Put Christ First

Put Christ First (Luke 9:57-62; 14:25-33) We all have our own schedules God orchestrates all human experiences in accord with His timing an objectives (Ecc. 3:11) Like Jesus, we should seek to operate according to God’s schedule Sometimes that means interruptions or deviations from our schedules God saved us, not only to be with Him in heaven later, but to fulfill His will on earth, here and now Are you willing to live your life according to His schedule? Are you willing to go wherever and whenever He asks you to? Jesus requires that His disciples give Kingdom interests first priority Examples of different priorities: A woman was sitting next to an empty seat at the Super Bowl stadium. A man asked the woman about it. The woman explained, “It was my husband’s…but he died.” The man said to her, “I’m surprised that another relative or friend didn’t jump at the chance to take his seat.” She answered, “I don’t understand it either. But, they all decided on going to his funeral instead.”

1978,

A farmer ran this classified ad in the Quay County Sun: “Farmer with 160 irrigated acres wants marriage-minded woman with a tractor. When replying, please send picture of the tractor.” [AP release, June Tucumcari, New Mexico] Kingdom interests must come before family interests (Luke 14:26; Matt. 10:37) The Greek word translated "hate" here, miseo {mis-eh'-o} literally means "to turn away from, or to detach oneself from, rather than to hold animosity towards. Meeting these interests requires self-sacrifice (Luke 14:27 & 33; 18:22-23; 22:42; Phil. 3:8; Acts 20:24; Rev. 12:11; John 3:30) Its not about others seeing or praising us, its about others seeing and praising God through us.

How and how often do you deny yourself for Kingdom interests? We must count the cost of this (Luke 14:28) The following are actual responses from comment cards given to staff members of a wilderness recreation area: 1. trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill. 2. Too many bugs, spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness area to get rid of these pests. 3. Please pave the trails. Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them. 4. The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals. 5. A small deer came into my camp and stole my jar of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed? Please call. 6. Escalators would help on steep uphill sections. 7. A McDonald’s would be nice at the trailhead. 8. Too many rocks in the mountains. These comments and complaints indicate that the people who made them do not really understand what it means to be in a wilderness area. They were looking for something convenient and comfortable, which does not come with the territory in a wilderness area. Similarly, many people claim to be a disciple or follower of Christ, but don’t truly understand what that involves.

(1948). against life. But his closely.

More than half a century ago, martyr Dietrich Boenhoffer (1906-1945) wrote a brilliant but uncomfortable book, The Cost of Discipleship Boenhoffer was one of the few German clergymen to stand up Hitler's godless rise to power -- and he paid for it with his book's title reminds us of the cost of following Jesus

Like the Italian race car driver who, once the race began, tore his rearview mirror off and tossed it out the window proclaiming “What’s behind me doesn’t matter”, once committed, we should not look back (Luke9:62) Remember Lot’s wife!

Our commitment to follow Jesus should not be limited Jesus also requires whole-hearted commitment (James 1:6-8) Follow (Gk. akoloutheo {ak-ol-oo-theh'-o}, literally means to walk the same road with (see John12:26) Our commitment should be immediate (1 Kings 19:20-21; Matt 4:19-20; Mark 2:14), without hesitation or delay (Luke 9:59-61)

and

Eighteen times within the four Gospels, Jesus’ words "Follow Me" are recorded. When He called Peter, his brother Andrew and then Matthew He spoke two words; "Follow Me." When Peter Andrew heard those words scripture tells us, "And they straightway left their nets, and followed him."

(Matthew 4:20) The same words, "Follow Me," were heard by Matthew, the result was identical. "...and he arose and followed him." (Matthew 9:9) walked

These men stopped everything they were doing, everything they had been trained for, their livelihood, their way of life, and away and never looked back, all to follow Jesus.

Note that Elisha, when called, requested that he might go back to “kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you” (19:20). This was not an attempt to put off the call nor an act of hesitation. Some have wrongly related this to Luke 9:57-62. The Lord knew the heart of the men in Luke 9 and saw that for what it was, a lack of commitment and an attempt to avoid His call. It was a failure to deny themselves, etc. But with Elisha, the case was entirely different. Elisha’s request was prompted by two things: (a) It was an act of genuine respect and honor for his parents, and (b) it was prompted by a desire to celebrate his entrance into this ministry and to declare and confirm his commitment to follow the Lord before friends and family. We will see this in 1 Kings 19:21. Elijah allowed Elisha’s request. He said, “Go back again . . .” Then he added a word of caution and said, “for what have I done to you?” This statement seems to be an idiom that sounds rather abrupt or even meaningless to us. According to the idiom, we might translate it something like, “go back and bid farewell, for I have done something very important to you, but think carefully on what I have done to you, for your call is not from me, but from God!” The idea is that Elisha was accountable to God for what

he did, God’s call. and mentor, but he was accountable to

not to Elijah. What Elijah had done was to express Elijah would become Elisha’s spiritual leader Elisha must understand that ultimately, God, not to a man.

But failing to count the cost may lead to a loss of enthusiasm later (2 Tim. 4:10; 2 Pe. 2:20-22) “The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers - the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people still ignore Christ’s warning and undertake to follow Him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called ‘nominal Christianity’. In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a great, soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life, while changing its place and shape to suit their conveniences. No wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the church and dismiss religion as escapism.” – John Stott What/who has first priority in your life?