June 9, 2024 "When Jesus Shows Us A Deep Sense Of Purpose"

ReNew Ames Messages

It's pretty clearly established that Jesus is a terrible salesman when he tells people to follow him. He has 4 conversations that challenge people with what he's selling. But what is he selling? 1) He's selling rejection and extreme patience. Jesus gets rejected by Samaritans - a bunch of people who believe different things about all the things. James and John want to call down fire from heaven to burn the village (WTF, right?). Jesus rebukes them. Just like the disciples we have the capacity to lead with anger instead of love. Jesus rebukes that. I imagine he reminds them that to follow Jesus is to bring life, not death - even if it's to people who disagree with us. 2) Jesus is selling movement and constant change. He has no place to lay his head. Homeless Jesus. The call to follow Jesus is the call to always move, always learn, always grow, always change. Change is hard - not sure I'm buying what Jesus is selling. 3) Jesus is selling disruption and disorientation. Dude just wants to take care of his family obligations before following. I think the thing Jesus is selling here is a testing of our loyalties. Following Jesus comes with a certain detachment to all other commitments. Jesus if primary. That means our families and other relationships. even prior beliefs may be disrupted. 4) Jesus is selling a sense of urgency. We always have excuses for not following when the call of God comes. Jesus is all, don't hesitate - if you're gonna hesitate, don't follow. Sheesh! Look, Jesus might be a horrible salesperson – but at least he’s honest. And if we’re honest, we know he’s telling the truth. We know that Jesus has the cure for our boredom and hunger. He knows we have this deep hunger for a sense of real value and purpose in this life. Jesus seems to be so hard on us because he too has a sense of urgency on our behalf. He knows that what we really yearn for is transformation and renewal. So Jesus says, “Follow me. Come, die with me. Die to all of that other stuff so that you can truly live.” Speaker: Aaron Vis Scripture: Luke 9:51-62 https://www.bible.com/events/49272456