Home
Luke 9:58 “And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” [1]
I. Ready
A. Or
B. Not
II. Set
A. Decided
B. Deluded
III. Go
A. Goodbye
B. Good luck
Introduction: Our friends the Outlaws on Ocracoke have moved four times since the hurricane forced them out of their home. Jeff Jones and his family are coming here on furlough for a sabbatical from their service in a foreign country, not foreign though for Mrs. Jones. Jeff thought he could rely on the sponsoring church in Goldsboro for a place to live for their time here but they were surprised. Ada wants to go home so much. I know that is true. She was recently moved from one place of rehabilitation to another place and she had little or nothing to do with the decision. We have other folks with us today that are living in a place that is not their home but they are here with us and we are very grateful for that but they are not home.
Oh yeah, the title of today’s message is HOME.
If you are a veteran of the armed service of our country, you have gone through a time when you had no choice where home is. There was that place that felt comfortable that you called your home but you could not be there. If you were led away to attend school in a place that is not your home, you also know what it is like to be away from home. Maybe your business such as long haul trucking takes you to places where often you wake up in a place to wonder where you are.
For many people these experiences are not strange. Waking up in a strange place to have to really think about where you are might sound really weird to someone who has always been home but it can be a little frightening. You can take my word for that. Waking up so cold that you are shaking with so many quilts on top of you that you can’t roll over to find that you are not home but in a little mountain cabin in a blizzard with an empty propane tank is not a comfortable place to be especially when you realize you have to go outside to change the tank.
I say all this to attempt to help you understand that home is not a thing that some people can take for granted. I say all this not to make you feel that home is not a wonderful place that you must one day give up, but the truth of the matter is, one day we will most certainly give up what we have come to accept and love as home.
Scripture: The focus scripture is Luke 9:58. When you have found it please rise to honor the reading of God’s written word.
Prayer: Please be seated
Message: As always, keep your Bibles open to Luke chapter nine and skim along beginning at verse one. It begins with Jesus and the twelve. He had given them power and authority to cast out demons and to heal. He sent them out to preach and told them not to take anything with them because they had to learn to trust in God alone for their needs. They left and when they came back they were elated.
In the outline you see the main points Ready, Set, Go. When our youngest grandchild was getting into the plane for the first time, Kim, his mom and my daughter asked him if he was ready. He said Ready, Set, Go! Do you suppose the disciples were ready and set to go that day Jesus sent them out? How about you?
When they came back, they had to tell Jesus what they had been able to do but then the crowd came needing things from Jesus. The day wore on and Jesus was worn out. The twelve told Jesus that the crowd was getting restless and hungry and Jesus needed to send them away. Could it be that they wanted His attention?
You know what happened next. He told them to feed the crowd. You just told me how much success you had while you were gone, now you want to send those in need away? Really! Maybe they weren’t as ready as they thought. Well, the crowd got fed didn’t they! Jesus is always ready to provide even when we think we are or not.
In verse eighteen and following, Jesus asked them who others said He was. Peter gave the right answer. You are the Christ! Good job Simon. You are Peter, whose rocklike faith is the foundation upon which I will build my church. At this point you might believe that Peter showed a faith that was set in stone. You might think that Peter had decided to follow Jesus but as we know, that faith was deluded until the Holy Spirit came. In Luke’s account Jesus was preparing the twelve for His passion. Yet, at that point, they were delusional and really didn’t understand.
Starting at verse twenty eight we see Jesus and the three on the mount of transfiguration and Jesus is in His comfortable place. Jesus feels at home. Again, Peter thought it was up to him to do something. Peter felt that it was up to him to go! We have got to make something here to commemorate this thing and I’ve got to be that one to make it go! Peter didn’t get the significance until God the Father explained, “This is My Beloved Son, hear Him!” Goodbye Peter, to your thinking you have all the answers and good luck to you as you attempt to do what God the Father just told you to do. Hear my beloved son Peter! Stop and listen!
