“SAY WHAT?!?!” DOES JESUS
REALLY TELL ME TO HATE…Mom and Dad? Sunday, July 22, 2007 ~ Week # 2
TWO WORDS… COMMITMENT AND FOCUS.
So what did Jesus mean?
Matthew 10:32-42 (NIV)
32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I
will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.
33 But whoever disowns me before
men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to
the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn "'a man
against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law-- 36 a man's
enemies will be the members of his own household.' 37 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me
is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not
worthy of me; 38 and anyone who
does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and
whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 40
"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me
receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone
who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward,
and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will
receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And
if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he
is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his
reward."
34 Then he called the crowd to him
along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his
soul? 37 Or what can a man give in
exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone
is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son
of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy
angels."
1. Jesus did not advocate conflict.
2. When Jesus said that he had come to bring “not peace but a sword” he meant that this would be the effect of his coming, not that it was the purpose of his coming.
3. Jesus was warning his followers that their allegiance to him might cause conflict at home and even expulsion from the family circle.
REVALUATING OUR PRIORITIES
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to
him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have
holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay
his head." 59 He said to another man,
"Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and
bury my father." 60 Jesus said
to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the
62 Jesus replied, "No one who
puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the
Discipleship is never
easy for a number of reasons…
1. (9:57-58) Discipleship: one must count the cost.
2. (9:59-60) Discipleship one must follow Jesus immediately.
3. (9:61-62) Discipleship: one must not look back.
A CLOSER
LOOK
[1] Luke
14:25-35 (NIV)
25 Large crowds were traveling with
Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If
anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and
children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my
disciple. 27 And anyone who does
not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 "Suppose one of you wants
to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he
has enough money to complete it? 29 For
if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it
will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This
fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another
king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten
thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a
delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of
peace. 33 In the same way, any of
you who does not give up everything he has cannot be
my disciple. 34 "Salt is good,
but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the
manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears
to hear, let him hear."
1. (14:26) Family— Discipleship: family
will not always be supportive…what
will you do?
2. (14:27) The
Cross/Disciplship and Self-denial go hand in hand. A man must bear the cross of death—to self.
3. (14:28-33) it
is important to think through what it
means to follow Jesus.
4. (14:34-35) WE
ARE CALLED TO BE SALT IN OTHER WORDS WE ARE CALLED TO
MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
CONCLUSION
34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again? 35 It
is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."