“Give Me Your Heart”
(Luke 9:57-62)
Series: Certainty in Uncertain Times
(2-6-11)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
- Take your Bibles please and join me in Luke, chapter 9.
We have been preaching through the book of Luke as is our practice here at Henderson’s First. We preach through books of the Bible, believing this is the best way to learn the Word of God, and we are at a point in chapter 9 that is like a hinge or a turning point. We can say that roughly the first 8 chapters of Luke concern who Jesus is. Several times we have read the question, “Who is this Jesus” or Jesus asks, “Who do men say that I am?” Following Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ (9:20),” Jesus resolutely sets out for Jerusalem in order to die and the focus of chapters 9-19 is on what it means to follow Christ. Or, chapters 1-8, “Who is Christ?” Chapters 9-19, “What does it look like to follow this Christ?” Think of that as we read about three different persons, all of them unnamed, three persons faced with following Christ. See the word “follow” occurring three times, verses 57, 59, and 61.
- Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
- Pray.
Introduction:
I heard someone illustrate receiving Christ into one’s life like this: My name is Todd Linn. If you invite me into your home and you say, “Todd, you may come in, but Linn, you may not,” it is impossible for me to come in because Todd and Linn go together. You can’t have part of me without the other. You must have all of me. And to receive Jesus Christ into one’s life is no different. We must receive all of Him into our lives which means that all of our hearts—our whole hearts—are given over to Him.
The way some people think of following Christ reminds me of a comedian popular when I was in college. His name was Steven Wright. He had a strange way of observing the world and I remember one time he said he wanted to get a dog and name it, “Stay.” Just think about that for a moment. So he would call the dog and it would be like, “Come here, Stay. Come here, Stay.” And the dog would be like, “Do you want me or not?”
And I think this is the kind of relationship with Christ some people have who think of themselves as His followers. “Come here, stay. Come here, stay.” And Jesus is like, “Do you want Me or not?” Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and be with him (Revelation 3:20), but you get all of Me or none of Me because you can’t divide Me into halves or quarters or bits and pieces, you get all of Me and I want all of you. I want your whole heart. He says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24).” Give Me your heart. I want your whole heart.
David said, “Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; (Psalm 86:11-12).”
In my study this week I read this passage and it seemed to me that this was the sum application of these six verses. Jesus says, “Give Me Your Heart. I’ll not be satisfied with anything less than your whole heart.”
And let me say also that you will not be satisfied, either, until you give your whole heart to Jesus Christ. I don’t mean that we come to Christ to see what we can get out of it. I don’t mean satisfaction in that sense. That’s precisely the problem. Some come to Christ to see what they can get out of it: Get me out of this problem. Make me feel good. Heal my marriage. Even, “Get me into heaven.” These are all selfish, self-centered reasons that end ultimately in emptiness because we come to Christ with only part of our hearts. We want this, but we want Him to get us that. Or, “I want this part of my life and I want You to fix that part.”
But coming to Christ with our whole hearts means He is number one. He is Lord. He determines everything. We live as His servants. He speaks, we listen. He teaches, we learn. He calls, we follow. What does it mean to follow Christ? First, it means:
- I. We must Share in His Difficulties (57-58)
57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Now that sounds good, doesn’t it? Let’s give credit to this unnamed person for saying what thousands do not say. At least he’s interested in Jesus. At least he wants to be a disciple. I don’t know what stirred his heart. Maybe he was inspired by the teachings or intrigued by the healings, but he says to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
But Jesus sees something lacking in this person’s desire to follow so He replies to him in verse 58:
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
This statement is not so much about Jesus’ not having a house in which to live as it is about enduring hardships and facing difficulties along the way. Animals often seek refuge in the comfort of their earthly shelters, but such is not the case for followers of Christ. That is, there will be difficulties along the way. There will be hard days. There will be times you wish you could retreat like a fox to his den or a bird to its nest.
Paul said to Timothy, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3).” Endure hardship. Share in Christ’s difficulties.
We are helped by remembering a previous call to discipleship earlier in chapter 9. In 9:22 Jesus tells His followers, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed…” Jesus suffered for us, so we must be willing to suffer for Him. So He says in the next verse, 9:23 and following, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Jesus faced difficulties for us so we—as His followers—must share in His difficulties. He has our whole heart when we’re willing to share in His difficulties.
