14th Sunday after Trinity – Sermon 74

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 

Congratulations – I’m delighted to tell you – you’ve won a free holiday in our prize draw competition – isn’t that wonderful!

We’ve all had them haven’t we – salesmen ringing us up – trying to convince us that we are getting something for nothing – if we’ll only join their scheme or buy their product –

then there’s the book and record clubs –
“Buy four CD’s at only 99p each”, as long as you buy another four at full price during the next year –
Its easy to get swept along with wonderful sounding promises – without – stopping to think about the commitment that’s required –

In terms of the Christian faith – though – there’s no such danger – Jesus spells it out openly and clearly
in our Gospel reading.

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

if you want the reward –there’s a price to pay – to get something out of faith – we must put something in – with Jesus there’s no sales hype – no dressing up with fantastic offers – yet the irony is in this case its well worth paying –

Through the help of our readings we are going to look at what Jesus means by His three steps in discipleship – so we can honestly ask ourselves whether we are prepared to pay the price – and follow Him

 

 
Point 1  Jeremiah & Peter

 

First – renounce self –

To help us here – we need to look at the behaviour of Jeremiah & Peter – Jeremiah knew God had called – him – to deliver a very important message to the people – and it would be a hard one for them to swallow –

It talked about the coming destruction of Judah by the Babylonians – and the scattering and exile of his people – there would be no help from alliances with surrounding nations – the Egyptians won’t help – their only hope was to change their ways –renew their allegiance with God – only then the rebuilding – and replanting of the nation would start

God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet of doom – and restoration – trouble was most people couldn’t see beyond the doom – so nobody listened – he was rejected by kings, church leaders and the people – they undermined his authority wherever he spoke – he had a real rough ride – and it was beginning to tell on him –

He felt inadequate – misunderstood – abused – and frustrated – and no wonder – not one convert in 20 years – of preaching – (probably par for the course)
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 straight to the point– he must stop feeling sorry for himself – and repent like the people he is preaching to – Jeremiah was losing faith – wavering – wanting to water-down the message – and God confronted him with his sin –

“ 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 reassures him that if he does remain faithful – He will make him strong – Jeremiah will not be defeated – and God’s message will prevail –

In Peter’s case it’s a question of moving 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 – throw a protecting arm around Him – the thought of Jesus being executed on the cross was something Peter couldn’t swallow

Jesus’ reaction was equally blunt – any thought 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 – I’m sure Peter meant well – but his words were really a reflection of his own wishes – and not God’s –

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 –

When others speak about – or bring distractions into our lives – they become agents of doubt – make us hesitate – shift our thoughts inward – to ourselves – what made it more severe – was that it came from someone who loved Him

denying ourselves is not about – not doing things we want to do – its about making ourselves available – to do what God wants us to do – no matter what the situation – or the opposition
– if we sin – or we unwittingly become an agent for sin – we have to turn back to God – and make Him the center of our thoughts and actions – Jesus wants us to continually – say no to self – and yes to God  

Point 2   

 

 

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

The cross is an instrument of death – and symbolizes total commitment and the giving of our lives to Jesus – By carrying our cross – we are saying – that we have been wrong and Jesus is right – and we are submitting ourselves to His will –

Each of us has our own cross to bear – with special duties to perform for God – we mustn’t try to carry other peoples crosses – and we cannot carry the cross that Jesus carried – it was His job to provide salvation for the world – and it was His blood that would be used to wash away our sins –

The Christian life is a life of daily sacrifice – we are called to sacrifice our time – our leisure – and ourselves – for Jesus – in order to serve God through service to others –

Our cross is not about the hard times that happen as a part of life – its not about those unpaid bills – or that time out of work – or the problem we want to get rid of – its about the time we volunteer to do something for God – 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 –

No doubt you’ve all heard the story of the man who went to the cross room – “I have too heavy a cross to bear” He said – OK said Jesus – open that door and pick any cross you want – “Oh thank you”, said the man – and he went through the door – and looked around and saw many crosses – some so large you couldn’t see the tops – then he potted this tiny cross in the corner – I’ll have that one “ he said – “Oh – right–Are you sure?” – said Jesus that’s the one you’ve just brought it –

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

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     

 

 

Step three is – to Follow Jesus
Following Jesus – means we have to take the same road as He does – do as He does –

As children we used to play the game – “follow the Leader” – whatever the leader did we did – TV shows like Monty Python and Benny Hill – turned it into a comedy routine – when they used actors to line up closely behind people in the streets – and copy them – when we are in the streets – we have to do everything that Jesus would do – and 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 – learning to trust Him – to believe in Him – listen to Him through prayer and bible reading – learning to be like Him and to follow His teachings – 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 – Love is everything that Jesus has to say to the world –
“By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another”

In our NT lesson Paul describes Christ’s love – with his 10 commandments of Christian fellowship – our love should be sincere, discerning, affectionate, respectful, enthusiastic, patient, generous, hospitable, helpful and sympathetic – and should be made in harmony and humility
Above all says Paul – Like Jesus we should never let evil conquer us – but use good to conquer evil –

In our thinking and our living – we need to keep both the negatives and positives in mind – if we return evil – with evil – we double it – Jesus says its better to bless and convert – to return good for evil –if we do that – we reduce the amount of evil in the world – and increase the good

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 God’s love for us is beyond dispute – He died for us – so that we might live – and He gave us a promise that one day we shall be wit Him in paradise – and receive our due reward

 

Ending   

 

There’s nothing easy about being a Christian – anyone can be a churchgoer – but not everyone wants to pay the price of discipleship –

True discipleship is like walking on a tightrope – It takes practice – experience and concentration – we can’t expect to get it right overnight – but with God’s help and through the power of the holy Spirit – we will reach our final destination –

are we ready to trust Jesus with our lives ? – to take His three steps to heaven? – if the answer’s yes –that really would be something to celebrate

 

 
Prayer to finish

In the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit

AMEN