Sumas A.C. Church
Sumas, Washington ~ 
Corner of Front and Cherry
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Pics '20
    • PhotoFun 2019
    • PhotoFun 2018
    • PhotoFun 2017
    • PhotoFun 2016
    • PhotoFun 2015
    • PhotoFun 2014
    • PhotoFun 2013
    • PhotoFun 2012
    • PhotoFun 2011
    • PhotoFun 2010
    • PhotoFun 2009
    • Long ago pics
  • Calendar

Luke 13:31-35 ~ Press On ~ Carl Crouse

1/29/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
The lesson of this scripture: press on… stay focused on the prize of following Jesus Christ no matter what, to stay true to the calling of following the Lord. 

​Enemies may distract you from following Christ, but so can well meaning friends.  To follow Christ means to press on in the strength of your God-given conviction of the high calling the Lord has given you in Christ Jesus.   Your calling in Christ is to serve him according to the opportunities he has placed on your heart, to love him, to be a witness for Him, to grow in faith.  As long as we are alive on this sinful world, risk will always be a part of our calling and temptation will be a common theme. 

A funny thing happened on the way to Jerusalem.  We are at a place in Luke where Jesus is going from village to village, teaching, preaching, healing, challenging, and comforting people.  Ultimately, Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem. Some of the Pharisees, the religious leaders, warm Jesus that King Herod is looking for Him to kill Him (Luke 13:31).  Surprise. Some Pharisees are Jesus’ friends...  Ultimately, Jesus is headed to Jerusalem.  As he responds to the warning of the Pharisees, it is not hard to read between the lines that Jesus knows he is going to Jerusalem to die, to be killed ~~ at the end of Luke 13:32 he references the third day.  Surely Jesus knew his followers, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, would be able to look back at this conversation and understand the larger meaning.  The third day must be a reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his death:  “The third day I will accomplish my purpose.” 

The Pharisees who warn Jesus are well meaning friends that in reality are tempting Jesus to abort his mission.  Jesus says,“I will keep on…” (Luke 13:32).  Press on when temptations come… The Bible says that in every way Jesus was tempted as we are tempted (Heb. 4:15).  This is a temptation to Jesus when his friends in high places say, “Get out of here if you want to live…Herod wants to kill you”.  What are they saying?  “Lay low.  Go to an out of the way place.  Hide.” 
​
The nature of a temptation is always to get you off track from your goals.  The greatest temptations visit those who know their purpose.  This is why the greater your conviction to follow the Lord Jesus Christ the greater the temptation in your life.  The more serious you get about God, the more serious the devil gets about you.  He’ll even use your well meaning friends.  The devil will use logic.  Doesn’t it sound good for Jesus to want to save his life?  The devil will use personal comfort: if your goal is to work hard and get a degree, how good the temptation to rest and put off the hard work.  If your purpose is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world, and you meet resistance, and you see little evidence of your efforts, how good it sounds to not make waves, to not look like an out of step fool in the eyes of the world.  Even well meaning friends may say you don’t really want to go to the ends of the earth do you? you don’t really want to give up that good job?  You don’t really want to move away from your family and everything you know?    
 
SIDEBAR.  The friendly well meaning Pharisees.  Are you surprised some are friends with Jesus?  I found an ancient list of types of Pharisees that the Jews of the day compiled.  I don’t know if these are true or not, but some of them are funny.  Even the common Jews of the day recognized there were good and bad Pharisees.  Seven types (from Barclay, Luke):
  • The shoulder Pharisees: They wore their good deeds on their shoulder for all men to be able to see.
  • The Wait a Little Pharisees: could always find an excuse to wait till tomorrow to do a good deed.
  • I like this one: the bruised or bleeding Pharisees: No Jewish Rabbi would be seen talking to a woman in public, but some took it further.  They would not even look at a woman on the street.  If they saw a woman in the distance they would shut their eyes and keep on walking.  Therefore, they would walk into buildings and walls bruising themselves.  Thus their bruises and cuts would be worn as badges of honor to show how religious they were. 
  • The hump-backed Pharisees walked bent over to show how humble they were.
  • Ever-Reckoning Pharisees kept a running balance sheet.  A profit and loss statement with God.
  • The timid Pharisees went around in constant fear of God.
  • Only 1/7 was positive: the God loving Pharisees were exemplary examples of faith and love. 
 
Apparently even the average Jew of the day recognized many Pharisees, in spite of their positions, were not great examples of faith.  But some were.  These Pharisees that come to Jesus are genuine friends, but even well meaning friends can tempt us to not go too far in our Christian faith.  Be faithful, but don’t sacrifice too much! Stay comfortable.  Following Christ is good but too much risk doesn’t make sense.  Do you have friends like that.  Are you a friend like that? 

“I must keep on,” Jesus says.  Surely personal safety was a temptation for Jesus.  That’s what the famous temptation story is about earlier in the gospels when the devil comes to Jesus after his fast for 40 days in the wilderness: he was tempted with food, comfort, rest, each designed to take him away from trusting God.  God never promised you a comfortable, secure, restful life.  He promises his presence in the middle of the sometimes uncomfortable calling he places upon you. 
 
In order to Press on Towards your calling from Christ, you have to know where you are going.  The temptation from well meaning friends always make sense.  It doesn’t mean they are bad people.  Jesus knows he is on his way to Jerusalem.  He is on His way to die on the cross.  He even knows and trusts God that he will rise from the dead and fulfill the greatest purpose of all, to bring life and salvation to the people of God. 

