"An Invitation to Pursue"
Series: Not A Fan, by Kyle Idleman
Sunday, February 24, 2013- Luke 9:23-27

Introduction: We are now two weeks into our series on the book by Kyle Idleman called “Not A Fan.” We are talking about a journey we are taking to move from just being a fan of Jesus, curious about who He is, to becoming a follower. To move forward on this journey we must identify the areas where we are a fan; the areas where we are holding back on Jesus.

            Up to this point we have looked at a couple of stories of those who were fans and what made them fans and not followers. Inevitably Jesus would put them into a position where they had to make a decision whether or not they would commit themselves to Jesus. Jesus dictates to us what His terms are. Jesus lets us know what it means to really follow Him!

            John 3:16 is probably the most quoted verse in the Bible. There is a reason why this is so. In this one verse we read that God loves us. We also see that Christ died for us. We are told that God gave us His Son so that we could have eternal life through Him.

            Today we are going to look at another very important verse, but one that is not quoted as often: it is Luke 9:23. It is one of the verses that is quoted in three of the four gospels.

I.                   The Invitation is for Everyone- (Luke 9:23; John 3:16; Romans 3:23)

a.      No pre-qualifications necessary- In Luke 9:23 Jesus says these words:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” You can see how this verse is not a feel good verse like John 3:16. After hearing this verse I’m sure you understand why it isn’t as well known as John 3:16! It doesn’t make Christianity sound all good and rosy and comfortable. It would be much more difficult to recruit people to the Christian faith if this is the main verse we used. But the truth is, John 3:16 and Luke 9:23 have to go together in order for there to be an accurate understanding of the gospel’s invitation.

            Here is why that is true. John 3:16 emphasizes believing: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever BELIEVES…” Luke 9:23 focuses on following: “…take up his cross daily and FOLLOW ME.” These two thing must go together. There is no believing without following. If you don’t follow, then you didn’t really believe to begin with!!

            The last couple of Sundays we tried to identify where things stand in our relationship with Jesus. Over the next couple of weeks we will discover where Jesus wants to take us if we decide to follow Him. We are going to break down what this invitation in Luke 9:23 really means for us as Jesus clearly lays out His expectations of His followers. It spells out the terms so that we can know exactly what we are agreeing to when we say to Jesus that we will follow Him.

b.      Master- It is important to notice the first two words Jesus uses in His

invitation. He says, “If anyone….” The word “anyone” is significant because it makes clear who Jesus is inviting. Jesus is making His invitation open to all; all who would choose to respond to the invitation. Jesus doesn’t begin with a list of pre-qualifications like: those who are educated; those who have a great deal of money; those who have a special position; or those who don’t have any sin in their life. The invitation is given to ANYONE. This is good for people to put into perspective, because many people think that their sin disqualifies them, and so they think they can’t be a follower. People are used to having to apply for things, and sometimes getting their application turned down.

            EX. A number of years ago, when Tiffany was about 2, she colored on the front of our entertainment unit. Tami didn’t see her do it, but Tami noticed the blue crayon marks on the entertainment unit, and Tiffany was holding a blue crayon. When Tami asked Tiffany about it Tiffany said she didn’t do it!! Of course Tami knew she did because she was still holding the crayon.

            Most of us are hiding wrongdoings. Our worst fear is that someone will notice the wrong and realize what we are trying to hide; what we are denying. But because Jesus knows our wrongdoings, we think this disqualifies us to be a follower. Surely our wrongdoings will cause Jesus to scratch us off His invitation list. Why would Jesus want us?

            EX. This was probably true of Matthew. When are first introduced to Matthew in the Bible we see that Matthew is no longer trying to hide his wrongdoings. They were significant enough for his family and friends to write him off. He was probably a big disappointment to his parents. You see, Matthew had another name: “Levi.” To be given that name meant that your parents expected you to serve the Lord as the Levites in the Old Testament did. From birth Matthew was set aside to be a spiritual leader for the nation of Israel. Matthew’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all likely priests who served the Lord. By age twelve Matthew would have had the first five books of the Bible memorized. It is likely that he sent an application to the rabbi’s to become a disciple of one of them. But if he sent an application, it was turned down!

