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

I Found It - Discipleship

'Jesus said, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.' Luke 9:23

In 1976 the Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) launched a world evangelism campaign, 'I Found It.' CCC, Singapore, partnering 200 churches used this theme to bring the gospel to as many as 71,841 persons. Of these 36% indicated decisions for Christ and more than 5000 enrolled in follow-up classes. It was a very successful campaign perhaps the first of its kind to use the mass media extensively.

On 24 May 1738 an earlier I Found It moment occurred. John Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed and recorded in his journal, "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins." The Methodist Church was born that day and today there are 40.5 million of 'the people who call themselves Methodist' in 138 countries.

Why the name Methodist? Bishop Solomon explained, 'the word "Method" comes from two Greek words - meta (after) and hodos (way). It means "following after a way." In this regard it is noted that in the Gospels, our Lord described Himself as 'the Way' (John 14:6).' Ref 1. Methodists, so to speak, have found found the Way, Jesus.

Finding Christ is not just a simple slogan of I Found It. Finding Jesus in Jesus' time meant to go with him, observe him, study him and follow him by imitation and obedience. My brother Quek Koh Eng, in contemplating Luke 9:23 wrote "the challenge is for all who are called by God to take their faith seriously, grow as disciples of Christ, and not be content to be merely pew warmers but true believers who know and serve the will of God." Like a true army Colonel, Koh Eng said "God’s order has always been that every believer should be a witness; "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). 

Of this John Wesley said “we are all at it and at it always.” It means having a desire and  making a decision to be a follower of Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book the cost of discipleship, pointed out that one cannot be a disciple of Christ without forfeiting things normally sought in human life. On the other hand, Dallas Willard wrote that the cost of non-discipleship will be much more than what a disciple might forfeit. Willard wrote, non-discipleship costs 

• abiding peace, 
• a life penetrated throughout by love, 
• faith that sees everything in the light of God's over-riding governance for good, 
• hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances
• power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil.

Willard wrote, "non-discipleship costs you exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10)." Ref 2

During the 'I Found It' campaign many found salvation in Jesus Christ but they stopped there. No doubt, it is a very important first step; the Chinese have a saying, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.' However there are innumerable more steps to take. The Christian journey will go on through eternity, so we cannot stop there, congratulating ourselves. The 'I Found It' campaign was not just to get people a ticket to heaven but to bring them to God.

Salvation alone does not define a Christ follower and does not lead to Christian witness and testimony. The last imperative Jesus gave whilst on earth, is recorded in Matthew 28:19 and 20 "Therefore go and make disciples....teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Being a disciple is a inner transformation of our core being in such a way that the we take on the character of Christ. This inner transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit aptly described by this hymn, Breathe on Me, Breath of God

1. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
   Fill me with life anew,
   That I may love what Thou dost love,
   And do what Thou wouldst do.
2. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
   Until my heart is pure,
   Until with Thee I will one will,
   To do and to endure.
3. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
   Till I am wholly Thine,
   Until this earthly part of me
   Glows with Thy fire divine.
4. Breathe on me, Breath of God,
   So shall I never die,
   But live with Thee the perfect life
   Of Thine eternity.

There is a the car decal that states, 'Don't Follow Me. I'm Lost.' This is terrible testimony but articulates the pathetic situation of the modern society. On the other hand, the transformed Christian disciple lives by the example of St Paul the apostle, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." 1 Cor 10:34. In other words, 'Follow me. I'm Found.'

Lionel        

  

Ref 1: Robert M Solomon. Following Jesus in a Fallen World. Chapter 20, Beyond Method; Rediscovering the Heart of Methodism. Genesis Book 2009

Ref 2: Dallas Willard. The Great Omission- Reclaiming Jesus' Essential Teachings on Discipleship. Chapter 1, Discipleship, For Super Christians only? HarperOne, 2006