When it comes to the reality of our difficulties and reiterating the fallen state of mankind and the effects of sin everywhere we need never fear overstating the point. Too many professing Christians think that when they undergo difficulties and suffering that it is because God is angry with them and or they’ve done something to deserve it. Jesus tells us at the outset to be prepared to endure hardships and trials and difficulties as we run the race known as the Christian life.
And let me say that we do well to learn from the Master when we speak to someone about being a follower of Christ. How quick we are to tell them to bow their head and repeat a prayer! I mean, think of it: How many of us wouldn’t be pleased to meet this guy in verse 57? Imagine someone coming up to us at work or at school and saying to us, “I am ready to follow Jesus Christ wherever He leads!” We might be quick to say, “Awesome! Bow your head and repeat these words,” instead of pausing thoughtfully and asking, “Are you sure? Following Christ requires a full-on 100% unqualified commitment. Are you absolutely certain the Holy Spirit is leading you to surrender?”
The first person in our text shows us that following Christ means we must share in His difficulties. The next two persons in our text show us that following Christ means:
- II. We must Shift our Priorities (59-62)
59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Underline that word “first.” In fact, you will see not only here with this second man in verse 59, but also in verse 61 with the third man, you will see four words, “But, let me first.” These two men have their own priorities. They each wish to follow Christ, but only according to their own system of ranking priorities.
This helps us understand the relative harshness of what Jesus says to both of them. I mean, the second guy says in verse 59, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” and Jesus says in verse 60, “Let the dead bury their own dead.” Let the dead—the spiritually dead—bury their own dead—the physical dead. Apart from Christ, we are “dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).” Let the dead bury their own dead.
Jesus knew that this man’s heart was bound up more with his family than with Him. This man wants to follow Christ, but only according to his schedule and agenda. First; “but let me first.” Jesus, I want to follow you but I’ve got some other matters I’ve got to take care of.
Some of you have helpful study Bibles that tell you about Jewish burial and how it could take as long as a year for a Jewish man to bury his mother or father. That seems to soften Jesus’ statement somewhat as if the man could perhaps get someone else to take care of his affairs during that time. There are even others who believe that the man’s father was not yet dead. And again, this softens the apparent harshness of Jesus’ statement here, but I really think Jesus wants these words to stand on their own. Jesus is saying that there is nothing more important than following Christ. Honoring one’s parents is biblical, and while burying his father was perhaps the most important duty of a Jewish son, the duty to follow Jesus Christ was even greater.
And with two boys likely to outlive me, I’ve thought to myself: What greater way for my sons to honor me than that my sons follow Jesus Christ? The response of my sons to the urgent call to follow Jesus Christ would be more important to me than whether they took care of all the details of my funeral.
It’s a matter of priorities. Jesus is not telling this man to not bury his father. He is not telling him to just forget about his father and not see to it that he is buried properly. He is speaking to this particular man at the point of his greatest weakness. This man’s heart was bound up with his family more than with Christ. He wanted to put family first and Jesus is saying, “I’m more important than your family.” Give me your heart. Jesus wants our whole heart.
This is why marriage is the closest illustration of what it means to follow Christ. A marriage is not 50/50 but 100/100. I remember Tony Evans saying, “If my wife’s giving only 50, I want to know who’s getting the other half!”
I’ve shared this illustration with you before. If I came home one day with some other woman and Michele asked, “Who is this?” I say, “Well, it’s just this other woman. She’s going to live with us and I’ll spend some time with her, but don’t worry: you’ve got 90% of my heart. She’s just got 10%.” That’s crazy, right? Nod your head this way. Yes, that’s crazy. But that’s the way many people try to treat the Lord. “Lord, I’ll give you part of my heart, but I can’t give You this part. I’ll follow you this far, but no further. I want to follow You, but first let me do this. First, let me do that. First, I’ve got to take care of this. Jesus says, “No, I want all of you. Give Me your heart. All of it.”
The same is true in the third man, verses 61 and 62:
61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Perhaps in our day Jesus might say it differently. “No man driving his car forward and looking the whole time in his rearview mirror, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
It’s an image of someone who says he wants to follow Christ but his heart stays behind. His heart is bound up more with what he will have to leave behind. Jesus knows this third man’s heart. The guy says he wants to follow Christ, but Jesus knows better. And for the third time now Jesus speaks to a man at the point of his greatest weakness. This man’s heart is bound up with all he will have to leave behind to follow Christ, family, friends, comfort, ease, and security.
