title hesitation
Contents
♡♥♡ Hesitation / Luke 9:57-62
*** Introduction
scruple! ‘Shall we go this way, shall we go that way, would we rather go back, three ways… ’ It’s a part of the lyrics of a popular song in the world. It is a path of hesitation without making a decision.
The word of God that appears in the Bible can be divided into two main parts. ‘Blessings and Curses’, ‘Obedience and Rebellion’, ‘Peace and Fear’, ‘Rise and Fall’ etc. These are two ideologies in which a life that conforms to God's will and a life that is not in accordance with God's will are contrasted. If we obey God's word, blessings and peace will follow, but if we disobey and disobey God, curses, fear, and disaster will follow. In Isaiah 1:19-20, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat of the good produce of the earth. If you refuse and betray, I will be swallowed up by the sword. This is the word of the LORD.” In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus compared these two ideas to a house built on the rock and a house built on sand.
Here, in a life that is independent of God's will, there are active rebellion and passive rebellion. Disobedience, disbelief, and opposition are active rebellion, and hesitancy and hesitation, resentment and complaints will correspond to passive rebellion.
The people God uses are those who are after God's heart and who are in line with God's will. Acts 13:22 records the reason why God appointed David, the son of Jesse, to be the king of Israel. “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. I will do all my will.” God has chosen a person he likes to be king. On the other hand, King Saul, who did not obey God's commands, did not meet God's heart. So he had no choice but to be expelled from the throne. This truth is still being practiced today. Those who are worthy of God's heart will receive grace.
There are three types of people in today's text. They did not disobey or rebel in following Jesus. However, all three groups had some aspects that were not worthy to be disciples of Jesus. We are now in the middle of Lent. We need to look at these people and look back at ourselves as followers of Jesus, and think about whether we are the kind of person God likes.
1. There are people who follow without calculation.
Before we start any task, we first calculate the order of the tasks, purpose, cost, loss or benefit, and whether we can do it to the end. If you don't think this job is right for you at all, you shouldn't start working. Without such calculations, if you start work blindly, not only will you not be able to finish your work, but you will also find yourself in a lot of trouble.
But look at the first person in the text. The first person says, “Wherever Jesus goes, I will follow Him.” At first glance, he seems like a great believer. But through Jesus' answer, you can read the person's thoughts. Jesus answered the man who wanted to follow him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
This man was determined to follow Jesus, but his purpose was selfish. Because the Lord said he had nothing to give him. This man must have counted the worldly benefits that would come later by following the Lord. This man had worldly calculations, but not as a disciple. That is, he was the owner of worldly beliefs. Jesus makes it clear that the price the disciples have to pay is sacrifice. Look at verse 23 at the beginning of the text. “He said to the crowds, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Many people today say that they will believe in Jesus after doing worldly calculations such as good luck, blessings, and human relationships. Without figuring out what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. These types of people will leave without any regrets if they cause any harm to themselves or if there are difficulties, persecutions, or sacrifices due to their faith. He is like the rocky field that Jesus compared.
The Lord took the cross and went the path of contempt and suffering, but wouldn't there be a way for the disciples to follow? In Romans 8:17, it says, “If children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, as we must suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Have you done this calculation? It is the calculation of investing even life for eternal life, eternal glory, and happiness.
2. There are those who hesitate.
The second person was the one who was hanging around and circling around Jesus. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” This second man pleads, “Allow me to go first and bury my father.” This is a very human person who puts worldly things first. I was moved by Jesus' words and followed him, but I thought it was too early to give up everything and become a disciple of Jesus. So I made an excuse.
This man's answer does not mean that the funeral should be held because his father is now dead. It means, ‘I have an old father, and after he passes away, I will follow the Lord.’ In the end, my old father became an excuse for not following the Lord right away. The Lord said to that man who was unable to make a decision by giving priority to worldly affairs, “Let the dead bury their own dead, and you go and preach the kingdom of God.” This is the Lord's loving counsel to put spiritual things first in life.
