The Hand On The Plough

'No man, having put his hand on the plough, and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God.' Luke 9:62

Jesus was speaking about commitment when he made this 'hand on the plough' comment. He was teaching the disciples to follow him unconditionally. There should also be the element of sacrifice. Just prior to this comment, there were several followers who upon being invited to follow Jesus made specific requirements and conditions; clear indications that they were unprepared to surrender their prior lives.

Luke Chapter 9 recorded that Jesus specifically laid down the conditions to become disciples. 

• Be Serious   Discipleship is a serious matter. It is not to be taken frivolously. There are to be no half measures. We cannot place conditions to following Jesus, it is an all or none decision.

'Then He said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will save it." ' Luke 9:23-24

Jesus warned, 

"Foxes have dens and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head." Luke 9:58  

• Surrender All.  There must be complete surrender to Jesus Christ, complete obedience and a willingness to part with all ambitions and aspirations including all our possessions.

 "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?" Luke 9:25

• Be Sanctified   Our lives will be set apart and we begin the journey to holiness. We are called to be a living sacrifice; complete, consecrated and clean. 

'Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.' Romans 12:1

"Total commitment is the only rational course to take when you really see who God is. Nothing else makes any sense. Halfway commitment is irrational. To decide to give part of your life to God and keep other parts for yourself—to say “Everything is yours, Lord, BUT this relationship, this business deal, this pleasure”—is beyond spiritual logic." - Kent Hughes

For many of us, total commitment is a very difficult choice to make. So many Christians remained nominal and non-committed. It is not an easy thing to surrender our lives to Jesus, we are afraid to lose control.

In 1896, John W DeVenter wrote 'I surrender All.' He struggled to give up control of his life, and wrote:

“For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing.” 

All to Jesus I surrender,

1. All to Him I freely give;
   I will ever love and trust Him,
   In His presence daily live.
   • Refrain:
     I surrender all,
     I surrender all;
     All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
     I surrender all.
2. All to Jesus I surrender,
   Humbly at His feet I bow;
   Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
   Take me, Jesus, take me now.
3. All to Jesus I surrender,
   Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
   Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
   Truly know that Thou art mine.
4. All to Jesus I surrender,
   Lord, I give myself to Thee;
   Fill me with Thy love and power,
   Let Thy blessing fall on me.
5. All to Jesus I surrender,
   Now I feel the sacred flame;
   Oh, the joy of full salvation!
   Glory, glory, to His Name!

Lionel

Ref: Keith Gambill, Totally Committed to Christ and My Church, Faithlife Sermons.

https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/231063-totally-committed-to-christ-and-my-church