Ben Brown

Ó 2004

Graduating from high school, being accepted at a good college, getting into the graduate program, landing a job with a good salary—we thought this was our dream for the future. As high school comes to a close, we’re having second thoughts. A series of messages from God’s Word led us to the conviction that serving God in missions is what Christ really wants us to do. We feel incredible pressure from our family not to pursue missions because they say it’s not financially secure, it’ll take us far away, or we have potential to do "better things" with our lives. What will we decide? We have a choice to make.

Parents around us are taking their children to sports outings, private lessons, clubs, and to this and that special event for kids. As we do the same, we struggle to make God and His commands our first priority. We’re so busy that time in God’s Word, time for prayer, and time to minister to others keeps getting squeezed out. We feel heavy pressure to stay busy because we’re afraid of the disappointment others will express when we stop doing some of the things we’re doing. We know that things need to change, but what will we choose to do? We have a choice to make.

Everything is just as we pictured it. We have a house, a job, a good salary, we live in a great neighborhood, we have a lot of close friends, our family lives nearby—we’re living the American dream. Why then do we find ourselves saying, "Is this all there is to life? Coming to work and doing the same thing day in and day out, only to have someone take our place when we retire to do the same thing all their lives?" Our feeling that there should be more to life causes us to think of the fulfillment we experience from our walk with God. We sense God is leading us to serve Him, but we see that pursuing what He wants will probably bring huge changes. Perhaps it will mean dedicating a large portion of our finances for schooling. Pursuing what God wants may mean a move, a job change, or a drastic lifestyle change. Those we’ve talked with about our plans think that we’re crazy for throwing away the good life we’ve made for ourselves. What will we decide?

We thought our 401 K would bring a life of ease as we drifted off into the sunset at retirement, golfing, fishing, traveling, doing all of those things we really wanted to do. We put in our time at work and church. Now it’s someone else’s turn. Suddenly, our retirement dreams are not all that attractive. As we contemplate eternity and think of the short time we have left, God pricks our hearts to invest our time and money in eternal things, rather than squandering it all on pleasure and selfish pursuits. Our friends and family are telling us we should relax and live it up. After all, we earned a good retirement. What will we decide? We have a choice to make.

Let’s consider this morning what Christ requires of His committed disciples in situations like these.

We invite friends to attend church with us. They enthusiastically accept our invitation and express that they look forward to being with us. When the church service is upon us, we look for our friends, but they are nowhere to be found. On Monday morning, we express disappointment that they were not able to join us. Then we start to hear the excuses. These excuses tell us that our friends didn’t intend on joining us in the first place; they didn’t really want to! Have you been there and done that?

One of the guests at the table of Pharisees dining with Jesus excitedly expressed the sentiment of Israel, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

Israel appeared to be excited about the coming kingdom, but looks were deceiving. Jesus responded with a parable that exposed how the Pharisees had in fact responded to Christ’s invitation to enter the kingdom of God.

As we study this passage, we need to consider the social customs of Jesus’ day that serve as the basis for His parable. Banquet invitations were extended well in advance of the event because of the elaborate and costly preparations that were involved, much like wedding invitations are sent out today. Meal preparations were made for the number of people who expressed their intentions to come. When the banquet was ready, a servant was sent out to extend a second invitation announcing to invited guests that it was time to come to the banquet. If a guest who had agreed to attend rejected the second invitation of the servant to come and had no good excuse, it showed a lack of respect to the host and was considered a great insult. After all, the guests had plenty of time to prepare to attend the banquet.

In Christ’s parable, where He refers to the guests invited to the banquet, He speaks symbolically of the invitation extended to Israel to enter His kingdom. The Old Testament prophets predicted the arrival of a Messiah who would come to earth and set up His kingdom. Israel indicated that when the Christ came and His banquet or kingdom was ready, they would enter it. They said they were looking forward to entering Messiah’s kingdom, but were they really?

Christ announced that the kingdom was near (14:17)

John the Baptist came to tell the invited guests that the banquet was ready and it was time to come. Remember his words in Matthew 3:2- "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Christ Himself also announced that His kingdom was ready for Israel to enter. He said in Matthew 4:17, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." During the course of Jesus’ ministry, Israel had ample time to respond positively to Christ’s offer to enter His kingdom. Unfortunately, Israel did not give a positive response to the announcement that the kingdom was near.

Israel made lame excuses for not coming (14:17-20)

The excuses given by the invited guests in Jesus’ parable represent the response Israel made to His call for the nation to enter His kingdom. Instead of eagerly coming to the banquet, the majority in Israel insulted Him by refusing to attend. None of Israel’s excuses were legitimate.

The man who asked to be excused to go and see the fields he purchased would have been foolish to purchase property sight unseen. Surely this man took several opportunities to examine the property before he bought it. Why did he need to go see the property at the time of the banquet? Even if he had not seen the land he purchased, it would still be there after the banquet. His excuse shows he really wasn’t looking forward to attending the banquet as he said he was.

The man who asked to be excused to try out the yoke of oxen he purchased would have been foolish not to test them before paying for them. "Test driving" oxen after purchasing them would be as foolish as buying a used car before taking a test drive. Even if he had made this foolish decision, most banquets were held in the evening, so there would have been little daylight left for trying out the oxen. His excuse shows he really wasn’t looking forward to coming to the banquet as he said he was.

The man who asked to be excused because of his recent wedding did not have a legitimate excuse either. Jewish weddings were not surprises. This man knew well in advance he was taking a wife. If he did not intend on coming to the banquet because of his marriage, he should have said so when given the first invitation. His excuse shows he really wasn’t looking forward to coming to the banquet as he said he was.

Israel made excuses for not coming into the kingdom, not because the nation couldn’t go, but because the people didn’t want to enter.

Israel was wrapped up in its own agenda.

In Luke 14 we read of the Pharisees’ practice of self-promotion, jockeying for the seats of highest honor at banquets. We also read of their inviting only those dinner guests whom they could count on repaying them by inviting them back to their houses. The people of Israel, following the lead of their leaders, were focused on their own personal advantages.

Israel was not interested in Christ’s kingdom

The majority in Israel said they would come into the banquet, but when the time came, they made excuses, rejecting Christ’s invitation. In the end, they were excluded from coming into the banquet. Jesus announced: "not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet."

Christ invited outcasts and pagans in place of that generation (14:21-24)

Because the majority of Israel did not come into His kingdom when they were offered the opportunity, Jesus extended an invitation for those who would have considered themselves unacceptable or unworthy to come—the outcasts—the poor, the blind, the crippled, the lame. When the welcomed outcasts came to the banquet, there was still room, so the servants were sent out again. This time they were to go out to the roads and country lanes to invite foreigners. The invitation of Jesus to enter His kingdom was even extended to Gentiles—pagans!

INCLUSION IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD DEPENDS ON OUR RESPONSE TO CHRIST’S INVITATION!

The majority in Israel thought that their invitation guaranteed they would be a part of the kingdom of God. Jesus corrected this assumption, pointing out that it was not receiving an invitation to the kingdom that guaranteed their inclusion, but their response to that invitation. Because that generation of Israel rejected Christ’s offer, they lost their opportunity to enter it. Not one of those invited who rejected their invitation will get a taste of Christ’s kingdom. They missed out on the opportunity to enter Christ’s kingdom then and they will be left out of His kingdom when He returns to establish His millennial reign. The time came for that generation when it was too late for them to respond to their invitation.

This brings to mind an important application for us today. That generation of Israel rejected their invitation to come into His kingdom, so Christ invited Gentile pagans like us to enter. When we come to the end of trying to make it to God by ourselves and trust Christ alone for salvation, we are given eternal life. If you have not yet trusted in Christ in order to receive eternal life, don’t wait. Don’t assume the invitation will be extended indefinitely. A time will come when it is too late. If you miss your opportunity to trust in Christ for eternal life, you will not only miss out on it, but will also miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the millennial kingdom that Christ offered to us in place of the Israelites who rejected His offer. The invitation is extended. Respond to the invitation by putting your faith in Christ. Don’t miss out. Trust Christ today; right where you are seated.

I want us to think for a moment of the implications of living as a committed disciple of Christ in the midst of a generation of people that rejected Jesus and eventually crucified Him on the cross. The majority of the people who thought their inclusion in the kingdom of God was a sure thing were kept out. The outcasts and pagans who thought they would never be allowed into the kingdom of God were invited and allowed in. What do you think the minority, the outcasts and pagans, should have expected from the majority in Israel? The answer is obvious. In view of Israel’s rejection of Christ, those who identified with Him could expect persecution. The majority of people were after Christ’s followers.

The decision to follow Christ in that generation would have put His disciples at odds with the majority!

Even today, as faithful followers of Christ, we find ourselves going against the flow as most of those around us are heading in a different direction. No, the struggles of our present day are not as intense as those experienced in Jesus’ generation. We have not had anyone from our congregation killed this week for their commitment to Christ, but just the same, the persecution for our commitment is there. We know what it is to be called "odd balls."

As we are open and vocal about our belief that Christ is the only way to heaven and that only by trusting in Him will a person be saved, the world will say that we are narrow minded and intolerant of other religions.

When we live in a way that demonstrates that the Bible is our absolute authority for what we believe and how we act, our post-modern world will criticize us for being so naïve as to think that the Bible is absolute truth.

When we focus on eternal things, the world will think we’re crazy for giving our time and our money to follow Christ.

Radically change the direction of your life as Jesus prompts you, and you will find yourself at odds with the majority. Uproot your family and move to another area, change your job, go back to school, invest a large portion of your money in Christ’s work, live to serve Christ and commit your free time to ministry—doing these as committed disciples of Christ will put us at odds with the majority. Sadly, there are times when even those closest to us will resist our commitment to follow Christ and might even go so far as to persecute us just like everyone else.

Even loved ones join the crowd!

Even loved ones might say that giving ourselves to follow Christ is throwing our lives away and wasting our opportunities to get ahead in the world. Our closest relatives sometimes make it hard on us by saying things like, "If you’re thinking of moving away, you are disowning the family and showing us that you don’t really love us." Or "We made all of these sacrifices to give you a good life, and now you are going to do this with your life. You don’t appreciate all we’ve done for you." Or "You’re going to take our grandkids away from us so that we never see them. How could you do something like this?" Or "We expected more from you. We thought you were really going to make something of yourself. We’re disappointed."

When the crowd is against us and even our loved ones are against us, what will we decide? Will we choose to faithfully follow Christ anyway or will we succumb to the pressure of the crowd and shrink back from our pursuit of Him?

When even our family members resist our commitment to Christ and try to discourage us, we need to "hate" them. As followers of Christ, we need to "hate" our father and mother, our wife and children, and our brothers and sisters. What did Jesus mean in saying that His followers need to "hate" their loved ones?

Jesus isn’t using "hate" in the emotional sense of the word. While "hate" is used to express emotion, this term can also be used to express a decision of the will, of a choice that is made. We see "hate" used this way in Romans 9:13 where we read of God loving or choosing Jacob and hating or not choosing Esau. God did not emotionally hate Esau, but rather He didn’t choose him. God "hated" Esau in that He chose Jacob over him. This is how Jesus uses the term in Luke.

As His committed followers, we must submit to His authority, devoting ourselves to do what He wants over and above what family members think we should do. When a conflict arises between what family members want and what Christ wants, the disciple has no problem knowing what to do—he or she will choose to follow Christ. Christ’s disciples love Him supremely and are committed to Him even more than they love and are committed to their own flesh and blood.

Does following Christ take precedence over and above what the crowd of loved ones around us is pressuring us to do? Hopefully, our family’s pressure and Christ’s direction are the same, because our family members share our commitment to follow Christ, but when they are not the same, we must choose Christ if we want to be His disciple.

Disciples choose Christ over clinging to their lives (14:26b)

It is not only the desires of family members that get in the way of our faithful pursuit of Christ. Our personal self-interests can also prove to be a hindrance. An expression of self-interest that frequently becomes a problem today is, "I’ve got to live, don’t I?" People say this as an excuse for clinging to physical life and shrinking back from any commitments to Christ that might threaten our lives. People also say this as an excuse for clinging on to what we want to do with our lives—we want to pursue our dreams, our plans, our comforts, and our desires. Jesus demands that His followers "hate" their lives.

For some disciples, this means that Christ will ask us not to cling to our physical lives, but to lay them down for Him, allowing ourselves to be martyred. For most of us today, this means that Christ will require that we give our lives to Him—that we submit our will to His, doing what He wants rather than giving our lives over to what we want to do. When personal desires and Christ’s mission come into conflict, the disciple of Christ has no problem knowing what to do. He or she will choose Christ over and above clinging to his or her life.

This week, I was reminded of a great example of what it looks like to hate our lives—to choose to follow Christ's desires first and foremost. I remembered a story from the life of a preacher named Carl that I heard a couple years back. Carl was a committed follower of Jesus Christ. As a pastor, he was so burdened for Christ’s church and for the accomplishment of what He wanted to do in the lives of His people that he prayed, "Lord, revive your church, by my life for by my death." A short time after beginning to pray this prayer, Carl was in a terrible car accident. The crash was so bad that the first policeman who came to the scene said, "He’s a goner." It wasn’t until the paramedics arrived that they discovered he was still alive. Carl was in the hospital for eighteen weeks and wasn’t able to preach for an entire year, but God used what happened to him to accomplish great works in that congregation.

Several years later, while Carl was ministering at another church, he again felt deep concern for revival in the hearts of God’s people, and prayed, "Lord, revive your church, by my life, or by my death." It was not long after praying this prayer again that Carl went home to be with his Lord after suffering a massive heart attack. Again, God used what happened to Carl to do His work in the lives of His people.

Carl’s funeral was held on what was to be his and his wife Beryl’s 25^th wedding anniversary. Just after Carl passed away, in the hospital, a doctor asked Beryl if she needed any sleeping pills to help her rest in her time of grief. He also questioned God as to why He allowed Carl’s death. Beryl responded by saying, "How can I question God when He has been so gracious as to give my husband the answer to his prayer?"

This past week, I asked my grandmother Beryl if she ever regretted my grandfather’s commitment to Christ and what it cost her, as she had to raise several children alone, as a single mom. Without hesitancy, she said, "No, I don’t regret it. God’s grace has been sufficient. Without the experiences I have gone through, I would not have known what it was like to be as close as I am to my Savior." Carl and Beryl show us what it looks like to hate our lives—what it is to choose Christ over and above trying to cling to our own lives. God help us to be that kind of a disciple.

Disciples choose to bear rejection, suffering, and death for Christ’s sake (14:27)

Following Jesus Christ involves a cross. The cross is a symbol of rejection. We will be rejected by many because of our identification with and devotion to Jesus. Some will choose not to be around us or associate with us because of our commitment to Christ.

The cross is a symbol of suffering. We will suffer persecution, financial loss, and maybe even physical pain as Christ’s followers.

The cross is a symbol of death. A few of us might have to literally die as martyrs as Christ’s followers. Though most, if not all of us, will not be asked to die for Christ physically, we are still obligated, as disciples, to commit ourselves to follow the road that leads to death—death to self-interests and selfish-desires that distract us from Christ’s mission for our lives.

If our driving commitment and focus in life is to seek after power, health, fame, and fortune, we cannot be Christ’s disciples. We might still be saved, for salvation depends solely on whether or not we have trusted Christ, but we will not be Christ’s committed disciples.

Warren Wiersbe writes, "Salvation is open to all who will come by faith, while discipleship is for believers willing to pay a price. Salvation means coming to the cross and trusting Jesus Christ, while discipleship means carrying the cross and following Jesus Christ" (Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, page 232).

High school graduation is upon us. We sense that God is leading us into missions, but we fear that if we pursue ministry instead of a lucrative career, our friends and family will criticize us and think we’re throwing away our potential. Perhaps our parents have told us that the only way that they will pay for our education is if we forget about ministry. They’ve told us we can pursue missions later, but first we need a good back up to secure ourselves financially. We know serving Christ and doing what He wants us to do should be our first priority, but the pressure to pursue other things is coming at us from all directions. We have a choice to make.

We know as parents that it’s time for us to stop trying to keep up with the neighbors in all the activities we do with our kids. We realize that if we do all the things everyone else is doing, we won’t be able to put Christ and His commands first. We feel pressure to keep doing the things we’ve been doing. We feel badly about letting others down who expect us to stay involved in all of our activities. We know something has to change if we are to put Christ first and submit to what He wants us to do. We have a choice to make.

We have a house, a job, a good salary, we are living in a great neighborhood, we have a lot of close friends, our family lives nearby—we’re living the American dream. We’ve been challenged recently in regards to the next step Christ would have us to take as His disciples. We believe God is leading us to a life of service for Him, but we see that pursuing what He wants will bring huge changes—perhaps it will mean dedicating a large portion of our finances for schooling, or making a major move, or changing jobs, or maybe a drastic change of lifestyle. Our family and friends think we’re crazy. Some have said that we’re throwing our lives away. We have a choice to make.

We thought our 401 K would be used for a life of ease as we drift off into the sunset at retirement, doing all those things we really want to do. We put our time in at work and church, now it’s someone else’s turn. Suddenly, our retirement dreams are not looking all that attractive. As we contemplate eternity and think of the short time we have left, we sense that the Lord is pricking our hearts to invest our time and money in eternal things, rather than squandering these on temporal pleasures and selfish pursuits. Our family is concerned that we’ll give away all their inheritance, or that we will not have the time to spend with the grandkids that they expected us to have, or that we’ll wear ourselves out, when we should kick back and relax more, enjoying the retirement we’ve earned. We have a choice to make.

What will we choose? Christ’s committed followers will choose Him. Choose to follow Christ!