There are many people in the Bible who have received God's favor through immediate obedience. On the other hand, there are many people who are hesitant and hesitant with worldly thoughts and lose opportunities or receive grace only after suffering. John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, doubted the angel's word that God would give birth to a son. That he and his wife were too old to have children was the reason for his hesitancy in not being willing to obey. It is a worldly idea. As a result, the child remained mute during birth. Six months later, God delivered the message of conception to Mary through an angel. Although Mary was a virgin, she obeyed without hesitation, going beyond human thoughts, saying, “I am the maidservant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word.” God said through Elizabeth's mouth, "Blessed is the woman who has believed. The word the Lord spoke to him will surely come to pass.”
There are countless instances of this in the Bible. God never tolerates a person who hesitates and hesitates between God and the world. In the Old Testament, he performed miracles on Mount Carmel through the prophet Elijah and urged the people to make decisions. In the New Testament, besides the text, in James 4:4, “Women who commit adultery, do you not know that friendship with the world is the enemy of God? Therefore, whoever wants to be friends with the world makes himself an enemy of God.” And in Revelation 3:16, “Because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth. .” he said.
3. There was a person who had regrets.
The third petitioned, “Lord, I will follow you, but first allow me to say goodbye to my family.” Jesus knew that this man was bound by the things of the world and could not cast off his lusts, and said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” This person is hesitant to become a disciple because he cannot shake off the world's lusts.
Not long ago, I saw the children briefly because they liked a soap opera called 'Winter Sonata'. At the same time, it was a picture of a woman wandering between the man of the past and the man of the present. The woman was left with too much regret to decide which one to go for. Truly, wandering between the two ‘out of regret’ was never a good look.
When the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God's wrath, God heard Abraham's prayer and saved Lot's family from destruction. At that time, he commanded Lot to go straight to the city of Zoar, ‘not looking back’. However, Lot's wife could not shake off her regrets, so she eventually looked back and became a 'pillar of salt' and became a 'sample of disobedience' from generation to generation, a lesson for future generations.
The above three types of people are not fit for the kingdom of God because they deviate from the heart of God. Combining the three categories is ‘hesitating between the world and God’. Faith toward God is a decision. Let's take a look at ourselves this Lent. Am I still hesitating to become a disciple of the Lord leaving my regrets behind in the world? The Lord said that for a life-threatening decision, glory and eternal life are always prepared as gifts.
“I am a Christian. Christians must go to church on Sundays to worship. And because I'm in charge of accounting at the church, I can't miss it. If it is the president's order, you can leave work at 12:00 every night from Monday to Saturday, but please allow me to go to church on Sundays. However, if there is an emergency at the company, I will come out to work even on a weekday.”
“What are you doing?” “President, thank you for that. It seems that I am not helpful for this company. I’m sorry that I couldn’t continue to see the president.” He handed out an envelope with his resignation letter. “What is this?” “This is my resignation letter.” "okay?" "Goodbye." “Good bye… ” And then I left the president’s room. It was dark before my eyes. A feeling of regret ran through my head. I was worried as I thought to myself, 'You became unemployed overnight!'
I came back to the accounting room and was thinking about these thoughts and thoughts, but I got a call from the president's office to come. When I went up to the president's room, the president said, "Chief Kim, take this," and held out a white envelope. Thinking it would be a retirement benefit, he said, “Chairman, what is this?” “The commander-in-chief. From tomorrow onwards, take over the position of managing director of our company. Manager Kim and I have different religions, but if you have the same convictions, you can become a pillar of our company. I beg you to work hard.” I became the managing director an hour after I submitted my resignation.
Gentlemen, if you want to follow the Lord, do not hesitate, be determined and obey. Jesus' disciples were all unlearned and ignorant fishermen, lowly tax collectors, and lowly people. However, they decided and obeyed the Lord's call without hesitation.
Everyone, if you want to believe in and follow the Lord anyway, let's follow God fervently so that we can have the kingdom of God. So, I pray that you will achieve the joy and peace of the Lord while you live on this earth.