The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 09, 2007

"Making a Commitment to Stay in Sight of the Savior!"

Luke 14:25-33

Preached at Providence Lutheran Church in Holland, Ohio.

By Pastor Dennis R. King

The Grace and Mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all. Amen.

In our text for this morning Jesus speaks to us about commitment. He wants the disciples and us to be committed to following Him above everything else. Jesus knows us well. He knows when we are faced with a choice between two things we often waver. Once we've embarked on one path and discovered its difficulties, the appeal of another path may distract us from the decision we have made. We look back at a choice we left behind and say, "Maybe I should have done that." We begin to see all the disadvantages of the course we selected and all the advantages of the one we rejected. People change careers four times on the average in this country. As Americans we value highly the right to rethink our decisions. We often live with an "over the shoulder-the-grass-is-greener" syndrome. We even see people stand in line for an amusement ride only to decide at the last minute that they want off. Marriages may have difficulty because one may feel they have married the wrong person. We "second guess" ourselves when it comes to our investment decides. Always thinking we should of decided something else. Jesus wants us to decide to follow Him.

While passing through Hannibal, Missouri a few years ago we stopped to explore the cave that Mark Twain wrote about in his books. It was the cave in which Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn had many adventures. Indian Jo died in that cave and Becky Thatcher was lost with Tom Sawyer for several days. The James gang hid out in that cave following several train robberies in that area of Missouri. The cave was a maze of underground tunnels. And as we entered we were warned to stay close to our guide and not to take any side tunnels. By turning lights on and off, our guide was able to keep our group together. At one point in the cave five tunnels came together. Our guide gave everyone the opportunity to choose which way they would like to go. The majority of people choose a large tunnel, which lead no where. The shortest way out of the cave from that point was actually the narrowest opening. At that point even I was ready to turn back.

Jesus encourages us to count the cost of entering into the Kingdom of God. "Many people," Jesus says, "Will surely try to go in but will not be able." They will have failed to count the cost! They too will want to turn back. Actually, this tendency to go back on our decisions is probably as old as the human race itself. As one example, recall that after God aided the people of Israel in escaping from slavery in Egypt and getting them safely on their way to the Promised Land. Despite the fact that God gave Israel visible signs, the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, most of them were lost only Joshua and Caleb of the original group that left for Egypt survived to enter the promise land. When we stop and think that thousands of Israelites began that journey and only two of the original group actually succeeded, we might be so inclined to raise the question. "How than can any one be a disciple?"

Are we not also tempted to give up and turn back, or to say to ourselves. "Oh certainly no one can be a disciple!" So one might say, "Have we failed to count the cost?" If we give into this temptation and give up we are lost.

Jesus says. "Do your best." "Make your best effort" "Don't turn back." "Strive to" go through the narrow door and that is very challenging. He calls us to stay near to Him. Make Him our first choice, and place everything under Him! It sounds like something that requires discipline, practice, effort in order to reach the goal. Like athletes in training.

"How than can any one be a disciple?" While in Mark Twain's Cave I thought to myself, what would I do if I wandered or fell behind and became separated from our guide? How would I ever find my own way out of the cave especially without a flashlight or candle? It would take me hours. The thought even crossed my mind that I might never find my way out. At the time I knew the name of my guide but what good would that do me if I were lost.

Many people know Jesus and consider Him to be the guide of their life and yet they fail to follow Him. They go their own way, doing their own thing and soon get lost in the cave of life with all of its tunnels and troubles. They wander the maze assured that in due time they can make things better for themselves. They feel they can do it! They can overcome the darkness. They can supply themselves with all their needs. They can live! But you and I know the story. Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher would have died in that cave had not the ones who knew the cave best teamed up to save them.

How than can any one of us be a disciple? Just by saying Jesus is our guide is no guarantee that we will be a disciple, even the devil knew Jesus as a guide. Having participated in baptism and the Lord's Supper, Sunday services, church membership is no guarantee that we will be faithful disciples to the end. Remember God keeps His promises. We are the ones that break ours. It is not our knowledge of Jesus and what we have done for Him but Jesus' knowledge of us and what He has done for us that brings us through the narrow door into His eternal Kingdom. We are made part of God's family through the grace of God and faith in Christ. The Christian may not only experience the abundant life that Jesus promised but may be assured of God's loving regard for him as His "special possession, His peculiar treasure!" With such a realization, the believer ought to live so as to produce a treasure-filled life, as a faithful disciple. (I Cor.9: 12-13)

The disciple lives his life close to Jesus. Jesus asks us to commit our lives to Him. There is a Peanut's cartoon where Sally is starting to crawl. Lucy is encouraging her to walk. And Linus says, "Let her crawl, once you've stood and started walking you have committed yourself for a lifetime. Jesus wants us to commit ourselves to Him. He does not want us to turn back. He wants us to trust Him and to faithfully follows Him. He wants us to let Him be our guide. Remember it is the Master of the universe who asks Jesus, "Is he one of yours?" Jesus will answer, "I know her!" or "He is not mine!" In the end those who are known by Jesus will be inside the closed door and those who are not known by Him will be closed out forever. Once the door is shut it will not be opened again. Jesus wants us to be a part of the Kingdom and to serve as guides for others pointing them to Jesus.

Upon entering a little country store, a stranger noticed a sign reading, "Danger! Beware of Dog" posted on the glass door. Inside, he noticed a harmless old hound dog asleep on the floor beside the cash register. He asked the store manager, "Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?" "Yep, that's him," he replied. The stranger couldn't help but be amused. "That certainly doesn't look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?" "Because," the owner replied, "people keep tripping over him." Have you ever felt like the poor household dog? - old, sleepy, and traumatized? Jesus calls us to be His disciples, to make a difference, hopefully a dent, in this world, to be salt to people with bad taste, and snatch people from the jaws of spiritual death, but, sadly, we have lost our bite and our enthusiasm for it. May we respond to Jesus' request for commitment to Him.

Let us be disciples who have counted the cost. Disciples, who go forth into the cave of life, searching out those who have become lost in the maze. Only as we team up together as the body of Christ can we lead others with Christ’s help to the narrow door that leads to light and life. That is the great treasure hunt of all time.

After spending almost an hour in Mark Twain's Cave, we came to the end of our journey. There our guide opened a narrow door and welcomed us into a well-lit room. What a contrast exists from the darkness of the cave to the light of the room. May we all have a similar experience at life's end as Jesus, our guide, welcomes us through the narrow door! As we conclude our service this morning, let me encourage to take an opportunity now or some time during this day to turn to Jesus. May it be for you an opportunity to renew your commitment to Him. Amen.