, but I'm following Jesus now. But let's take a look at what Jesus was referring to. We're gonna go back to 1 Kings chapter 19, verses 19 to 21. This is where Elijah is walking against the call of his new student, Elisha, the new prophet, the next in line. So he, meaning Elijah, departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shapit, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him, and he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. And he said to him, Go back again for what have I done to you? And they returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yolks of the oxen, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him. Jesus' word words here in Luke show that it is a fact that his message message of the kingdom of God was more important than anything else, which is why we need to live radically for Jesus. And it's even more important even than family members. And say, Well, wait a minute, I I love my family, and how how could that be more important? Let me let me put it this way. Tracy and I are are far from perfect. And we made mistakes raising our kids, but as parents, right? As parents, Tracy and I should show the importance of God's word to our children. It is more important than family because if if we both believe in God's message and follow it, then our genuine love for God and His Word for Jesus will flow through everything we do. How we raise our children, shown in our home, then our family will see it from us, feel it from us, and then they will follow. That is why that is more important than anything else. Jesus knew where Elijah found Elisha, right? He uses this plow story showing that Jesus' message was more important than Eliza's message, and that we should not have divided interests. Follow Jesus first, and all will flow through that belief. This message and Jesus cannot wait. The man had a decision to make right then and there. We too need to make a decision because we may not get a second chance. I think uh of a sad note here. Luke is a very meticulous writer. But interestingly enough, he does not document anything about the outcome of these three men after their conversations with Jesus. Which could mean that they initially failed soon after. Alright, folks, we have had multiple short segmented stories today. And that let me just ask you how you're feeling about these stories. There is something in here that should have triggered you with a call to action. Whether it's to take something to God and surrender something or a feeling or sin or whatever to Jesus and let him take it. And if you take it back, give it back again. To understand his word more, to become a better knowledge of it and to apply it to your life, go to him and ask for wisdom and let his word sink into your being. To seek after God and ask him what he wants you to focus on, how to live, what to do for the kingdom, and to focus on that journey forthwith. Then, if you do all these things I just mentioned, you will begin to live a radically new and free life that can only be found in the greatest person of all time, and that's Jesus Christ. It's in his holy name. Amen. God speed everyone.