Our greatest purpose is far more limited than that of Christ. But our calling is always to serve him, always to be people of high character, always to love the people around us, always to grow in our own faith. The specifics of our mission of where and how and when of each servant of God is unique, between you and the Lord, but invite him to speak to your heart, challenge him to open doors, pray for the courage to walk through the doors… God’s purpose for you is according to the gifts he gives you, the opportunities before you, your personality, your open doors.  But I emphasize: Like Jesus himself, the path God is calling you to walk as a disciple of Christ always ends in death!  Death to yourself, death to your own personal comforts and resurrection life in Christ. 
 
Your enemies also tempt you to abort your mission of following Christ.  Herod is the enemy.  He wants to kill Jesus. If Jesus were to listen to his well meaning friends and go into hiding, he would be doing what Herod ultimately wants: He wants Jesus to go away and quit stirring up the people with God stuff.  You resist the temptations of your well meaning friends by knowing the greater purpose of God’s calling.  You resist the temptation of your enemies by naming your enemy and naming yourself!

Jesus calls Herod a FOX.  Fox’s are sly.  Fox’s are smart.  In those days, for right or wrong, Fox’s also had a reputation for being worthless to man, a nuisance that only disrupted the herdsman’s work.  Jesus show’s no fear of Herod, and he is not about to alter the course of his mission to respond to Herod.  He names Herod a Fox. 

Here’s a little story that makes a lotta sense.  It takes a brave man to call the King a Fox.  Latimer, a clergyman at West Minster Abbey when King Henry was a member of the congregation, would often muse outloud from the pulpit, “Latimar, Latimar, Latimar, Be careful what you say, The King of England is here!”  Latimar would go on to say, “Latimar, Latimar, Latimar, Be careful what you say, The King of Kings is here.” /// If our fear of man/  fear of our enemies is ever greater than our fear of God, then our ministry is over. Whoever walks in these doors, woe to me if I shrink back from whatever was planned for that day.   The King of Kings is in this place, the King of Kings is in this community.  Is the King of Kings sitting on the throne of your life? 

Name your enemy.  Jesus calls Herod a fox.  I don’t think he did it to insult him.  If he would have wanted to insult Herod he may have called him a flea, or a weakling, or a spineless no good puppet of the Roman Government.  I think he called Herod a Fox for the sake of the Pharisees, for the sake of Himself, to give perspective.  Herod wanted Jesus dead to force peace, to keep his position. He saw Jesus as a threat.  By Jesus calling Herod a Fox he is addressing purpose, method….He’s a Fox. I will not be sidetracked. I will not abandon my mission. 

Press on in your high calling of Christ.  When enemies try and persuade you to abandon your faith/calling, do not go to battle.  See the temptations of your enemies as a distraction.  So what if you are insulted, taunted, threatened, I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt, I’m not saying the temptation to hide is not real. You need courage to keep on going.  See the enemy for what he is.  Keep on going towards Christ. 
 
Jesus names the enemy.  Then he gives Himself an incredible name: a hen.  You gotta laugh.  You know the saying:  If you have a chocolate candy bar that you want to keep safe to eat later and you ask Connie D. to keep it for you, that would be like “letting the Fox guard the Henhouse.”  Jesus says, “Herod is a Fox, and I am going to fight him, resist him, challenge him as ~~~~~~ MIGHTY CHICKEN.” 

What’s Jesus saying?  His mission/purpose is to go to Jerusalem.  He will not be tempted to change by well meaning friends.  He is not going to hide from his enemy.  He refuses to turn and fight and resist His enemy.  He sees the enemy for what he is, A Fox, and now he gives himself a descriptive role. Luke 13:34-35 is a reminder of not only the ultimate mission, but also a pouring out of his heart his passion for the people of God that he is serving by His death and Resurrection.  READ. 
 
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” is a reference to the entry into Jerusalem that is soon coming when Jesus enters the city for the great Passover Celebration, the people praise Him and lay down palm leaves, and a few days later he is crucified on the cross. 

Jesus says he is like a hen, a loving hen that protects her chicks.  A loving hen that is willing to die for her chicks.  Temptations come from all sides, well meaning friends and genuine enemies.  Jesus declares he is staying focused, he is not changing his character or his love or his passion.  He is not going to meet the death threat of Herod with anger or fear! That is how we are to stay focused on following Jesus Christ, to Press on as servants of God…. It may sound noble to fight your critics with the same slings, to argue back in return, to return threat with threat, it sure is tempting to go into hiding when the enemy threatens, to just take it easy because you worked so hard, but the Lord Jesus Christ shows us that we are to keep pressing on in conviction of the ultimate goal of serving Christ and to stay true to the Godly character of loving those we serve.

Keep on going towards the goal of serving Christ.  Know where you are going.  Be willing to sacrifice personal comfort.  Name your enemy.  See yourself as the loving protecting person God has called you to be.  You who are struggling even at this moment ~~~~~~ Press on! Amen.  
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture

    Carl Crouse, Pastor

    At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.  Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living.  I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights.

    In general, the previous Sunday's sermon will be posted by Tuesday afternoon.

    Categories

    All
    1 & 2 Kings
    1 Timothy
    2 Corinthians
    A Bruised Heart
    Acts
    A Front Row Seat
    Amos
    Christmas
    Daniel
    Easter
    Ecclesiastes
    Ephesians
    Esther
    Fruit Of The Spirit
    God Without Disguise
    Gospels
    Haggai ~ Shake Up Your Life
    Isaiah
    James
    Job
    John
    Judges
    Luke
    Mark
    Marriage
    Matthew
    Messy House
    My Messy House
    Nobodies Of The Gospels
    Proverbs
    Psalms
    Romans
    Seeds Of Hope
    The Church: Some Assembly
    When I Am Weak (Samson)
    When I Am Weak (Samson)

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly