No looking back
Key Passage: Luke 9:59-62
Date: June 7, 2024
Turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to Luke chapter number nine. Luke chapter number nine in God’s word this morning. I appreciate those that are involved in the music ministry and how important it is. Luke chapter number nine, would you give me just a little bit more volume if you would please?
That would be great. Luke chapter number nine. I believe the Lord would have us focus on this subject: Why so many quit? I don’t know. And I’m not trying to dictate why every person quits. When I preach this message, I don’t want you to just think I’m talking about this church. I’m not. I’m talking about quitting on the Lord, doing the obvious thing God wants you to do—those things. They just quit on the Lord.
We live in the Bible Belt, and so you’ll see it fairly common. You’ll talk to a co-worker or someone at the restaurant, and so I’m saved. I used to go to church or used to serve the Lord, but I just dropped out. Now, I’m not saying everyone is this reason, but this is a very common scenario the way it happens.
I think God will just have us focus on a little bit this morning, so that will not happen with you. And sometimes it kind of helps you to not or maybe get pulled by the way. And if you understand how to help some people sometime too.
So Luke chapter number nine in God’s Word. And we’re going to start in verse number 59. If you’re there this morning, would you say amen?
Let’s stand if you would, please. If you’re able to, just to show the Word of God respect, Luke 9 and verse 59. And he, this Jesus, sat into another. Follow me. I want you to notice we won’t take time to do it. Verse number 57, it talks about following him. All together, it’s about three or four times. The subject here is about following Jesus. Just want you to note that. That’s the subject here, this context: following Jesus. Another, follow me. But he said, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
We’re just going to pause. I want you to understand before we pray, and then we’ll just try to get the message. There was a tradition at that time in that parts that often people would live with their parent, mom and dad, until they died, specifically here the dad. And they would hang out at home before their dad would die and they’d bury them. And then they kind of start their own life. And of course, Jesus is not for that. He’s for us taking care of our parents. But I want you to understand kind of the tradition that’s going on here when he says these words.
But he says, verse number 60, Jesus said in him, “Let the dead bury the dead.” Time out just a second. I know we’re talking all through it, but I want you to get it. I don’t think necessarily Jesus was saying, well, let the dead bury the dead. Can you imagine in a funeral home four dead bodies? And three of them hop up and say, well, let’s bury old Fred over there, and to bury him. And then the, you know, the two left, they bury the other guy. Then one left buried. Who’s going to bury the last guy, you know?
I don’t think necessarily he’s talking about the dead. I think a little bit, maybe a little meaning to an extra meaning to it: the spiritually dead. The world. Let the world take care about that.
By the way, the Jewish, typically the father trained the son in a trade, and he became as a prince of his 13, very significant with Jesus, and trained him. And maybe a little bit, he’s saying, hey, you know, let the world take care of those things. We’ve got something we’ve got a great commission we’re about. We’ve got something awesome. We’re following the King of Kings.
By the way, following the King of the Kings doesn’t make you less of a family member; it makes you better of a family member. So we’re not trying to down family relationships.
But notice what he says, verse number 60, another, I’m sorry, verse number 60, I’m out of place. Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bear the dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
And another old said, “Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.” Now he said, I’m not going to wait till they die. I want to go tell them by. By the way, I don’t think that’s wrong. Elijah asked Elijah if he could do that. And Elijah said, go do that. And maybe the next passage is even a little bit, a little bit goes back to that. I don’t think that it’s wrong, but Jesus here takes the opportunity to teach a very, very important lesson.
Now, look, when you set in yourselves to follow Jesus, he said, I want to tell you something off the bat here. We’re about to get this lesson. And Jesus has taken the opportunity to teach. And I want you to see, we’re trying to get the context in here, we’re just going to focus on this last verse here. Notice what Jesus says to this guy here, verse number 62: “And Jesus said into him, No man…” Doesn’t matter how spiritual he is, how much Bible he knows, and how much at a heart for the Lord. “…no man having put his hands to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Now I’ve got that fit underlined, underscored in my Bible, fit for the kingdom of God.
It’s not necessarily talking about getting saved here. Notice he says, put your hands on the plow. Following Jesus is the context. It’s much more than getting saved. It’s becoming a disciple—one that’s disciplined himself to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s talking about someone that’s going to work.
How many have you ever used a plow before? You used a plow? Yeah. Whether it be a rototiller, whatever may be in our day in time, or a tractor plow, whatever. I mean, man, there’s work involved. I’ve never used workhorses or a mule. We used to have a couple guys in our church. Anybody ever used a plow? Brother Tim has. Look at that. Brother Tim’s got the spot right there. And Brother Ted, wow, look at that. I’ve never used that kind of a plow. I’ve used one of those plows that would have it in Florida where you just, it’s got the wheel up front, and then you’ve got a little spade and you push that and you push it, you know, as much as you can as a teenage boy, you know. But, man, I’ll tell you what, no matter what you do, a plow is work. Man, you get blisters on your hand. I work one finger and thumb off. I mean, it’s work, Fred, you know. But this guy’s willing to work. He is not one of those—sometimes I call it in the spiritual museum—man, they just look like they’re all that, but they never do anything for God. This guy’s willing to work. He’s put his hands to the plow.
Another observation before we really get to the heart of it. Number one: The Bible doesn’t say that he’s quit yet. Doesn’t say that. Just said he’s looked back. Just kind of stick that in your head.
Number two: It does not say he will not go to heaven. It doesn’t say that. If it said that, that would go against plenty of other places in the Bible that says once you get saved, you can’t lose your salvation. Well, it was John 10:28: “I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave me them is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” You’re not teaching you can lose your salvation. It doesn’t say this fellow doesn’t go to heaven. Now we’re just trying to build some things.
Number three: Before we get at the heart of it, Kingdom of God. What does the Bible mean when it says Kingdom of God? A little different than the Kingdom of Heaven. God, I believe it includes heaven, but it’s very inclusive. Let me just read for you. You’re in Luke anyway. Look over Luke chapter number 17. Luke chapter number 17, since you’re there in this book already, Luke 17. We’re trying to put a little definition on this Kingdom of God very quickly here. Luke 17. And just look at the bottom part. This is Jesus’ answer to verse number 20. Red letters, if you have a red letter edition there. Luke 17:20: “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
It’s more than just heaven, but it’s you allowing heaven in your life. It’s you allowing the King of Heaven to have control. You become part of the Kingdom of God, if you will. You’re letting that kingdom rule and reign in your life. You can have a taste of heaven here on earth. There’s much more than that. It’ll be heaven one day, but it’s the Kingdom of God in your life and your heart.
So let’s try to put this all together here. It’s not necessarily talking about salvation. It’s talking about working for the Lord. Y’all with me out here? I’m trying to figure out what is Jesus trying to say here. I’m getting nitpicky. I hope not too much, but could you turn me down just about half of what you got me? Somewhere in the middle right there. We’ll get there. About 12:30 will be there. Amen. We’ll get it all right.
Number one: Not talking about salvation, it’s talking about following Jesus, working for Jesus. Number two: It didn’t say he quit yet. He’s looking back. Number three: It doesn’t say he’s not going to heaven. And number four: Kingdom of God has to do within your life and your heart observation.
So what does this mean? This man has decided to work for the Lord. He’s put his hands on the plow, but he looks back. By the way, it’s pretty hard to plow a straight row when you’re looking back. You know what I mean? I mean, how many with the rototiller try to make us try? That’s even hard with a rototiller, you know? Especially got those old ones that kind of beat you have to death, like we got out of our house, you know. But he’s looking back, and it doesn’t say he’s not going to go to heaven. He says he’s not fit for the Kingdom of God.
Can I put it this way? He doesn’t fit into the Kingdom of God. He doesn’t feel at home there. He doesn’t feel like that’s where he ought to be. He doesn’t fit in the Kingdom of God.
A couple weeks ago on a Friday night, I was trying to score some points with my bride. Amen. And my wife grew up—tell this part where you’re born out and grew up part of it. She said, “No, don’t do that.” I’ll add a word. I’ll add a word. She was born and she grew up in South New Jersey. How about that?
Those Jersey girls, you got to watch out for them, I’m telling you. And she was actually kind of born on an island down in Cape May and Wildwood, New Jersey. Anybody know where that is? Way down there. Are you from New Jersey? Fill it out. I feel like. Wow, y’all have to talk after a sudden. Real close. Don’t mess with those two ladies right there. They’ve got switchblades, man. They’ll get you. But she really was, I think, born on an island, if I remember, what’s it called? Cape May Township? What is it? Cape May County, they’re called there.
And so here’s what I’m getting at. She loves the water. I mean, she, like, grew up a lot, you know, right next to the water, and so she loves it, and I’m trying to score points, so I got this bright idea. I’m going to take her to, like, some of these places, these marinas where they have a restaurant on the water. Man, I’m going to swear, I’m going to score some points, you know, we’re going to float around them with knock while we’re eating, and everything will be wonderful. You know, and so Center Hill Lake is a beautiful lake. Anybody know what I’m talking about? And clear water and all that. And I checked out, you know, this boy was trying to do something big. And sometimes I have a Cadillac appetite on a Volkswagen budget. You know what I’m talking about? That was me right there, you know. And so I was checking these prices out and stuff. I said, well, we’ll go to this one. Not too bad there, you know.
And we drove, and I was surprising her. She didn’t know where we were going to go. We drove out there sitting there, beautiful right out there. And we stopped this marina, and we never been there, you know, one time in our whole life. And we got to get out. You walk down the little walkways, you know, into the dock, and then there’s a restaurant there. And we walk into the restaurant, and the part we walk into, it just seemed like, oh, maybe 95% bar, 5% restaurant. Anybody don’t know what I’m talking about? And we look like two calves looking at a new gate. We’re like, whoa. Deer caught in headlights for sure. Whoa, man, what we just walk into, you know? We were thinking a restaurant. And we didn’t fit. You don’t talk about it. We just didn’t fit.
Now, the good thing, it had part of it here that’s outside, and it’s had coverings, and really we like that better, and it caused me to get out there, and we ate right by the water, there’s a rail, and we’re right by the water, and man, there was fish all over, because I know people feeding them, so fish all over, bluegill all down there, turtles all down there, and ducks. But we just had a good time because you throw it out, man, I’ll attack each other trying to get to, you know. We loved it, you know. We were trying to get to the turtles, but every time you try to get to the turtles, those ducks would just trample the heads of those turtles and get the food. It’s fun to watch, you know. We’re learning spiritual stuff here today, I’ll tell you for sure.
But as soon as we walked in, they were like, we knew we don’t fit here. It’s just not the place for us. And so we said, can we eat outside? You know, on the dock over there. Sure. And so we walked through. And as we was walking through, I said, why is a mocker and strong drink is raging? No, I didn’t say that. Get that beer out of your hand. No, I didn’t do all that. That’s when the fight started, right? I don’t know where that came from that part. But we went outside and we ate, had a great time. Well, we went there, didn’t fit.
Now, that’s exactly what Jesus is saying. Now, look, he said, look, if you grab a hold of the plow, when you start working for the Lord, and you start looking back, you don’t fit in.
The Bible Belt here, so many in the Bible belt, I’ve already mentioned it, but hey, let me tell you about Christ, let me tell you how you can go to heaven. Hey, let me tell you the best news in all the world. I’ve heard all that. I’m a born-again Christian. I know it’s the shed blood of Jesus Christ that pays for my sins. I know he’s my only way to heaven; nothing I can do to get to heaven. I have put my full faith in Christ. Wow. Praise the Lord for that. But I never knew that. I worked with you five years and those words, I never dreamed that. I don’t know church anymore. I don’t do that religious thing anymore, whatever it may be. And usually kind people. But my friend, typically somewhere along the line, they were very involved. They had their hands on the plow and they started looking back.
Remember the children of Israel? God had brought them out of Egypt, and they were going through the wilderness going over there to the promised land, and they came to some tough times. By the way, tough times when you were always tempted to look back right on there. And they came through those tough times, and they started looking back, and they said, “Man, I remember the watermelons and the leeks and all these things we had in Egypt. And boy, I’d like to go back to Egypt.”
Now, here’s this sad thing. This sad thing: in Egypt, they were in bondage. They were slaves. And yet they started looking back. And a friend, you know, the honest truth is, in many ways they didn’t fit in the Kingdom of God, and they ended up wandering through that wilderness altogether for 40 years.
