The Difference Jesus makes
… to life now

[adapted with permission from the 'Introducing God' course material]

1. Standing at the gates of heaven
Well, for some of us, this is the beginning of a new three week series here on Sunday mornings, a three week series looking at the difference Jesus makes – the difference Jesus makes to life now, to the kind of relationship that we have with God, to the destiny that we’re heading to after we die.

For some of us, this is just the first week of a new three week series here at church. For others of us, this is the continuation of something that we begain together six weeks ago, and we’ve been meeting together over breakfast on Saturday mornings doing the Introducing God course and examining the Bible together and what it says about God and how to be in relationship with him. For some of us, this is the first time ever at Petersham Baptist, perhaps the first time ever at church.

And there are big things at stake over these next three weeks. We’re talking about the difference that being in relationship with Jesus will make to your life. If you’re not yet a Christian, if you’re not yet a follower of Jesus, these talks are intended particularly for you. But if you are already a Christian, please don’t tune out or stay away – take the opportunity to invite along a friend, next week and the week after, and take the opportunity to revisit for yourself the difference that it makes to your life that you have come into relationship with God in Jesus.

Back in my high school teaching days, I had a colleague that I used to teach with called Steve. We used to compare notes together on legal studies, because we both taught classes; we used to do a bit of weights training together in the school weights room, and we played touch footie together in the staff touch footie team. And we used to talk about God. In fact there were a few of us who used to get together on a Wednesday lunch time and read the Bible and talk about it together – some of us as people who were already Christians, and some of us as people who were checking it out, investigating it, trying it on for size.

And Steve would come along as part of that group; and as he talked with us and looked at the Bible with us, he was introduced to God. And he found himself enormously attracted to the idea that a person could be in relationship with God. And from time to time he would find himself on the brink of taking the step of entering into that sort of relationship with God himself.

There was a sense that after a while he was standing at the gates of heaven, looking in. And after getting to know God, looking, researching, investigating for a long time, he ended up walking away.

And, when we talked about why, it came down to the fact that, as far as he could see it, giving his life over to Jesus would cost him too much; too much would have to change.

On the surface of things that seemed like a strange sort of thing for him to say. It wasn’t as if his life was given over to greed and crime and immorality. Quite the contrary, he was a really upright citizen – the captain of the local first grade cricket team, a steady girlfriend who he was hoping to marry, a very high sense of morality and decency. He really was a solid citizen. But he knew that if he became a Christian – really, genuinely became Christian – then that would mean handing over control of his life to someone else, to Jesus, and he didn’t want to do that. And so he walked away.

Or another guy I knew, there was a career that he was committed to, and he wanted that more than anything else in all the world. He knew that it was not impossible to be in relationship with God and have a job as a management consultant; but he knew that if he was genuinely in relationship with God, if it was real and not just religious tokenism, then God would have to come first, and God not money would have to rule his life. And so he walked away.

In one way or another, that may be where you are this morning.

You may be here, and you may have come to the conclusion that what is written here in the Bible about God, about the world he made, about our attempt to make ourselves autonomous from God, about his reaction, about relationship with him, is right. You may have talked this all over before with Christian friends; you may have been reading the Bible and have come to the conclusion that the Bible’s explanation of God and us and the meaning of life really makes sense of what it means to be human.

And you might have come to the point where you see that it is intellectually, spiritually, and morally true.

But, you’re hesitating. You’re not quite ready to take that next step. You’re standing at the doorway, taking stock of things before entering in.

And you know what Jesus says? That’s wise. That makes sense. Jesus says: Stop! Don’t do it! Don’t become a Christian. Don’t become my disciple. Not until you’ve given some thought to what it will actually mean for you. Not until you know what difference it will make to be in relationship with him.

We are going to spend these next three Sunday mornings thinking about the difference Jesus makes to life, and; thinking about what difference it would make to life to be in relationship with God through Jesus. And we’re going to do it by looking together at the words of Jesus himself - going back to the person of Jesus and the interactions that he had with the people who he called to follow him. So we’re looking at three chapters in Jesus’ life over these weeks, from the first century biography of Jesus that’s known as the gospel of Luke. We are looking at Luke chapters 14, 15 and 16.

At this stage of the biography, Jesus is on a journey to his death. And as Jesus walks to Jerusalem, where he will be killed, every day the tension, the pressure, the drama escalate. The lines get sharper. Any ambiguity is cleared away. And the pressure mounts. And most of the tension is because the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees, do not like Jesus.

Now, this week we are in chapter 14 of Luke’s account of Jesus’ life, and the action in this chapter takes place in a Pharisee’s house.

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee,

Was it a relaxed social visit?
Did they say, “Jesus, come and have dinner and play a bit of social tennis with us”?

