The Dangerous Calling to Follow Christ
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The most famous line in all of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia series comes when Lucy is hearing from Mr. Beaver about Aslan. At first she thinks he’s a man, but finds out he’s a lion. So she asks if he is quite safe. And then the famous lines. “Safe? Who said anything about safe. Course he isn’t safe. But he is good. He’s the King I tell you.”
Jesus is King. He is good. But he is not safe. And following Jesus is dangerous. I’m not saying that to scare anyone, but I’m also not saying that in an effort to over-dramatize discipleship or make it sound macho to follow Jesus. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen the disciples were caught in a storm and the waves were swamping the boat to the point that they feared for their lives. Jesus told the disciples that if they were going to follow him, they must take up their cross—the most torturous mode of death ever devised, and so represented sacrifice and pain and death. Months ago, when we were studying the Beatitudes, we saw Jesus tell the disciples that there would be people who hate them, persecute them, and slander them. Just last week, Bruce preached on the previous verses that talk about not having a place to live, leaving the dead to bury the dead, and not looking back on your previous life. All of that speaks to some form of danger and fear.
To follow Jesus is dangerous physically. It is dangerous relationally. It is dangerous emotionally. It is dangerous to your reputation. It can even be dangerous mentally. But following Jesus is never dangerous spiritually.
This morning, we are looking once again at the dangerous calling to follow Christ and specifically four reasons that following Jesus is so dangerous. So if you will stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.
Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’
And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.
Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,
‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
Reason 1: Following Jesus means we must pave the way for him.
Reason 1: Following Jesus means we must pave the way for him.
The first reason that following Jesus can be so dangerous is that there are times we must pave the way for him. Back in the day, Rick Warren made an analogy that has latched on to evangelicalism and it is sound advice many times. He talked about catching the wave that God has provided and riding it. Another way of putting it is that we don’t want to get ahead of God and we don’t want to lag behind what God is doing. All of that is great advice. But there are times, when we are called to pave the way.
Now, we know God is everywhere and that he is sovereign over everything. So there is no time in which we can genuinely be getting ahead of God. Yet, there are times in which we are called to go ahead to a place that Jesus is not yet known. And therefore, we are the ones that are breaking up the untilled soil. We’re the ones breaking the glass ceiling. And that can be dangerous.
Look at what Jesus told the seventy-two.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
As Bruce preached a couple of weeks ago, Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem. He’s leaving Galilee behind. It wasn’t that Jesus was completely unknown anywhere else, but he wasn’t followed as he was in Galilee. Most of Jesus’ ministry had been in Galilee. Very little had been done in Judea and less in Samaria. So this was rather new terrain for Jesus and the disciples. And he sends them into these places that he was about to go. He wasn’t going with them. They were going in pairs to prepare the people to receive Jesus.
You may recall that Paul was called to this type of lifestyle. He would take Jesus to the Gentiles. And it would lead him to all sorts of cities and nations. He didn’t mind going to places that knew Jesus, but his heart was for those who did not.
and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,
but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
That’s dangerous work. Going to a land you don’t know or even talking to a person you don’t know can be dangerous. John Paton was a Scottish missionary back in the late 1800s and early 1900s to New Hibrides near Papua New Guinea. It was a set of islands known for their savagery and cannibalism. Nineteen years before Paton had gone, another couple of missionaries had tried to go there and make disciples. They were killed and eaten by the islanders. When Paton announced he was going, a Mr. Dickson cried out, “The cannibals! You will be eaten by the cannibals!” Paton looked upon this well-meaning elderly man, and responded,
Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.
Paton never was murdered nor eaten for that matter. But he lived in constant danger of his life. There were times when his home would be surrounded by tribes waiting to kill him but could not. There was a time a chieftan pointed a rifle at him for hours as Paton did his gardening and talking with him all the while. He was ambushed when called to pray over a sick man. The tribesman named Ian asked him to come closer, then pulled a dagger and put it to his heart. In John Paton’s own words:
I durst neither move nor speak, except that my heart kept praying to the Lord to spare me, or if my time was come to take me home to Glory with Himself. There passed a few moments of awful suspense. My sight went and came. Not a word had been spoken, except to Jesus; and then Ian wheeled the knife around, thrust it into the sugar cane leaf. And cried to me, “Go, go quickly!” . . . I ran for my life a weary four miles till I reached the Mission House, faint, yet praising God for such a deliverance.
For years he was in danger, paving the way for Jesus. Paul told Timothy,
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Beloved, there are over 7,000 unreached people groups in the world that don’t know Jesus. To be considered “reached,” means that the people have indigenous people who are passing on the gospel message. That typically means that 3% of the population are believers. So when we say that 7,000+ people groups are unreached, that means that there are that many people who have less than 3% of their population who knows Jesus. But it also means that there are a lot more who are considered reached who have only 3 or 4% of their people who know Jesus! Most of these people groups live in what is known as the 10/40 window. 10* North Latitude to 40* North Latitude. That’s mainly North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. These are predominantly Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist nations who are hostile toward Christianity. It’s dangerous work to go and pave the way for Jesus. It feels dangerous enough to pave the way to Jesus with our neighbors, let alone to go to North Korea where a two year old boy was recently sentenced to life in prison because his parents had a Bible in their possession.
Reason 2: Following Jesus means we must pray the way for ourselves.
Reason 2: Following Jesus means we must pray the way for ourselves.
But there is a second reason that following Jesus is a dangerous calling. It is that we must pray the way for ourselves.
Luke 10:2–3 (ESV)
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Go your way. . .
The problem with bringing people to Jesus is not that there aren’t people to be brought, but there are too few people to do the bringing. Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful. There’s lots of lost souls that will follow Jesus. There just aren’t many saved souls who will go and reap the harvest that awaits them.
Jesus commanded those whom he was sending to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers and then he sent them! In other words, Jesus commanded them to pray for God to send and at the same time fully expect God to send them! That means that they were putting themselves in their own prayers. That’s not dangerous in and of itself; we pray for ourselves every day probably. What it means though is accepting the reality that we may be God’s answer to our prayers.
We pray for the atheist at work who is hostile toward Christians and God in general. We pray for the professor who makes snide comments evangelicals are lunatics. We pray for that relative we see during the holidays that blasphemes the name every chance he gets. We pray that God will send someone to them. We pray that someone will break through to them. But we are quietly hoping he’ll send someone else. Because we know it could be dangerous to our reputation or our emotional state or our job or grade point average or even just an enjoyable Christmas break.
But following Jesus is accepting the dangerous calling upon our lives, to the point we pray the way for ourselves. We pray God would make the way for someone, and then believe that we are that someone.
Reason 3: Following Jesus means that we must pursue the way of danger.
Reason 3: Following Jesus means that we must pursue the way of danger.
Following Jesus means we pave the way for him, pray the way for ourselves, and now we see a third reason that following Jesus is dangerous. Following Jesus means we actually pursue the way of danger. We don’t avoid it. There are certainly times when we can get out of danger. But we cannot make it our mission to avoid danger altogether. We pursue the way that will lead to danger.
Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.
Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’
And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
Certainly we can all see the danger in these verses. Lambs and wolves do not get along. If you put a lamb and a wolf in the same vicinity, the wolf is going to win every single time. We’re not even talking about full-grown sheep here. We’re talking about young sheep—baby sheep—in the midst of wolves. In other words, we going out in innocence and weakness in the midst of the vicious and strong.
Do you remember the image Jesus used to teach his disciples a lesson about God’s kingdom?
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 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.”
Here they are, arguing about who is greatest, the biggest, the best. And Jesus said, “oh no. It’s not about how strong and great you are. It’s about receiving a child in my name. It’s about compassion and tenderness. It’s about being least.” And now he says I’m sending you out as lambs—the least of the animals among the wolves—the strong, the loud, the great. The script has been flipped. “It’s not about being the greatest, but the least, and now I’m sending you out least among great.”
They say when you encounter a big animal, you should make yourself look big. Put out your arms, yell loudly, puff out your chest. That’s how we often meet dangerous situations. We make ourselves great. Jesus said, “No. You’re meant to be a lamb—innocent and weak. And you are meant to be among the wolves where there is always danger.”
We don’t respond to wolves in wolf-like manners. We enter a house with nothing. It may be a wolf-house, it may not be. We don’t know. But either way, we enter not with a bang, but with “Peace be to this house!” Perhaps there will be sons of peace there, those who are sympathetic to Jesus and his disciples—those who are among the harvest. But maybe there won’t be. Maybe a wolf lives there.
Beloved, Christianity is not well-known today for being a people of peace. We call Jesus the Prince of Peace and he has called us to be peace-makers and wish peace upon the houses, but we are not well-known for being a people of peace. I don’t mean we are necessarily a people of war, but I do mean that we like to make ourselves big and fight fire with fire. But we are supposed to offer peace in the midst of our personal danger and hold to the promise that if it is not accepted, God will see that such peace returns to us. Did you see that promise? If we will be a people offering peace, when it is not received, we get it back.
So even in the midst of danger, there is God’s peace that is promised.
Reason 4: Following Jesus means we must perceive the way as valuable.
Reason 4: Following Jesus means we must perceive the way as valuable.
There is a fourth reason that we can see that following Jesus is a dangerous calling and that is that it means we must perceive the way as valuable. Granted, this may seem like the least dangerous of the four, but let’s understand what this means.
To perceive that the way is valuable means to leave behind everything. This goes back to last week’s verses when Jesus said that to follow him is to follow one who has no home. To follow him means to let the dead bury the dead. To follow him means to not look back. Why? Because the way in which he is going, the way in which we are following, is more valuable than those things.
For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
But here we see,
And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.
Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Jesus is speaking specifically to those whom he is calling to leave their jobs for a time. Whether they were tanners or fishermen or tax collectors or whatever, they were to leave their jobs. They were to leave their old jobs because he has a new short-term vocation. They were to leave their guaranteed incomes and go to a place that may or may not receive them. They were to go as lambs in the midst of wolves and offer peace and hope they are received. And he tells them then to stay in this same house. Don’t go looking for something better—or even worse! They must see that the work of the kingdom is valuable. They need a place to sleep and plan and meet and eat. The way is valuable enough to be needy. Let me say that again: the way is valuable enough to be needy. The way is more valuable than our pride.
Just as there is no lone-ranger Christian, there are not to be lone-ranger preachers. We need one another. I must understand the value that I bring when I bring the gospel message. I must not belittle my value. I’m not saying we become puffed up as if I was the greatest thing since sliced bread. But I am to see myself soberly. I have the most valuable message in the world and thus I deserve the wages I receive from preaching that message.
But here is the kicker: I don’t go looking for more or less. I stay where I am until the job is done. Whether the house is large or small, whether the meals are four-course or peanut butter sandwiches, whether the accommodations are comfortable or not to my liking, I stay until the work is done.
In writing to the Philippians, Paul said,
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
The way is dangerous for the preacher. His living is made off the message and the good will of the people to whom he is staying and proclaiming the message to. At any moment he can be run out and cut off and left with nothing. It’s happened to me twice. It’s happened to pastors I know personally. And it is easy to ask, “Is it worth it?” The answer is, “Absolutely.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we finish up, we’ve seen four reasons it is dangerous to follow Jesus: we must pave the way for him, pray the way for ourselves, pursue the way of danger, and perceive the way as more valuable than what we may lose. But I also want to quickly talk about how it is much more dangerous to not follow Jesus.
But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,
‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
Jesus tells those whom he is sending that as dangerous as it is for them to go out, it is more dangerous for people who reject the message. We must accept that this is the case. There is a great harvest to be reaped and we are not to waste time on plants bearing no fruit. We wipe the dust off the feet and understand that in spite of their rejection, it does not mean that God’s kingdom is far off. It is still near. Nor is it appropriate to hope and pray that it is far off. We still pray, “Your kingdom come; your will be done.” And lament as Jesus that it may not include those whom we’ve told.
But notice that on the day of judgment, it will be more bearable for Sodom than for the town that rejects Jesus. We remember what happened to Sodom right? The men want to have relations with the angels and they were then struck with blindness and ultimately fire and brimstone came upon them. The people of Sodom had and still have a horrible reputation of immorality and evil. The very word, “Sodomite” are fighting words. One would expect the severest judgment for them at the Great White Throne, but Jesus said it’ll be more bearable for them than for those who reject me. Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum? The same. Each of these towns rejected Jesus. They heard the gospel. They saw the miracles. But they turned from Jesus. And Jesus in sorrow pronounced woes upon these towns. How awful will their judgments be!
We need to listen to this and listen good. When we proclaim the gospel, we are proclaiming the very words of Jesus. Thus if someone doesn’t like what we say, they really have a problem with Jesus and therefore a problem with the Father. Their rejection, though it feels personal, is not personal.
But it is dangerous…more dangerous than we will ever know when we answer the call to follow Christ.
Prayer
Our heavenly Father,
I pray first for those who are in the midst of rejecting your Son. We know that your word says that no one who denies the Son has the Father and that whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. I pray then that if there are any who have convinced themselves here today that they can be in good standing with you without entrusting their whole being to Jesus, would see their fatal error. They have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ; may they no longer reject him.
I pray for we who are on this journey. It is dangerous. For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. May we walk courageously in the power of your Spirit. May we be those willing to pave the way for your Son, pray the way for ourselves, pursue the way that can be so dangerous, and perceive that the gospel message is more valuable than all we’ve ever known.
In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen.