Brother Danny Sanders Sunday Morning 11/4/12

Brother Danny Sanders Sunday Morning 11/4/12

Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Isa 6:4  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Isa 6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Isa 6:6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

Isa 6:7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Isa 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

The chosen ones are those that have yielded to God and are come into a relationship with Him where they are able to hear the call.  It will come as a still small voice and will come with a natural yearning in our soul to answer the call to God’s service.

The unconditional call to God’s service is the burden on my heart this morning.  Suppose God were to tell you to do something that would go completely against your common sense, what would you do?  If He were to speak to you in that still small voice in the still of the night, “My son or daughter I have something for you to do.” But it flies in the face of common sense, what would you do?

Gen 22:1  And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

Gen 22:2  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

As I read I can only imagine what Abraham must have been thinking, to offer Isaac his only son.  It flew right into the promise that God had made already to Abraham.

Gen 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Gen 17:19  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

Not everything about serving God will make sense to us; nor does the Word of God tell us that it will be easy.  It is not an experience that costs nothing and gives everything.  There is no forgiveness without repentance, or following without believing, or consecration without commitment.

God does require of us what He did of Abraham.  He does expect us to put Him first and put our all on the altar. 

Luk 9:57  And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

Luk 9:58  And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

You get the impression by reading this scripture that this man wasn’t considering what his words meant.  There will be a sacrifice when we serve God.  We must set some things aside even of those things that we consider to be legitimate.

I’m willing to follow thee, but:

Luk 9:59  And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Luk 9:60  Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Luk 9:61  And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

Luk 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

God you know that I love you and am willing to serve you, but… First let me achieve this one thing in my life.  I’m willing, but let me first…  But…

We cannot put God on a calendar.  The difference we see here in Luke from what we saw in Genesis:

Gen 22:3  And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Abraham rose up early: an obedience acted out with a sense of urgency even with the possible loss of that one thing that Abraham cherished so much. 

What is your one thing?  Abraham did not say, “God I’m willing but, let me first… I will follow your instructions but…” 

He rose up early and did so with a sense of urgency.  How will we respond?  God help us that we would be willing to rise up early and do so with a sense of urgency. 

1Ki 17:1  And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

1Ki 17:2  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

1Ki 17:3  Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

1Ki 17:4  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

1Ki 17:5  So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

1Ki 17:6  And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

1Ki 17:7  And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

1Ki 17:8  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

1Ki 17:9  Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

1Ki 17:10  So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

1Ki 17:11  And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

1Ki 17:12  And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

1Ki 17:13  And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

1Ki 17:14  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.

1Ki 17:15  And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

1Ki 17:16  And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

This widow was in an extraordinarily desperate situation.  For the widow woman to relinquish her last morsel, her last connection to substance and put her child in accelerated harm’s way it seems unthinkable to common sense.  Yet she immediately obeyed by faith.  She must have been serving God faithfully before this because she was able to hear the still small voice and thus the unconditional call to God’s service.  She was willing to put herself in harm’s way to be obedient to God’s Word.

God was wanting to see if He was first in Abraham’s esteem.  Those things that we hold so precious, those things that we would say, “Lord I am willing but…,” cannot come in the way of God’s call.

Luk 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

To look back after being called to God’s service expresses a desire for those things of the world.  How effective can we expect to be if we are always looking back or trying to hang onto the things that we have left behind? 

Learn from the rich young ruler.  Jesus is looking for a commitment that comes with a cost, not just a decision.  Too many have made a decision to believe in Jesus without counting the cost.  Commitment to Jesus is a commitment to follow with a personal cost. 

Too many have made a ‘decision’ failing to realize the cost of commitment and the unconditional call to God’s service.  It is more than just raising the hand, saying a prayer, or coming forward.

As Jesus dealt with the rich young ruler it was to show that serving Him would require a commitment.  Daniel couldn’t follow God without being required to be thrown into the lion’s den.  Moses had to stand before Pharaoh, and the rich young ruler couldn’t make it without counting the cost.

Luk 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Luk 14:29  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

Luk 14:30  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Luk 14:31  Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Luk 14:32  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

Luk 14:33  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:34  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?

Luk 14:35  It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

There needs to be some counting of the cost as we serve God, just as there was when we put in for sanctification.  It is a contract between God and us with the pages left blank to be filled out by God and we willingly sign the bottom, not knowing what the pages will contain. 

We signed our name and God filled in the blanks.  Has that changed?  Is there anything in our lives that we haven’t laid on the altar?  Have we laid on the altar our time, our dreams, our goals, our children, our family? 

Is there anything that is not on the altar?  Can you still sign your name at the bottom? Or after all these years have you inserted, “Lord I will follow you, but…” 

Lot’s wife was not willing to lay her Isaac on the altar, but Abraham was.  Do we have an Isaac that we haven’t laid on the altar?  Is there something that would cause us to look back? 

Brother Sam told a story of an Indian that was seeking after sanctification.  As I remember it, this man who was seeking after sanctification, was looking with God at his life and those things that he hadn’t laid at the altar.  He looked at his prize possessions and laid his blanket at the altar, next his saddle.  After laying them at the altar he still didn’t feel the clearness that he wanted with God.  He next brought the horse up to the altar and God was still dealing with him. 

God is dealing with us: I knelt at the altar this morning.  I prayed, “Lord I don’t want to have the attitude of Lord I’ll follow you but…”

We need to lay self at the altar; that is where it needs to be left.  The Indian brought his all, an unconditional surrender of self.

Lord I know that you can do a lot of things, but not this area of my life, not now.  God said, “Follow me.” 

You might say, “Try it on this one first and let’s see how he deals with it.”  NO, God said, “Follow me.”

Luk 9:55  But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

Luk 9:56  For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

Have you something in your life that you’ve held onto?  Is something keeping you from going all the way with God?  God is not here to destroy lives but to save them.  We serve a mighty God that is true to His promise.  He is not here to mess you up. 

I’d rather face anything in my life here as face it in the judgment.  I’d rather be clear now than to hear, “Depart thou worker of iniquity.” 

Have you come to church with a huge problem on your shoulder?  Jesus wants you to lay it on the altar and follow Him.  We must decrease and He must increase. 

The devil wants us to believe that if we lay all on the altar then there will be no way to go forward.  Don’t believe him this morning, he is a liar.  Human logic and understanding must be laid aside in order for Him to increase and us to decrease.

We must lay it aside so that we can fulfill His command, “Go to all the world.”  How can we answer the call with, “Here am I send me,” if we are burdened down with the cares of this life?

Luk 10:3  Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

This isn’t the call from an institution or a movement or a charismatic individual but the call of “Here am I send me.” 

The disciples left their life and turned to God immediately to follow Him.

Mat 4:18  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Mat 4:20  And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

They didn’t ask for time to sell their ship or take care of the fishes that they had just caught, they straightway left.

Mar 2:13  And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.

Mar 2:14  And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

When he makes a call there needs to be a sense of urgency to follow without complaint.  The unconditional call to God’s service, unreserved and unrestricted.  We do not come with reservations or restrictions, “God you can have this part, but I want to keep this other.” 

I have my mind made up, I’m not going to turn back; I’m going to see my Jesus. 

Will you answer the call?  Don’t consider what people would think, or how long you have been professing, there is not too much to give up.  How much can you take with you?  You may not like to admit that you are wrong, but it is better here than the judgment.  Will you answer God’s call unconditionally?