No, look, Verse 1: He was being carefully watched.

They are trying to trap him. There’s tension between them. There’s pressure and hostility from the religiously upright Pharisees. And we will pick up the action in verse 15.

3 God is inviting us his party in heaven 15-23
Verse 15: When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

You know what it’s like when you have said something at the table and it’s been a massive clanger.

And then someone changes the subject and moves on and saves you. Well, this bloke must have wished that someone had done that. But none of his mates are going to rescue him. The Pharisees and Jesus are there and they are all sitting around having dinner, when he says, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

And really what he is saying is, “Aren’t we the lucky ones! We are Pharisees, religious leaders, and we’re on God’s A-list for heaven.” See, this Pharisee is assuming that he will make it to heaven, that he is in the inner club. And Jesus turns and totally undercuts his assumption that he will make it to heaven.

a God’s party is about to start 16
Jesus tells a story, to make his point, verse 16:

A certain man was preparing a great banquet

The man’s there at home, blowing up balloons. That’s what you do if you are organising a party. Organise the roast lamb on a spit, or a barbecue, or whatever it is. And this guy sends out invitations, to come and eat at this great party. I think Jesus means for the people listening to his story to picture the idea of God being there in heaven, getting heaven ready for people to arrive.

And so, verse 16, “he invited many guests.” This is a wide, broad, general invitation — he’s inviting many guests, not just an inner circle.

Now the custom in those days was that if something was happening, if you were organising some event, you sent out invitations twice. There was a preliminary party invitation. But people didn’t have watches. So when the time came for the party, you sent one of your servants around to tell the people who had already agreed to come that dinner was ready, it’s time to come. And the host sends out his messengers to tell them.

See there, verse 17: At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

The music is on! The CD’s running! The dancing is beginning! The balloons are up. We’ve bought the wine. The party pies are thawed. The barbecue plate is heating up out the back...

b People make excuses 18-20
And then look what happens, verse 18: they all alike began to make excuses.

And if you’ve ever staged anything, then you will know how this feels. Just as you are putting the final touches, people start ringing to apologise. They ring to say, “I’m sorry — something really important has come up at the last minute, I’d just love to be there, but, I’m sorry I can’t make it.

Actually, swap roles for a moment. Don’t think about it where it’s your party and they are guests. Think about the situation where it’s someone else’s party, and you’ve been invited. We have done it, haven’t we? We’ve been invited to something, and we’ve dropped out at the last minute.

c Are their excuses reasonable? 18
What about here? What about the excuses?
Verse 18: “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’”

And in a sense we might say that real estate, haulage and relationships are reasonable reasons not to go to a party.

d Our excuses reflect our priorities 18
But they also reflect a person’s priorities.
Look at the first one, Verse 18: The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

Seriously? It’s Saturday night. Do you really need to look at your field at 9 o’clock on a Saturday night? Couldn’t it wait until Monday morning?

It’s a transparent excuse, a see-through excuse: he just doesn’t want to go. Or at least, he doesn’t rate the occasion very highly on the scale - going out to have another look at his new field is a higher priority.

Or test-driving your oxen. You’ve already bought them – is now the time to do the test-drive? And the marriage, Verse 20: Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

It is busy just after you get married. But if you want to go to a party, you will.

All three excuses reflect the people’s priorities. And when we say, “I’m too busy for your party!” We are actually saying, “I am too busy for you. I don’t value you, the host.”

And that is Jesus’ point to the Pharisee. The Pharisee is convinced that he is on the A-list for God’s party. But in reality, in the way that he responds to Jesus, to God’s agent, God’s messenger, God’s own son, he is actually bouncing back the invitation and saying no.”

And it’s been the same, right through time, up to today. People for whom, when push comes to shove, there are things — business, real estate, marriage, boyfriend, girlfriend, family, children, social life, sport, relationships — that are more important than being at God’s great party.

The sad thing is that sometimes, ultimately, our excuses can kill us. Because there comes a time when there are no more invitations, when the party is full. Because Jesus says God is not prepared to sit down in the middle of his empty party and pop balloons and cry! Jesus says God fills up the party with other people.

Look at Verse 21: The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry.

I think God is rightly angry. God’s gone to a lot of trouble organising this great party in heaven, and he’s not going to let the excuse-makers turn the party into a flop.

And so the man: ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

God says, “Bring in the ones that you would never expect to see at this sort of party.” There will be people in heaven that we would never expect to see.

Listen to what Jesus says, Verse 22: ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master [God] told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.’

People do accept the invitation to God’s great party in heaven. But it’s not those people who have sport, business, family, real estate as such a high priority that they have no time for Jesus — because they do not value him as a person. If we want relationship with God, then we have to relate to him as God; as the very highest priority in our lives.

e Who misses out on God’s party? 21-24
And if God isn’t a priority? Look at what Jesus says in Verse 24: I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet. And the message is clear. If we refuse Jesus’ free invitation, then we won’t get a seat at the party.

4 Counting the cost of God’s free invitation to party in heaven 25-33
But, just before we RSVP ‘yes’ to the invitation, we need to grasp this: although the invitation is free (paid for in Jesus’ death), there are extraordinary implications for accepting it. Jesus says to stop and count the cost before you accept the invitation.

Jesus challenges the Pharisees, and he challenges us, not to accept the invitation until we have worked out the major implications.
a Are we prepared to hate our family? 26
And Jesus says this to everyone, in Verse 25: Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “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.

“If you want to come to me,” Jesus says, “Then you can’t — you mustn’t — unless you hate your family!” What? I don’t think Jesus is saying you must actually hate them. But rhetorically, Jesus is saying, “Your love and devotion to me must be so significant that it is as if, by comparison, you hate your family.” When there’s a choice between family and Jesus, it’s Jesus first. Jesus is saying, “Your devotion and commitment to me is primary.”

Even if your family say, “Follow this path and it will split the family”… “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.”

b Are we prepared to carry our cross? 27
Second implication, second challenge, second cost: Jesus’ challenge to carry the cross.
See verse 27: And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Jesus makes it unmistakeably clear that following him is not a cheap, easy kind of spiritual insurance policy. Christian evangelists - especially the TV evangelists - are sometimes accused of ‘easy-believism’ - just sign on the dotted line, walk down the aisle at the end of the meeting, say “I believe in Jesus” and you’ll go to heaven when you die - and send us your donation in the mail. People sometimes assume that is what ‘faith in Jesus’ means; that it’s just a matter of intellectual assent; that it’s about nothing more than saying the right words, getting the right ideas.

But that’s not what Jesus says faith in him amounts to. He says it involves walking in his steps. It involves taking up your own cross and following him. It involves letting go of that compulsion that comes from inside our hearts; that compulsion that is reinforced by almost every voice in our society - letting go of the compulsion to live for yourself and to live to get what you can get for yourself in this world. It involves letting go of all that and following Jesus, handing over the rights to your life and saying, because he has given his life in place of mine, my life is now no longer my own.

c What’s the bottom line? 33
What’s the bottom line?
See it there in 33: In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

5 A personal invitation from Jesus?
Now, just imagine:
You walk out of the building this morning. You walk out to the street, you’re just standing there by your car and Jesus — risen from the dead, Lord of the universe — comes up to you. And Jesus says to you, “Could we have a word?” And you say, “Sure. We’ve been thinking about you, just this morning.”

And then Jesus says, “I would like you to come follow me!”

What do you say? “Can I bring my car? I’ve got my keys here!” And Jesus says, “No, leave your car behind.” “Can I bring my wallet, my purse, my money?” “No, leave your wallet, purse behind.”

“Can I duck home quickly and pack a few things – just a suitcase full.” “No, leave it behind.”

“Can I bring my photographs, my résumé, my references?” “No, leave your photographs, your résumé, your references.”

“Can I bring my friends?” “No, leave your friends behind!”

“Can I bring my hair dryer?” “No, leave your hair dryer behind.”

Now, I put it in the hypothetical of the imaginary conversation out in the street. But really, that is what Jesus is saying to us today. Here on the page. Jesus is saying God is inviting you to spend eternity in his presence in heaven. He wants you to come.

So will we count the cost and drive off home? Or will we count the cost and come?

And it may well be that next Sunday morning, when Jesus tells the Bible’s greatest story, of the heavenly father welcoming home the son who had wandered away and then come back, and throwing a great party to welcome him home, that you want to come home and be part of that party. And at the end of the sermon next Sunday, I will lead us in praying along those lines.

For many of us, that won’t be a rash decision. There’s been a whole lot of thinking. And you might say, “Yep, I am going to come to God’s party. I am going to put relationship with God through Jesus in front of my wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, money, car, mortgage, holiday, job, prestige, children…”

Now when you have done that, Jesus may well say to you, “Now, your wife — part of the way you serve me is to love her – faithfully, devotedly, whole-heartedly.” In fact, if you’re married, that’s what he does say.

Jesus may say, “Go back to your job and do it well and do it with integrity.” But Jesus may say, “Be a missionary to China.”

We need to stop and count the cost. But don’t procrastinate, because Jesus says God won’t issue the invitations forever. We have a lot to think about, don’t we. I’m going to pray for us as we think these things over.