            Whatever happened, we know that something had gone wrong. Instead of serving the Lord, he decided to serve himself. Matthew became a tax collector. Matthew collected money from the Jews for the Romans! His job description was basically to unfairly take money from his people and give it to the Roman government. Not exactly a job that makes you popular with your people. Not exactly the career that makes your parents proud. Tax collectors regularly cheated the people to line their own pockets.

            We all have done things that have disappointed others. We all have had times when we didn’t measure up. We all have said things that we shouldn’t have said. We all have done things we wish we wouldn’t have done. As Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We might try to deny our wrongdoings, or cover them up, but they are there all the same.

            So every day Matthew would sit at his tax collector booth on a busy street. I’m sure he never imagined himself being in this career, but he was. What could he do now? There was a part of him that probably enjoyed the career, because it made him a great deal of money. Yet, when he stopped to think about what he was really doing, I’m sure he was even disappointed in himself. He would never be able to rid himself of the stain this career created in his life!

c.      Do you still love me?- Whenever kids are caught doing something

wrong, and their parents get upset with them, they always wonder: Do you still love me? We ourselves wonder this about Jesus. If my sin is what led Jesus to the cross, does Jesus still love me? Will Jesus still accept me?

            Matthew was wondering if his life was beyond saving. Then along comes Jesus one day, and Jesus said two words that would change Matthew’s life forever: “Follow me.” Here is a rabbi asking a tax collector to be one of His followers. It is hard to state how unthinkable this scenario would have been for those close by to hear. Matthew was given an opportunity to leave his sinful job, and be a follower of Jesus Christ; the Messiah.

            At this point in His ministry, Jesus was seen as a great teacher; even a Rabbi, although they didn’t know Him yet as the Messiah. When a Rabbi took on a student, it was a big deal, because he poured his life into the student. The student would give himself over to the Rabbi’s teaching.

            Matthew calls Jesus “lord.” The Greek work is “kurios.” A kurios is a master of his disciple. The disciple became like a slave (a doulos) to the master. The disciple gave up all rights to follow the master. This is what Matthew was choosing to do when he said “yes” to Jesus. Even more, Matthew was leaving a lucrative business to become homeless and follow Jesus!

            Anyone hearing this exchange would have been shocked. The other disciples of Jesus would have been offended. A tax collector? Really? He’s not only a sinner; he sins for a living. But this is exactly what happened. Instead of rejection, Matthew finds Jesus’ open arms and gracious invitation: “Follow me.”

            We have to understand that it truly is an open invitation. It really is an invitation for ANYONE. It doesn’t matter about your past; you are invited. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you are as good as others: you are invited. It doesn’t matter that your sins will be exposed: you are invited. Anyone means me. Anyone means you!                

II.                Come After Me- (Luke 9:23; Matthew 13:44; Psalm 63:8)

a.      Stories of Love- Jesus’ coming to this earth, and calling His disciples,

and calling you and me is really a story of love. Stories of love are great. In fact they make up many of the themes of movies, and books, and TV shows. Even the thriller movies always seem to have some kind of love story in it. This is because at the heart of who we are, we are created to love and be loved.

            I want you to think for a moment the first time you fell in love with the opposite sex. It was probably some time back when you were in your early teens. You went from thinking that the opposite sex was gross, to being very interested in them. Until you have experienced this kind of love, it is difficult to explain it to someone else. Some things, like love, don’t make sense until they happen to you.

            As I said before, in Luke 9:23 we have Jesus defining the relationship He wants with us. He makes it clear what it means to be a follower. Let’s hear Luke 9:23 again: “If anyone/            would come after me/            he must deny himself/

            and take up his cross/   daily/                  and follow me.”

We already talked about the word “anyone,” let’s next look at the phrase “come after.” It actually is a phrase that is used in romantic relationships. When Jesus says “come after,” he’s describing a passionate pursuit of someone you love. Remember how I told you that after about 3 months of dating, Tami slowed things down? Remember how I also told you that I continued to persevere. I was in essence coming after her. I was passionately pursuing her because I knew I wanted to be in a committed relationship with her. I wanted to marry her!

            Pursuing romantic love will make you do some crazy things. You might talk on the phone together all night. You might even set aside some responsibilities to spend time together. I remember that the first New Years Eve we were together, I was actually in the mountains with a friend. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about Tami. Ultimately I told my friend I had to go, because I felt I needed to spend New Years Eve with Tami. So about ten o’clock at night I got in my car, drove all from the mountains out to Camarillo (where Tami was) and surprised her. Fortunately when I got there she was still awake.

