Top
Priority
By
Rev. Todd
W. Allen
Luke 9:57-62
During
World War II the government allocated
priorities for air travel on the basis of
the importance of the purpose of the trip.
Because I was a member of a flight crew
that delivered aircraft to overseas
destinations when returning back to my
home base in the United States on military
or commercial aircraft I was given a 2
priority. It had nothing to do with rank.
It was because our missions were
considered important to the war effort
that we were assigned such a high
priority. If a person was booked on a
flight with say a 3 priority and a person
came along with a 2 priority he could be
put off the plane so that the man with the
higher priority could take that seat. Our
flight crew was never denied seating
because of low priority. A 2 priority was
considered high. Very few people had the
highest top priority of 1.
The Gospel
of the Kingdom of God is far and away the
most important mission going on in this
world. The world does not believe that,
but that does not make it any the less
true. What the Lord Jesus did on that tree
on Golgotha is crucial and essential for
any person to be saved and enter the
Kingdom of God. His death in the place of
sinners is the only grounds for God's
mercy. He shed his Blood so that you and I
might be forgiven and find pardon from the
Lord for our sins. Everything else going
on in this world is secondary to the
Gospel. God assigned the Gospel top
priority.
When men
were bumped off the plane by our 2
priorities they would object. One man had
to attend a high level meeting in
Washington, another had important business
transactions which he felt were essential
to the war effort, but it didn't change
their 3 or 4 priority to a 2 so that they
could claim equal right to airline space.
God declares the Gospel of the Kingdom to
be a matter of such supreme importance
that nothing else equals it in priority.
The first
man in our passage told the Lord
“I will follow You wherever You go.” 58And
Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have nests, but
the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His
head.”
A soldier
in wartime may sleep in a foxhole and be
on the move the next day to an uncertain
bivouac, but he knew that was the
soldier's lot when he signed up. Christ
made sure that this enthusiastic volunteer
did not get disappointed later on when he
looked around and saw the world enjoying
comforts and refinements and ease that he
had no promise of, though even soldiers at
times live in mansions and castles
temporarily as they march ahead in pursuit
of the enemy.
This ought
to be the understanding of every one who
enlists in the army of Christ. But the
other two men in our scripture hesitated
and procrastinated. They weren't quite
ready to make a decisive commitment.
One man
who heard Christ say, Follow me
responded, “Lord, permit me first to
go and bury my father.” v. 59. Surely
that seemed like a matter at least equal
in importance to the Gospel of the Kingdom
but Christ did not say so. He replied,
“Allow the dead to bury their own dead;
but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere
the kingdom of God.”
This man
probably had deep affection far his
father. He didn't want to begin a ministry
for Christ until he had done what he felt
was the decent thing. namely – go home and
attend upon his father for his few
remaining years. But Christ didn't accept
that as a reasonable or proper request.
Why? Because it was putting his father
ahead of the Gospel in priority.
Christ
taught in another place,
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. Luke 14:26
There was third man mentioned in this
passage of scripture that simply said,
“I will follow You, Lord; but first permit
me to say good-bye to those at home.”
62But Jesus said to him, “No one, after
putting his hand to the plow and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
A soldier
does not have the freedom to put family or
friends before his call to obey orders and
do duty in the kingdom of God. Once God
entrusts a man with the Gospel it is not a
time to circumvent his mission orders in
the Kingdom by going home or attending to
any other business. Kingdom business is #1
priority business. Everything else is
secondary.
The
obvious fact is that the world does not
think the Kingdom of God is very
attractive or even important. It doesn't
promise fame and fortune. It doesn’t
promise a heaven on earth. It seems to be
a bad bargain to most people. Why should I
go and follow an invisible Savior who is
back in heaven and who tells me that
tribulation and persecution will come to
me for his name's sake? Why give up a
present enjoyable lifestyle for the
promise of heaven when I die?
Many men
take the attitude: Well, it may be true
that there is a heaven by and by to gain,
but then there is a world to enjoy here
and now. 1’11 take my chances. If there is
a heaven, it can wait. I'll do my living
first. I'll seek to fulfill my ambitions
and perhaps have some fun along the way.
