Would You if Jesus asked?

[GoodTreeMinistries.com]

At the end of Luke 9 what would you do if that where Jesus talking to you?
Would you become homeless for Jesus if He asked you to?
Would you let someone else bury your dad if you were called to the mission field instead?
Would you leave without saying good bye to your family?

What if you were really called to sell everything you had and give it to the poor?

I was reading the book Radical by David Platt. It seems to ask some tuff questions that are really just from the Bible.

So really basically is there something you would no give up for the gospel or do you love over Jesus?

Do our dogs and cats really eat better than many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in other countries?

 

[Vladimir]

So your question is basically "Do you believe in Matthew 16:25?"
Our heart and mind are weak and sinful. Even if we are knowledgeable, we still hesitate, cling to treasures where moth and rust destroys and thieves break in and steal, and do mental acrobatics to argue His decrees away or water them down.
But let us pray like David did, that He teaches us to do His will when we know it.
[BIBLE]Psalm 143:10[/BIBLE]

 

[earl40]

If I was called to be a missionary, preacher I would go. BTW I am called to be an Echo Technician and if I attempted to do any job I was not called to do I would be miserable and a failure.

 

[Romans922]

Would you let someone else bury your dad if you were called to the mission field instead?

My dad is Roman Catholic, so in good conscience I may not attend his funeral (burial perhaps - depending on what happens there) because God has called me to obey Him not partake in foolish and devilish ceremonies.

 

[Cymro]

The three instances that are given seem to be paralleled in Math 8, but only 2
men are mentioned there. It seems in both accounts the first man volunteered
to follow from a heart of a scribe , which probably was unregenerate. And therefore
our Lord's reply was a challenge to his false zeal. The other two, from the wording
would appear to be challenged as to entering the ministry, "go thou and preach the
gospel." These peculiarities ought then to be taken into account.
Our brother Vladimir has highlighted Math16 which is more to the point, for there
it is plainly directed to the disciples. The Lord upbraids Peter for his rebuke and his claim
to cleave to Christ no matter what. A boast that would soon be tested. Again it seems the
Lord is challenging their faith, and warning it will be tested. So that Peter could write from
hindsight and experience, "the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, though it be tried by fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory."
With the great and exceeding promises we have great warnings, and to be forewarned is
to be forearmed. It is only when faced with the trial can we discover the activity of faith.
Even when I was a hymn singer, I refused to sing that hymn which makes claims
on the congregation, converted and unconverted,
Take my silver and my gold,
not from thee shall I withhold. etc
I feel safer singing that which God will do in such temptations,
"Thou hast caused men ride o'er our heads;
and though that we did pass
Through fire and water, yet thou brought'st
us to a wealthy place.

 

[SinnerSavedByChrist]

At the end of Luke 9 what would you do if that where Jesus talking to you?
Would you become homeless for Jesus if He asked you to?
Would you let someone else bury your dad if you were called to the mission field instead?
Would you leave without saying good bye to your family?

What if you were really called to sell everything you had and give it to the poor?

So really basically is there something you would no give up for the gospel or do you love over Jesus?

Do our dogs and cats really eat better than many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in other countries?

The Gospel Stings. Every time I read Matthew chapters 5-7 my heart burns.... Same goes for the other gospels. >.< !!!

We are a people full of iniquity. Yet God has promised to regenerate us. Let us cry out for repentance daily!

 

[Alan D. Strange]

At the end of Luke 9 what would you do if that where Jesus talking to you?

Our Lord Jesus is "talking to" all of us in these words.

That is the Master speaking to His church corporately and all of us in it personally. We are called, both as a body and members thereof, to leave all to follow Jesus.

Only those who do that are His and all those who are His do that.

This is the nature of true saving faith. It looks away from all that it has, does, and can do, and looks to Jesus alone. We are called to follow Jesus unflinchingly. It is only the faith that looks to Him alone that enables us to follow Him wherever He leads us.

This is not something that He called only these men to, it is something to which He calls everyone of us. And those who are His will hear the shepherd's voice and will follow. This is not to say that it will not be quite costly--it will--this life is for all of us who follow. It is not to say that we will not stumble along the way many times--we do err in many ways. But it is the case that every single one who is His will hear the call and will follow.

Peace,
Alan

 

[Pergamum]

At the end of Luke 9 what would you do if that where Jesus talking to you?
Would you become homeless for Jesus if He asked you to?
Would you let someone else bury your dad if you were called to the mission field instead?
Would you leave without saying good bye to your family?

What if you were really called to sell everything you had and give it to the poor?

I was reading the book Radical by David Platt. It seems to ask some tuff questions that are really just from the Bible.

So really basically is there something you would no give up for the gospel or do you love over Jesus?

Do our dogs and cats really eat better than many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in other countries?

How exactly would Jesus be asking you? And how would you verify it?

I do think there is a call to the ministry or the mission field, but this is more than just your private desire. It must be seconded by the Word and confirmed by His Church.

If you have just read Platt's book Radical and a desire is stirred within you, please go and discuss this with your elders. Maybe they will help you "try on" such a call or help you ascertain how best to serve God (vocation or calling to the ministry, etc).

You also asked:

Do our dogs and cats really eat better than many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in other countries?

I work with several local evangelists who in year's past have gathered only about 100 USD per year. Many pet-owners spend more than that on their pets. When I ship goods into the village these men ask for my empty card-board boxes - to sleep on as mats.


Finally,

There has been a sad push-back against Platt's book, stating that there is too much emphasis on doing something "radical" for Jesus instead of fulfilling your vocation and being a good family man. Here is a representative article: WORLD | The ?new legalism? | Anthony Bradley | May 4, 2013

How the push to be ‘radical’ and ‘missional’ discourages ordinary people in ordinary places from doing ordinary things to the glory of God

However, I strongly protest that the problem in US churches is that too many people are "too radical" and are trying to do extraordinary things. Rather, I think that a major problem of the Western church is just the opposite - their faith hardly seems to change them at all. There is a spirit of lukewarmness - a form of Laodiceanism that bristles at anyone who wants to push the Church to be the Church and to aggressively and intentionally go out into all the world.


So, if the book has moved you to greater action and prayer....then HOORAY!

 

[a mere housewife]

Just to add to these wonderful answers that Jesus is worth whatever He asks.

'Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.'

 

[Alan D. Strange]

Let me begin first, in response to you, Perg, in #8 (above) by noting that I have not read Platt's book Radical. I am thus unable to comment on its content independently.

However, I did read the Anthony Bradley piece that you linked to and agree with that piece: people do not need to be told that unless they are doing something extraordinary, they are not following Christ and serving His kingdom.

Withouth repeating all that I said in #7, above, let me reiterate that the cost of discipleship that our Lord highlights in Luke 9:57-62 is the call that comes to us all, whether we are lawyers, mechanics, store clerks, builders, or chefs. To follow Jesus, we must let go of everything else, including that which is nearest and dearest to us. We can be on a mission field, never having done that, being there, in fact, to commend ourselves to God, i.e., to secure His favor rather than living in gratitude because we have His favor. And, conversely, we can be in the suburbs in the States, pursuing whatever vocation God has given us, but doing so as one of His followers.

This is one of the key insights of the Protestant Reformation, over against Rome, and it's linked to a number of things that we confess, not the least being that the church in its essence is spiritual and that justification is by faith alone. These all link up as a part of a proper interpretation of this passage. Think about the expression of this in the life of Christian in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. All the "cost of discipleship" manifested in his life in that work is contextualized for us when we are told, at the last, that all of this happened and he had never left home. He did leave his family in one sense, as all of must, with ears plugged, crying "Eternal life!" And yet, he never left.

We must understand that Jesus' call to us and the cost of discipleship is for us to give up and over everything to Him, to abandon all trust in anything but Him, and to look to Him and Him alone--not family, not fame or fortune--for everlasting life. To do that is true kingdom life, wherever it is that we live that life, in the US, on the mission field, wherever. Again, I maintain that unless we understand Jesus' call here as one that comes to each one of us who are His, and that it has to do with abandoning all for Him, and all that are His do so, we are missing the meaning of this passage.

Peace,
Alan

 

[THE W]

Jesus at the end of luke 9 is challenging people's priorities. same for the story of the rich young ruler.

we must be willing to following Christ and obey God at ALL costs!

are you willing to pass over a really good job opportunity because it would cause you to profane the Lord's day?

are you willing to cut off very close and dear, but sinful relationships?

are you willing to be disliked by most people because of your christian walk and speech?

we are called to obey the commands of God no matter what. doing this is costly.

 

[Mushroom]

So, what makes us willing, and what are we to do about it if we find ourselves unwilling?

A related question is, what makes us love Him as we ought, and what are we to do if we find ourselves not loving Him as we ought?

These are the types of exhortations that confuse me. In my arminian/pelagian days the answers were simple - try harder, pray harder, believe harder, trust more, read more & etc. But as Reformed believers we understand that our efforts are filthy rags, and therefore wholly ineffective in improving our love for Him and the willingness it produces. So I really don't understand the point of these types of discussions or even sermons. Is it to point out to those who don't love enough or aren't willing enough that they are lost? And if so, what are they to do? Give up?

I like to think that I love Him enough to be willing to die for Him, but I don't find myself facing that kind of decision on a daily basis, so I can't say for sure. There are dilemmas I face moment by moment that call for me to choose between obeying His law or enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season, and although I rejoice that there are fewer times than in the past that I choose the latter, I know that it is far too few still that I choose the former. That is a sorrow to me, but should it be a litmus test whereby I judge my standing in Him? And if found wanting, what should I do? Pray more? Read more? Partake of the means of grace more? Jump off a bridge? Or trust Him that His forgiveness extends to my failing to love Him aright, and to plant the love He requires of me in my heart? Or is there some other view I'm missing?

Not trying to be facetious, these questions come to my mind whenever I hear these types of admonishments. And I know that some of them can be construed as being present in scripture - I just don't know what to do about them when convicted by them.

 

[THE W]

i'd say how one reacts to a admonition such as this is key.

does it brake your heart that God's Word has convicted you in revealing an area in your life that you aren't submitted to Him in? are you recognizing that not submitting to God's will in this area is sin and that you have unknowingly ignored God's law and with a broken heart and contrite spirit seek prayerfully with the help of the Holy Spirit to repent of this sin? even if you mess up and it takes awhile to come to repentance and start obeying, you're not giving up and saying "oh well, this is who I am and I cant change". the Holy Spirit that works in all of God's regenerate children is causing you to fight. its not on your strength, but the strength and mercy of God.

or

you hear an admonition such as this and you ignore it, become hostile towards it, and do what the Holy Spirit in Paul said in Romans 1:18-23 when it comes to God's law and commands: rebel, deny, suppress. this would be the sign of one who does not have the Holy Spirit working in them and is in desperate need of true saving faith.

so there's a difference between struggling with sin and rebelling in your sin.

justification is an event, sanctification is a process.

 

[a mere housewife]

Or trust Him that His forgiveness extends to my failing to love Him aright, and to plant the love He requires of me in my heart?

If I've understood what Dr. Strange is saying, then would this not be exactly the response this passage would call for? We do not trust in houses, lands, family, etc: we do not even place our trust in our ability to leave all and follow (gratefully, for I cannot find that motion in my own soul perfectly; and I can put little faith in the motions I do feel) -- simply in Him.

I love the way the gospel of John opens and closes with a call to follow Christ. In all those chapters in between, I am given the content for that following: it is the way to the cross. But it comforts me deeply to see that Peter cannot walk that way of his own strength, no matter how much he thought he would be able to. He is deceived in his own ability and the Lord knows him better. Christ knows he cannot follow 'now', but will 'hereafter' -- after Christ goes to the cross to conquer death and sin for Peter, to make it possible for Peter to receive a call again at the end of the gospel to 'follow me'. There Peter is not only given an opportunity to affirm love to Christ as many times as he denied it, but it seems like he is brought to face the reality of his own ineffectual self knowledge. I find comfort in the way he ultimately, under this intense questioning, refers himself entirely to and rests in the Lord's knowledge of him. I think perhaps we do the same?

(edit: I always struggle for words and say things so poorly, but what I mean is that it seems that Peter could not follow when he was trusting in his own ability to be able to do so. Only when he is forced to abandon that confidence, and place his trust entirely in Christ -- who went to the cross and saved Peter without any help from Peter -- is he given grace to accept that call to follow. That seems exactly like what you said above, and what Dr. Strange is saying. It's so sweet to me to see that Christ stops questioning not when Peter is simply declaring his love but when Peter refers Christ to his own knowledge of his blood bought disciple. That is where even our many denials are swallowed up in a place of trust and rest.)

 

[Alan D. Strange]

You get it as usual, Heidi!

Jesus is saying here the same sort of thing that He says everywhere about discipleship. In John, when asked about doing the works of God, Jesus responded that the work of God is to "believe in Him whom He has sent." That's what He's saying when He says "come unto me" or when He says, as he does in Luke, "follow me." The command, in the first instance, is always to believe in Him, to trust in Him. We trust in Him alone because we are, in every way, failures. We follow Him alone because we, in every way, are lost. And the repentance that accompanies faith means that when we follow Him alone, we always, at the same time, abandon all else. So that when He calls us to follow, and we do, we don't look to family, friends, or anything else. We don't interpose objections and say, "Well, I'll follow you after I do something else." That's simply not faith. Do we ever fail in faith? All the time. That's called unbelief: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" So I come to Him time and again, to trust Him alone and to follow Him alone, repenting of all my looking to anything else and trusting something else (called idolatry).

This is the Christian life, plainly and simply, a life in which I struggle as does Paul in Romans 7, but in which the predominant theme is that I believe, innumerable failings notwithstanding. Luke 9, as do so many other passages, calls me to ever return to Him, to follow Him, again and again. What joy that I am ever called away from all that I am, have, and do to follow Him and Him alone.

Peace,
Alan

 

[MW]

John Brown (Expository Discourses on 1 Peter):

"Holiness does not consist in mystical speculations, enthusiastic fervours, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills."