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| Rev. Canon George Sinclair |
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(Podcast of CFRA broadcast on Sunday, January 18th, 2015)
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Broadcast Notes:
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'Jesus on Desire'
This talk is a shortened version
of a sermon I gave at the church I serve at, Church of the Messiah. I am
preaching through all of the Gospel of Luke. The series is entitled,
"Luke: Jesus for Pagans and Skeptics."
Luke
14: 15-35 (ESV)
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him
heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in
the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a
great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the
banquet he sent his servant[a] to say
to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But
they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a
field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And
another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them.
Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a
wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and
reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry
and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city,
and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And
the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is
room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the
highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For
I tell you,[b] none of
those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and
said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his
own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and
even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does
not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For
which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the
cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when
he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to
mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able
to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another
king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten
thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And
if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks
for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does
not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Salt Without Taste Is Worthless
34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how
shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for
the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear,
let him hear.”
Footnotes:
- Luke 14:17 Greek bondservant; also verses 21, 22, 23
- Luke 14:24 The Greek word for you here is plural
1. The living God Himself invites
me into His presence for a feast of great food, great conversation and great
companionship.
2. Only the living God can save
me. I cannot save myself - but I can damn myself.
3. Jesus' death upon the cross is
God's provision for me to become His child. To have faith in Jesus is to enter
into an eternal relationship with Him, which by grace, will change me.
4. Jesus invites me to count the
cost of trusting Him, and the cost of saying "No", AND then, after
counting the cost, He desires me to say "Yes" to Him.
Conclusion:
The power of God, through His grace,
love and mercy comes into you … by you entering into a relationship with Jesus.
That will re-order your desires
and will re-order all of your relationships, and so, Jesus intensifies what is
involved in coming to follow Him.
Prayer:
Father,
thank you, so much, for Jesus. Thank you for what He did for us on the cross.
Thank you that you love us. Thank you that you call us to be in your presence
for great food, for great conversation, and for great companionship.
Father,
help us to put our trust and faith in Jesus, that He might be our Saviour and
Lord.
- Rev. Canon George Sinclair
Church of the Messiah
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