            Followers of Jesus should have some crazy “come after” stories. Stories that make people say to you: “That’s crazy that you would do that.” The problem is that many fans don’t grow up thinking about their relationship with Jesus in these terms. Following Jesus becomes more of a casual thing. You don’t get too carried away in your faith or your living for Jesus. You throw a few bucks in the offering and maybe help out a little here and there, but nothing too severe. But that is not how Jesus has defined the relationship.

b.      Pursuing with everything- Jesus wants us to understand that

following Him is a pursuit that requires everything we have. This is what makes people nervous, because often times they are not willing to make that kind of a commitment. In Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus tells a story called The Pearl of Great Price. This story gives us a picture of what Jesus had in mind when He invited us to come after Him.

            In Matthew 13:44 Jesus says: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

            In Bible times people would often bury their savings in the ground. It was considered a safe place, especially in times of war or government upheaval. If they were killed, the treasure would be left unfound for years. This story Jesus tells describes how years later a hired hand would have found the treasure. Of course, when he discovers it, he can’t believe his eyes. He has come across a great find. Something that could change his life forever. However, it would only be his if he owned the land. So he hides the treasure, sells everything he has so he has the money to buy the land, goes and purchases the land, and know the treasure will be his along with the land! He knows this to be the best investment that he could ever make.

            Jesus’ point here is that there is nothing more valuable than having a relationship with Jesus! To have a true and solid relationship with Jesus means that we must rid ourselves of all things of value to us, so that we can focus fully on our relationship with Jesus. We should be willing to give whatever we have to gain this treasure of being a follower of Jesus. This is what a follower would do. A fan wants to experience ALL that is available to them, and so they are not willing to sacrifice the other parts of their life. Consequently, they will never truly know what it means to be a follower of Jesus. They will never gain the benefits of the treasure of Jesus.

c.      Lost that loving feeling- You see, God wants your time, your money,

your other relationships, your worship. It’s not because God needs these things, but He wants your love, and He knows that if you love other things above Him, then you won’t really be His!

            You’ve probably heard of the seven deadly sins. It turns out that there is nowhere in the Bible where these seven deadly sins are found as a “list.” The way they came about is that a number of years ago the Bible literacy rate was quite low, so some church leaders established this list of the “worst sins” so that people would know what not to do.

            There is one sin on this list that doesn’t appear to be so deadly. It is the sin of “sloth.” Sloth is laziness. Now while it is not good to be a lazy person, is that really deadly? The word for sloth is the word “acedia.” Sloth actually isn’t the best translation for acedia. A better translation would be “spiritual apathy.”

            The reason why it is a deadly sin is because God came into this world, in human flesh, in the body of Jesus Christ, and He died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and be restored in our relationship with Him, and a fan will just shrug their shoulders. The passion is not there. There is no pursuit. There is no commitment!

            A follower will not lose that loving feeling. A follower is excited when they first meet Jesus, and fall in love with Jesus. But because they are constantly pursuing Jesus, the love feeling never goes away.

            One of the things I tell couples in my pre-wedding counseling is to never stop dating. That is because it is quite common, after you get married, to fall into a pattern of staying home. Or even if they go out, it is to see these friends, or to go to an event. As dating is what brought excitement to the relationship before they were married, so dating “after” they are married helps to keep that excitement in the relationship. They are continuing to pursue each other in love.

            As Psalm 63:8 says, “My soul follows HARD after you…”

Conclusion: God wants us to passionately pursue Him. God wants us to do this by being fully into the relationship. God wants us to do things for Him that others will say: “That is crazy.” And to which you will say: “It’s because I’m in love with God!” God wants us to “take up our cross daily and follow Him.” This isn’t something we can do on the side. This isn’t something that we can do sometimes. This isn’t something that we do with a minimal amount of energy.

            NO! To passionately pursue God means that we follow Him with our whole being. We love God with our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. We have no other gods before Him. We in essence sell all that we have so that we can be ALL IN this relationship. We become His disciples; His children; His slaves. We give up being a fan, and become a follower.

            Let us give our hearts fully to God this day, and every day. Amen.