14th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 117

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction 

"Anyone who wishes to be a follower of mine must renounce self; he must take up His cross and follow me” –

“Whoever wants to save his life will lose it – whoever loses His life for my sake will save it”

Strong words from Jesus – and a real challenge for his disciples –

Certainly Peter must have been wondering how he was going to cope!

Christian discipleship is a tough call – so how are we going to manage it?

Lets look at Jesus’ words again

  

 
Point 1  Jeremiah & Peter

 

The first thing – we have to do – says Jesus – is decide – whose side are we on?

Who are we for and who we are against

In Peter’s case – he’d just moved – from a rock to a stumbling block – no sooner had he identified Jesus as the Messiah – “the Son of God” – than he wanted to stop Him going to Jerusalem –

“Heaven forbid” He says, “No Lord, this shall never happen to you!”

the thought of Jesus being executed on the cross was something – that Peter couldn’t swallow

Jesus’ reaction was equally blunt –
“You think as men think – not as God thinks”

Any suggestion of Jesus avoiding the journey to the cross was out of the question –

Its hard to love – when love demands everything – and the last thing we need is someone telling us – that there is an easier way – Peter meant well – but his words were really a reflection of his own wishes – and not God’s –

In our OT reading – Jeremiah too – had the same problem –

He had been sent by God to – deliver a tough message –

Judah was heading for a fall – if they didn’t change their ways – and renew their commitment to God – the people would be scattered – and sent into exile – by the Babylonians

But- the people weren’t listening – Jeremiah was getting a rough ride – and it was beginning to tell on him –

In our reading we hear him at prayer – letting out all his frustrations to God – because of the situation he’s in –
“why is my pain unending – my wound desperate – past all healing?”

Why have you treated me like this after all the things I have done for you? – Why should I suffer on account of your message ?

God’s response to Jeremiah – was also straight to the point– he must stop feeling sorry for himself – and repent like the people he is preaching to – Jeremiah was losing faith – wanting to water-down the message – and God confronted him with his sin –

“If you turn back to me – I shall turn back to you”

“If you can separate the precious from the base, you will be my spokesman,”

“This people may turn again to you, but you are not to turn to them”

God tells him – that – if he remains faithful – He will make him strong – Jeremiah will not be defeated – and God’s message will prevail –

Whenever we are faced with obeying God in tricky situations – and He’s attempting to move us up a level – satan will give us some excellent reasons why we shouldn’t –

Renouncing self – means – turning away from the ways – that we know Jesus doesn’t want us to follow – not compromising – and instead – turning to God – for help – and strength – depending on Him – to guide and protect – and holding firm to the promises He has made to us –

As one dishonest painter – and decorator – who used to water down his paint- yet charge his customers – for the full quantity – found out – the only way to put things right – is to repaint – repaint – and thin no more –

– if we sin – or we unwittingly become an agent for sin – we have to turn back to God – and make Him – the centre of our thoughts and actions – Jesus wants us to continually – say no to self – and yes to God

 

Point 2    take up their cross –

 

 

When we’ve settled our relationship towards Jesus –He brings the cross into our lives –

The cross is the way that God moves us – closer to Him –

Its an instrument of death – that leads to a new life

The cross requires the total commitment of our lives – and our very selves – to Jesus –

When we take up our cross – we are saying that we understand who – Jesus is – and that a new level of life and love is possible through Him

Through the cross – God exposed the true nature of our human condition – and dealt with the forces of evil that thrive on it – He came –into our history – to live with us – as a man – in Jesus Christ – to share in our weakness – and to suffer and die for us – so that He can change us from within –

When Jesus – experienced the worst of the world’s evil – and overcame it – He showed us how important we are to God – and how serious and costly – our sins – and real forgiveness are –

Christian life is about sacrifice – sacrifice of ourselves – our time – our leisure – for Jesus – in order to serve God – by serving others –

We carry our cross when we actively pick up something that God has asked us to do – despite the inconvenience – despite the opposition or the pressure to put it down –

it might be taking the gospel message to our families – or our neighbours

caring for someone who is in desperate need of Christ’s – love and forgiveness

remaining faithful to God – in worship – bible reading and prayer – even if others think you shouldn’t

Like – Jesus – for us – our – cross is also a door – to the resurrection – and a new life – through God’s grace – and healing –

And often the grace we receive is in proportion to the cross we bear – our experiences can help others – who are to follow a similar path

There will be times when we think our cross its too much to bear – when the way seems too narrow –

We have to remember – that God will never give us anything that we’re not able to carry – and we have His assurance that as long as we stay in a right relationship with Him – and let the Holy Spirit lead – He will be there to help us through

 
Point 3     

 

 

When we’ve turned from our past sins – accepted Jesus as our Saviour – the next step is to follow Him –

As children we used to play the game – “follow the Leader” – whatever the leader did we did –

Or maybe we remember the game – (or the song) – “simple Simon says” – well for us its “Jesus says”

As Jesus’ disciples – we have to do everything that Jesus would do – and like follow the leader – the closer we are to Him – the less likely we are to wander

Following Jesus means – getting to know Him – in a very personal and intimate way – trusting Him – learning to be like Him – walking with Him – and remembering that He is in front –

Jesus’ way is the way of Love – active love – for God – and for His people –

In our NT lesson Paul gives us – a list of do’s and don’ts of Christian discipleship –

Be sincere – considerate – energetic – prayerful – warm – understanding – different – don’t seek revenge –

Above all – Like Jesus – we should never let evil conquer us – but use good to conquer evil –

if we return evil – with evil – we double it – if we return good for evil – we reduce it – and increase the good

In a world that couldn’t care less – Jesus wants us to care more

 

Ending   

 

There’s nothing easy about being a Christian – there’s no short cut – no simple path –

We may not understand where Jesus leads us or why things happen to others or to ourselves – but one thing we do know – is that His love for us is beyond dispute – He died for us – so that we might live – and He gave us a promise that –if we follow Him – one day we shall be with Him in paradise –

So are we ready to take Jesus’ three steps to heaven – Peter and the other disciples did – and with God’s help – we will too –

 

 
Prayer to finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN