21 November 1999

CAPTAIN ALISTAIR VENTER

Reading: Luke 9:51-62

In our home we have three daughters. But you know, my daughters never argue, never get cross with each other…. But sometimes, every now and again, they will have a disagreement. Either Marieke or I get involved, and we find ourselves saying to them: "You say sorry to your sister for doing that or for saying that." Then we hear something like this: "I’m sorry, BUT IT WASN’T MY FAULT!" Or, "I am sorry, but she hit me first!" Do you know what, that little word BUT cancels out what was said before. They might as well not have said I am sorry – because they are almost implying that they had every right to do what they did.

In our Bible reading, there were three people who came alongside Jesus. Each one stood at the threshold of becoming followers of Jesus, and each one ended up not becoming followers because there was a BIG BUT! I want to recommend that we ban the but’s. Too many people in the world have good intentions which get destroyed because of the but’s.

Let us look firstly at the Bible story before we go any further. The first would be follower of Jesus came to Jesus and said: "I will follow you wherever you go":

1. BUT THE COST IS TOO HIGH:

A lot of people think that to follow Jesus is all plain sailing and all wonderful. Sorry to burst your bubble, people! Following Christ does have a pretty steep price tag on it.

If you look at the statement of this first man, you will find that he says that he will go wherever Jesus went. Perhaps there was a bit of glamour attached to the thought of following Jesus. Jesus seemed to get around. He had been in the village of Samaria, and now was headed for Jerusalem – and maybe this young man thought – wow – Jerusalem, here we come. I don’t know how well this man knew Jesus and his disciples. Did he think that lived in the hotels and inns something like the Sheridan or the other top hotels in our city? Did he think that Jesus was highly accepted by all people? Jesus brought him down with bump. He said to him: "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head". He was saying to this man – do you realise what you are offering here. You have got to leave home, family, loved ones. The place where I am going is nothing glamorous. You see, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem where he was to be crucified on the cross. He was on his way to face up to persecution, hatred, rejection. Did this young man know what it would mean to follow Jesus.

We are not told what this young man said, but I guess that he said something like this: "I would really like to follow you wherever you go, BUT THE COST JUST SEEMS A BIT TOO HIGH."

Someone has said that when you become a Christian, you have to accept short-term costs for long term benefits. Are we willing to make the commitment that Jesus requires to follow him. Are we willing to accept the costs, the hardship, the pain that is all part of following him? The long term benefits are of course knowing that we have an eternity with Jesus. But do we want that badly enough to endure the cost? You might say; "I really want to, BUT…….

The second person was approached by Jesus who said to him: "Follow me". This man had a definite BUT. He said: "I will follow you Lord, But first let me go and bury my father." I will follow you,

2. BUT A LITTLE BIT LATER ON:

This man was willing to make a commitment to follow Jesus, but he was not quite ready to do so. Jesus said to this man; "Let the dead bury their own dead". That sounds a bit harsh, wouldn’t you say? Let me just point something out to you. This man’s father had not just died. He was probably healthy and strong – and maybe had a good 20 or 30 years ahead of him. If he had died, this man would have been breaking all the laws associated with the burial of a loved one. He would not have been out on the road with Jesus. He would have had to be burying his father within 24 hours of his having died.

There are people in this congregation even here tonight who fall into this same trap as what this guy did. We say: "I will follow Jesus, but I still have so much to do. There are so many other commitments that I have to fulfil, and when I have done that, then I will be ready." Yesterday we saw the Candidates on the platform receiving their stars of acceptance. I thought about a girl who was in training with me – her name was Martha. Martha was commissioned with me, and soon afterwards she fell in love with a Candidate. He was going to go to College. He was going to be an officer. He promised her that. Martha resigned, and waited for her husband to follow Jesus the way that he had been called. He just had to be sure that they would have enough money for the period that they were in college, and so he had to work just another 2 years to be able to save up enough. The first child came along, the second child came along, the third child came along. This man said: "I am going to go to college. I am going to follow the Lord’s call, BUT first I need enough money for my children’s education. They must all go to private schools. They have got to have the best education. Eighteen years have gone past….. Martha has never come back into officership where God had called her. Her husband does not attend church as regularly as he used to. He wanted to follow. He wanted to be obedient – BUT A LITTLE BIT LATER.

How I wish that I had the power and authority to ban the but’s that come up over and over again. That young man is only one example of thousands of people who have such good intentions, and who allow the BUT to get in their way.

The psychologists tell us that every time we have a fine feeling, and do not act on it, the less likely we are to act on it at all. The emotion becomes a substitute for the action. Sometimes we feel we would like to write a letter, perhaps of sympathy, or of thanks or of congratulations. If we put it off until tomorrow, it will in all likelihood never be written. Jesus urges us to act at once when our hearts are stirred.

The third man came up to Jesus and said: "I will follow you Lord, BUT first let me go back and say goodbye to my family". He was saying, I will follow you,

3. BUT I ALSO HAVE OTHER PRIORITIES:

Jesus gave a rather unexpected reply to that. He said to him "No man who puts his hand to plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God". Every farmer will tell you that no one can plow a straight furrow without keeping his eyes straight ahead. I want to say that it is not wrong to care for the family, but when it came down to brass tacks, this guy was saying that Jesus maybe needed to take a back seat when it came to the family. Jesus did not want him to go back to his family, to his other priorities. What danger could there be in going back to say goodbye?

Think for a moment. Back he goes to his mother, who cries and begs for him not to go. His father calls him aside and says; "Look son, in our tradition you have to take over the family business, you can’t walk out on us now. Grandad will say: "My boy, you don’t know this Jesus person. What security have you got for the future." I think that Devlin and Zurika experienced something of that when they made their intentions known to their family that they were going to follow Jesus call into full time ministry. And it becomes hard to leave those people behind who we have trusted for advice in the past. It is hard to leave behind the other commitments and priorities that have been part of our every day life. We start to doubt God’s ability to provide for us. Instead of keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and him alone, we become distracted, and end up plowing a pretty wonky furrow. Jesus must be our first and foremost priority – the other things will fall into place. Ban the but that says "I’ll follow you, but first let me attend to my other priorities".

CONCLUSION:

Tonight, Jesus is here in this hall in 183 Church Street, Pretoria West, South Africa. His invitation is again being given to you and to me. He says; "Follow me…" The temptation is to respond in the same way that our ancient friends did. Lord, I’d be glad to follow you, but..but..but. There are so many things that call to us. GOOD things – family, friends, work, and so we can continue. The choices that confronted the would-be followers of Jesus on the road were not choices between good and evil. The choices were between two goods. There is nothing wrong with caring for the family. There is nothing wrong with being conscientious when it comes to our work, our priorities. But who comes first????? That is the choice.

Do you want to hear some of the buts that we face today? You need to go to worship God at church on Sunday. Yes, I want to do that, BUT Sunday is the family day, and the only day I can catch up on all the housework and washing. The children should go to Sunday School. Yes, I want to take them, but Sunday is the only day that I can sleep late. What about Spiritual formation group or Alpha? I would love to go, BUT I don’t like driving at night, and also it is such a rush after work. There might be a need for leaders in the church. We hear people say; "I know I could do it, BUT there are others who could do a better job. The list is endless. Do you know what, because of all the BUTS that we bring into our lives, WE LOSE OUT IN EVERY WAY! We lose out spiritually, we lose out socially because of lack of fellowship, we lose out on so many opportunities that would develop us to the full.

I would like to hold a referendum here tonight. I realise that in a referendum, not everyone is obliged to participate. But tonight in our referendum, I would like to suggests that we ban the but’s. The buts are a hindrance to the work of God, the buts are a hindrance the kingdom of God, the buts are a hindrance to your and my spiritual growth.

I don’t know this evening what God is saying to you. I don’t knowing if he is calling you to follow him and become a Christian. He might be and you are saying: "I want to BUT!" Maybe God is calling someone here to a special responsibility in the church – whether it be a local officer position, going out on a feeding scheme, making time available for counseling. Maybe you are saying: "I really want to be obedient to the Lord and do that, BUT…." Maybe even tonight God’s call has been heard for full time service, to the ministry, and you are saying: "I would respond to your call, BUT…."