Jesus says, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Don’t look back. Give me your whole heart. All of it.
Have you given Jesus your whole heart? Write these two things down. Ready? Two areas. Have you given Jesus your whole heart when it comes to:
Money. Do you tithe? Do you give at least 10%?
I talked to a man yesterday morning at the Johnny Hunt Men’s Conference. What a blessing, by the way. We had some 40 men from First Baptist in Atlanta yesterday. I thank God for the personal challenge to grow I get every time I go. But I talked to a man yesterday from another church. He showed me in his workbook where God spoke to him. And it was in the area of tithing. Johnny made a statement to the effect: “If my house payment were keeping me from tithing to the church, I would get out of that house.” And this guy said that was his problem. He had far too much house and was over-extended. He knew tithing wasn’t a matter of legalistic obedience to God. He knew that his heart was personally bound up more in his house than in the Lord and His work.
Missions. God is calling some of you to cross-cultural missions. He’s calling some of you to pick up and move to some of the unreached and underserved areas of our country and of the world. Are you listening to Him? We sing, “Wherever He leads I’ll go.” Really? Really? Are you planning a mission trip this year? Are you open to His call to move you among one of the 6,000 unreached people groups of our world so that others can be saved from the penalty of their sin? “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
Jesus says, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” That statement has a number of implications, but is summarily defined as allowing our heart to be captured by the things of this world instead of being captured for Christ, like Lot’s wife who looked back to the things she’d left in Sodom and so was turned into a pillar of salt.
Jesus wants our whole heart. We sing, “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back.” And I want to encourage you this morning to never turn back. Guard your heart. Paul said to Timothy, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier (2 Timothy 2:4).” This means we live a life of complete, unreserved, unqualified commitment to Jesus Christ and we never compromise.
I shared this illustration last Sunday night and have been encouraged to share it with you this morning. It is an illustration of what happens when we begin to compromise our commitment to Jesus Christ.
Clayton Christensen is a business professor at Harvard Business School at Harvard University. On the last day of the class he gives an inspiring talk to students about what he calls “the bottom line on happiness.” One of the things he asks his students is what they will do to keep their families strong. Another thing he asks is, “What will you do to be sure you stay out of jail?” He is serious. Two of the 32 people in his Rhodes Scholar class spent time in prison, one of them was Jeff Skilling of Enron fame. Christensen is a Christian and so he understands the importance of our purpose not being shaped by the secular world. The lecture was subsequently published in a recent edition of Harvard Business Review. Christen speaks of “Management tools that can be used to help you lead a purposeful life.” Some of these “tools” include: Create a culture of family, Remember to be Humble, and Avoid “Just this Once.” He says:
I’d like to share a story about how I came to understand the potential damage of “just this once” in my own life. I played on the Oxford University varsity basketball team. We worked our tails off and finished the season undefeated. The guys on the team were the best friends I’ve ever had in my life. We got to the British equivalent of the NCAA tournament, and made it to the final four. It turned out the championship game was scheduled for a Sunday. I had made a personal commitment to God at age 16 that I would never play ball on Sunday. So I went to the coach and explained my problem. He was incredulous. My teammates were, too, because I was the starting center. Every one of the guys on the team came to me and said, “You’ve got to play. Can’t you break the rule just this one time?” I’m a deeply religious man, so I went away and prayed about what I should do. I got a very clear feeling that I shouldn’t break my commitment, so o didn’t play in the championship game. In many ways that was a small decision, involving one of several thousand Sundays in my life. in theory, I could have crossed the line just that one time and then never done it again. But looking back, I can see that resisting the temptation of “just this once” was one of the most important decisions I have ever made. My life has been an unending stream of extenuating circumstances. Had I crossed the line that one time, I would have done it over and over in the years that followed. The lesson I learned is that it’s easier to hold to your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold to them 98 percent of the time. If you give in to “just this once,” based on a marginal cost analysis, as some of my former classmates did, you’ll regret where you end up. You’ve got to decide for yourself what you stand for and draw the line in a safe place.
Jesus says, “Give Me your heart—your whole heart—100% of the time. Follow Me.” It’s interesting: we don’t know how these three unnamed persons in the text ultimately responded to Christ’s call. He warns all three, but we never read what happens to them. While we don’t know how they responded, we do know how we will respond this morning.
- Stand for prayer.
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