After all, you only live once. I am not
ready to put a future blessing before a
present enjoyment. That is what Esau did.
He sold his birthright for a hot meal and
he lost his blessing.
Jesus
didn't try to sell anyone a bill of goods.
He didn’t say, Come and follow me and I
will make you a rich man and show you the
good and pleasant life. There is a
prosperity gospel being preached today.
But it is not the gospel of Christ.
Yes, it
is' true that
29Jesus
said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one
who has left house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or farms,
for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,
30but that he will receive a
hundred times as much now in the present
age, houses and brothers and sisters and
mothers and children and farms, along with
persecutions; and in the age to come,
eternal life. Mark 10:29-30 (NASB)
But
that is not the right motive for following
the Lord Jesus Christ.
We follow
Christ simply because it is necessary
and the right thing to do. When he
called the apostles they immediately left
whatever they were doing and followed him.
We are not induced to follow Christ from
material or other considerations.
I mention
NECESSARY because you cannot be
saved and enter the Kingdom of God unless
Christ's salvation is yours through faith
in him. The Gospel of the Kingdom is
concerned with your soul first. Seek ye
first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these other things
shall be added unto you.
It is
RIGHT because Christ is God's beloved
Son
given for
our redemption and following him is the
only way to please God. God's will is
always right and always good, and his will
is that men might come to his Son and be
saved and serve him.
Back in
the 1930s at a certain New York insurance
office there was a rumor of a salary cut.
One of the employees there was a
22~year-old clerk who possessed a deep
melodious voice. He had been offered a
radio contract and immediately saw
opportunities for fame and possible riches
in his regular appearance on a secular
program. He had been pondering the matter
for several days when he sat down to a
piano early one Sunday morning to rehearse
a hymn he was to sing in church that
morning. As he played and sang his eyes
fell on a piece of paper on which was
written “I'd rather have Jesus than
silver or gold, I'd rather be His than
have riches untold”!
This poem,
by Mrs. Rhea Miller, had been placed there
where he was sure to see it by his mother,
a minister’s wife, who knew of the offer
her son, was pondering. Above all, she
wanted her son, a Christian, to become
wholly consecrated in His service.
As his eyes raced over the
words, "I'd rather have Jesus than
men’s applause and "I'd rather have Jesus
than world wide fame" were
sentences which struck his very heart.
His fingers unconsciously
left the tune he was rehearsing and began
to find the melody, which is known today
to millions. Several days
after, the director who spoke to him in
behalf of the radio network was amazed to
receive a firm “no" to the offer he had
made. "No" was a strange word to the
director's ears as thousands of singers
would have leaped at such an opportunity
as was proposed to the young
bass-baritone.
This young
man's name is George Beverly Shea. From
that time forward the words of the poem
became his testimony.
For some
years now Mr. Shea has been realizing his
ambition to sing the Gospel around the
world in association with the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association. Because he was
willing to forsake fame and fortune for
Jesus he made the right decision, but God
has given him all these other things as
well in a wonderful way.
What a
subtle danger lurks in the seemingly
innocent desire to return to the former
life and say farewell to old friends and
associations. We would think that God
would want us to do that, but he instead
gives a stern warning against the
compromising spirit, which motivates that
desire.
The
Kingdom of God has an entrance
requirement: We must be 'willing to
forsake all to follow Christ. There is a
total commitment to Him as Savior and
Lord. You cannot be a follower of Christ
and go back to the world and hold hands
with it. Jesus said,
whoever of you
does not forsake all that he has cannot be
My disciple.
(Lu.
14:33).
It is not
that we have no more contact with the
world; rather it is that we forsake that
former association with the world and put
Jesus Christ first in everything. Looking
back was the sin of Lot's wife. She had
been warned with her husband not to look
back, but she disobeyed. The Word of God
warns us, 15Do
not love the world nor the things in the
world. If anyone loves the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. 16For
all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh and the lust of the eyes and the
boastful pride of life, is not from the
Father, but is from the world. 17The
world is passing away, and also its
lusts; but the one who does the will of
God lives forever.1 John 2:15-17
The spirit
of procrastination is a deadly
disposition. Of the three men mentioned in
our scripture two exhibited this
trifling characteristic. The first man
volunteered. Unlike the other two he
certainly had no hesitation to follow
Christ. After he volunteered the Lord gave
him a word suited to his decision. That
Word was the life you are embarking on is
not the world's idea of success. You may
have to endure hardship and sacrifice in
your service for me. I am not guaranteeing
you those benefits and comforts that the
world puts in top priority. No, foxes have
holes, and birds of the air have nests;
but the Son of man hath not where to lay
his head. V 58.
There is
a danger when men are called to
discipleship without this warning and
admonition of Christ. Some will feel
misled and feel that the Gospel was
misrepresented. They came to Christ
thinking that from now on everything will
be peaches and cream. No more problems.
Now I will prosper and experience a heaven
on earth. Such people don’t give top
priority to the Kingdom' of' God. Indeed,
they have reserved the right to go back to
the world and seek its blessing. It’s a
disposition of mind that says, I want to
go to heaven but I don't want to make a
break with the old life and the old ways
now. I have other axes to grind, other
ambitions to fulfill.
You will
deceive yourself, my friend, if you think
the world will understand or give its
blessing to your commitment to Christ.
There is no room for compromise with the
Devil and the world. Those outside of
Christ will neither understand nor
appreciate your call to follow Christ.
They will do all they can to dissuade you
from your course and bring you back to
what they consider sane and sound
thinking.
In
Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan saw the man
who later was to be called Christian
trying to urge his wife and children and
neighbors to escape from the fire from
heaven that he knew was going to destroy
the city, but they thought him out of his
head and did their best to get
him to
sleep and rest and put these thoughts out
of his mind. Then they tried harsh and
surly remonstrations. They chided him and
derided him. Finally, to get away he had
to run putting his fingers in his ears,
crying, "Life! Life! Eternal life! " And
not looking behind he ran. The neighbors
also came out to see him run, and as he
ran, some mocked, others threatened, and
some cried after him to return; and, among
those that did so, there were two that
resolved to fetch him back by force, the
names of those men being Obstinate and
Pliable. Those two had reserved the right
to return to the world even as they went
along with him. When the going got tough
they forsook the gospel.
What
category are you in today, my friend? Are
you a volunteer, committed, under
discipline, in uniform, serving the Lord;
or are you uncommitted, still
procrastinating, not yet willing to break
with the world and its friendship?
The Church
is not a halfway house, beloved. The
Church is for those who have counted the
cost and have resolved with firm
conviction and disposition to follow
Christ. It is a fellowship and household
of faith for those who love the Lord and
want to follow him whithersoever he leads
them.
I invite
you to come to Christ with the
understanding that you have a pilgrimage
fraught with difficulty and danger. There
is a Devil who will try to defeat you, a
world that will draw you back from
following Christ and make you a deserter.
This poem draws a picture of becoming a
disciple of Christ.
You're
starting, my son, on life's journey
Along the
grand highway of life;
You'll
meet with a thousand temptations
Each city with evil is rife;
This world
is a stage of excitement
There's
danger wherever you go;
But if'
you are tempted in weakness;
Have
courage, my son, and say" no"
The
bright, ruby wine may be offered -
No matter
how tempting it be,
From
poison that stings like an adder;
My son,
have the courage to flee.
The dark
cocktail rooms are inviting
Decked out
in their tinsel and show
But if you
are tempted to enter,
Have
courage, my son, and say "No".
In loyalty
alone lies your safety,
When you
the long journey begin;
Your trust in the Heavenly
Father
Will keep you unspotted from
sin.
Temptations will keep on increasing,
As streams
from a rivulet flow;
But if
you'd be true to your Savior
Have
courage, my son, to say "No."
Back to
the Top
The paper and sermon manuscripts from
Pastor
Todd W. Allen
are made freely available for review and
distribution. We only request that proper
web page attribution be provided if
distributed for any reason. Please be
gracious to forgive typos and errors of
expression. These notes are faithful
approximations of what has been preached.
May God be glorified in the preaching of
His Word.