Down into the valley, Jesus is back down to earth and it is totally up to Him because the disciples have not yet received the Holy Spirit. Jesus showed His humanity when He lashed out, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you?” [2] Well Jesus healed the child of the unclean spirit.
The disciples were amazed, again! Look at your Bible with me. Jesus is totally God yet He also was totally human. He was getting pretty close to letting someone really know how He felt. “44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.” [3] Think they got it that time? Jesus was not at home! He was readying Himself to be leaving them. Surely after all that they must have allowed it to start sinking in!
Missed it again. They wanted to know who was going to be the greatest. A baby was there and Jesus made them really feel big. He said that we must become like a baby because the greatest would become the least and the least would become the greatest. Don’t you know that He really won a crowd to follow Him with that one!
They argued amongst themselves again because others were serving and healing. Just like those Methodists. Who do they think they are anyhow? We Baptists have the monopoly on righteousness don’t we? Jesus said no, matter of fact, you don’t!
He went to the next town which happened to be a bunch of Samaritans who did not want Jesus there. James and John, the sons of thunder, wanted fire to come down and annihilate the town but Jesus knew where He was set on where He was headed and it did not include a stop in that town anyhow. Jesus informed the brothers that they were being used by the devil. He wasn’t there to destroy but to save!
Now finally we are getting to the main point. That certain man! How certain was that man? He said he was ready to follow Jesus wherever Jesus was going.
Ready? 57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.[4] 59 And he (Jesus) said unto another (probably as certain as the first guy was), Follow me. But he (that certain man who turned out to be not so certain) said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.[5]
In other words I’m ready if you’ll let me follow under my conditions or else I am really not as ready as I thought I was. Ready or not, Jesus is coming again!
Is your mind made up? Jesus’ mind was set. Jesus was determined to go to the cross because without that, there would be no salvation. Without that cross, there would be no resurrection. Without the cross, there would be no ascension back to heaven. Without that cross, there would be no heavenly home for me or for you.
That so-called certain man thought he was ready to follow Jesus but that man was deluded. That man and all other humans could not follow Jesus to that cross because only Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Nobody but Jesus.
We have our crosses to bear and we will bear them if and when we choose to follow Jesus but only Jesus could bear our sins on His cross. Simon the Cyrene helped to carry Jesus’ cross as we now can feel the weight as we follow Jesus, but Jesus is the only One fit to carry our sin to that cross.
There was that other man there in verses 61-62. 61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. 62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. [6] In essence, Jesus told that man. Go then if you are not willing to follow me completely. Go and bid them goodbye and while you are on your way I say good luck to you because you have too many conditions to follow me.
Again, good luck to all who are not ready to follow Jesus because you are on your own. Good luck because that is all you have! Luck! Unless you are willing to follow Jesus in His will for you in this life, you might as well bet on your luck because you have given up on His grace. I say again, good luck to anyone who refuses to follow Jesus out of your comfort zone.
Prayer:
Invitation: One day you will long for home. That is not a threat, that is a promise. Listen as the Psalmist explains what that will be like. Psalm 84:1-4, “1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. 4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee.[7]
Do you know that one day you will be in His house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens? If you trust Jesus as your personal Savior, you know that! Are you one of those saved that is too comfortable in the place where you are to follow Him? You can experience what the Psalmist experienced today! But you must be willing to trust Him enough to follow Him where He will take you.
It is the hardest decision you will ever make that will make the rest of your life the most restful life you can experience under the sun and forevermore. How can that be? Don’t trust me! Trust Him. Follow Him. Decide what you are willing to do as we stand and sing…
[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (1995). (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version., Lk 9:58). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] ibid., Lk 9:41
[3] ibid., Lk 9:44
[4] ibid., Lk 9:57–58
[5] ibid., Lk 9:58–59
[6] ibid., Lk 9:61–62
[7] ibid., Ps 84:1–4
