Keeping Ourselves Unspotted from the World (Lesson 10)
Introduction:
1. According to James 1:27, an important part of "pure and undefiled religion before God" is "keeping ourselves unspotted from the world." 2. One key to keeping ourselves unspotted from the world is maintaining proper priorities. 3. In our lesson we are concentrating on the Lord's dealings with 3 men and their priorities in Luke 9:57-62. Discussion: I. (vs.57-58) JESUS DEALT WITH A MAN WHO WANTED TO FOLLOW HIM
A. At this time Jesus was making a tremendous effort to get people to become His followers. 1. (Luke 8:1) He was preaching to as many people as possible. 2. (Luke 9:1-2) He sent the apostles out on the limited commission. 3. (Luke 9:10a) The apostles returned. 4. (Luke 9:11) Jesus continued teaching about "the kingdom of God." 5. (Luke 9:23) Jesus let people know what He expected from His followers -- to pay whatever price was involved. 6. While Jesus was making this great effort to get people to become His followers, . . . B. (vs.57) This man said he would follow Jesus wherever He went. 1. This man was: a. a volunteer -- he approached the Lord b. a "scribe" (Matthew 8:19). 2. From what little information we know about this man, it would appear that he would have been an ideal follower of the Lord. C. (vs.58) However, Jesus informed him that he would have to be willing to sacrifice to follow Him. 1. While foxes have their dens and birds have their nests, Jesus did not have a place to lay His head. 2. If this man followed Jesus, he may not have had a place to lay his head. D. This man had to examine his priorities: Was having a home or following the Lord more important to him? II. (vs.59-60) JESUS DEALT WITH A MAN HE DID CALL
A. The Lord told him, "Follow me." 1. Implied are the instructions Jesus gave in vs.23. 2. The Lord wanted this man to respond to His call as Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew did (Matthew 4:18-22; 9:9). B. This man responded by asking the Lord to allow him FIRST to go and bury his father. 1. This is interesting because if the father had passed away, he would have been taking care of burying him [the Jews normally buried their dead the same day death occurred]. 2. Perhaps the father was an older man and the son wanted to wait until after his death to follow Christ. C. Jesus responded by telling him to let others take care of this matter. 1. Jesus had an important mission for this man -- to go and preach the kingdom of God. 2. Jesus was not saying that we do not have responsibilities to care for our parents. 3. This man had a problem with his priorities -- he wanted to put the care of his father before following the Lord (see Matthew 10:37). III. (vs.61-62) JESUS DEALT WITH ANOTHER VOLUNTEER
A. This man wanted to follow Jesus, but his priority was to FIRST bid farewell to those at his home. 1. He wanted to place a condition on following the Lord [he imposed his own terms]. 2. His condition caused him to take his focus off what was truly important (Matthew 6:33). B. Jesus responded with those familiar words in vs.62.
