Discipleship and Surrender You Cannot Be My Disciple Series November 13, 2011

Transcription

1 Discipleship and Surrender You Cannot Be My Disciple Series November 13, 2011 Sermon theme = Genuine discipleship involves genuine and complete devotion, surrender and sacrifice. Introduction Open Bibles (Luke 14) as we look at Discipleship and Surrender Three-week series from Luke 14 on You Cannot Be My Disciples Last week Devotion = a strong attachment to or affection for another that is marked by dedicated loyalty Exegesis The Challenge of Surrender Challenge to disciple s cross Cp. Matthew 10:38 ( and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ) Your cross to bear isn t your physical affliction or your wayward child or your oppressive boss or your unemployment or poverty many people in the world have these same challenges without following Jesus Christ The only cross for you is the disciple s cross the cross representing surrender Definition = Surrender is to relinquish or forego as a voluntary concession to another. Voluntary = carry and take are present active verbs = you have to choose to do this For you to willingly take up a cross, your cross, would have to be an act of surrender = imagine the startling imagery to this crowd before Jesus own cross 1

2 Relationship to Discipleship: There is no discipleship without surrender. If you cannot voluntarily concede to Jesus, you cannot be His disciple Comparison to Commitment: Commitment is an obligation or promise but not necessarily with relinquishment or concession. Illustration = I promise you that you won t sit for a week Illustration = Losing furniture privileges for a week Application You can, in 21st century American Christianity, commit your life to Jesus and yet not be surrendered to Him Transition: The Challenge of Surrender must address certain area of our lives The Areas of Surrender Generally your life Luke 9: Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Cp. Matthew 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-38 Luke 14: Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. terms of peace. = Surrender to save life Specifically Your destination Everyone knows the destination of especially 2

3 Once you take up the cross, you are no longer in control of your destination the one giving you the cross is John 21: I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" Peter s destination was martyrdom the destination of his surrender to Jesus Specifically Your direction Everyone knows the direction of especially Once you take up the cross, you are no longer in control of your direction the one giving you the cross is John 21:19 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" Peter s direction is set by the one he has surrendered to Acts 16:7, 10 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Paul s direction is not his own his direction is set by the one he has surrendered to Specifically Your decisions Everyone knows the decisions of especially 3

4 Once you take up the cross, you are no longer in control of your decisions the one giving you the cross is Luke 7:1-3, When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." The Centurion s soldiers decisions are set by the one they are surrendered to Application When Jesus calls people to take up their cross and follow Him, He is calling people to surrender the surrender of their lives to Him Surrender in discipleship includes the surrender of your destination Have you surrendered your life to whatever end and outcome Jesus may have for it? Surrender in discipleship includes the surrender of your direction Have you surrendered your life to whatever circumstances, blessings, difficulties or events Jesus may have for it? Surrender in discipleship includes the surrender of your decisions Have you surrendered your life and every aspect of it to whatever Jesus may have for it? If you cannot be surrendered to Jesus, you cannot be His If you are not going to be fully surrendered to Jesus, then don t follow Him until you are. 4

5 Response As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must make our surrender to Jesus genuine and complete. The Response of Surrender 1.) Choose who you will surrender to Unbeliever = You can either fight for yourself or you can surrender to the One who can win the fight (Parable of the King) Believer = Salvation is a surrender to the One who has won the fight 2.) Repent of the lack of your surrender 3.) Relinquish your life to Jesus Destination Direction Decisions 5