And when I start looking back at low times in my life, when I backslid and I’ve started looking back, I don’t fit in real well in the Kingdom of God. And it’s very close. I’m beginning to take the wrong fork in the road that leads down to misery and heartbreak. And often it is so much harder to get a backslidden Christian back living for God than it is for a lost person to get him saved. And it’s such a sad thing.
And boy, it’s always sad to see it in someone’s life. Man, they’re excited about the things of God, and they’re in church, and they’re loving it all, and they’re involved. And they’re just, anything’s going on. Scripture calling, “Now, count me in!” You know, they’re just involved. And then they go through a tough time. All of us go through tough times. Maybe it’s financial, maybe it’s sickness, maybe it’s somebody at church did them wrong.
By the way, you get a group of 150 people together—I don’t care if it’s a Brotherford County Baptist Church, I don’t care if it’s a tractor pull or the rodeo or I don’t care if it’s at Walmart—there’s going to be problems, friends, because they’re people. You can say amen right there. It doesn’t matter if they’re Baptist, Presbyterian, or whatever they are, you know, Zimbabweans; there’s going to be a problem because they’re people. And so problems happen. And here’s what that involved person, they’re happy, happy. And after a bit, they’re not so involved.
Scripture calling? Well, that’s about the dumbest thing in the world. They ought to buy a machine to do that. I don’t say you’d donate a million dollars, they’ll do it, friend, you know. It’s just every angle. And they don’t fit; they become a little bit awkward, if you will, in the Kingdom of God.
And here’s the temptation when you get, and all of us kind of there from time to time. Don’t know that you know, there. Take the mask off. We’re all there from time to time now. And here’s what the temptation, when I get there, we get there: you know, the next thing we’re doing, we just, because we’re not fit, so we want to kind of start critiquing and criticizing. How many have ever heard that song, “Excuses, Excuses”?
Excuses, excuses. I ain’t going to sing it for you because I can’t sing, and I can’t remember all the words either. The part I always remember is, “He didn’t even shake my hand.” You know, you don’t know Mary Dempsey can do that part, you know. She did it before, but a while she was singing, amen. And while she was joking…
But that’s what it becomes. It literally becomes like that. You’ll meet them all over the place. “Well, this church did this, this church did this.” And I’m not saying the church was perfect, but there is no perfect church. You’ve heard it said so many times: If there’s a perfect church, don’t join it; you’ll mess it up. It’s true. But the temptation is just look for every flaw in the kingdom.
And then so often that the dropout—and church isn’t the only thing, I want to emphasize that—so drop out of reading their Bible, prayer, and all those things consistently, or forgiving and witnessing, whatever it may be, all those things, the Kingdom of God. And our temptation to get critical, and then the next temptation is to justify. “Well, what’s the wrong with my music? Why can’t I? What’s the wrong with such and such?” Because we look back and we’ve taken our hands off next to him, and we want to try to just justify it.
And Jesus here is talking; he’s saying, hey, when you go tell family goodbye, and does it mean that two family members can’t serve God together? That’s the first thing, that’s the main thing, what you like, if you can. That means that. But he’s saying when you say goodbye, if you will, to the old life, and I’m going to follow Jesus, he said, I want you to be aware of what happens. He said, you put your hand to the plow, and it doesn’t matter who it is. “No man putting his hands to the plow looking back,” he doesn’t fit.
He don’t fit anymore. And he feels out of place around the Kingdom of God, around the things of God, and just something’s not right.
I think about sometimes you’ll sit in young people’s lives. I think about years and years ago, a young man—I love him, and I mean that. I’m talking about 18, 20 years ago in our church, and his parents came. His parents brought him, but you could tell that boy didn’t want to be there. They made—he had good parents—his parents made him put his hands to the plow. Now it’s kind of like they strapped his hands to the plow, even, because he didn’t want to, but they made him work. And I mean that. I remember his dad would run one of our bands at the time and everything’s, and his dad would make him hold the plow, if you will. But the whole time, you can almost tell it—now his brother and sister, not so much—but you can tell that boy always, he must have had a rubber neck. My right neck gets sore, always looking back all the time, you know.
And he got old enough. They moved to another state before, but when he moved to another state, they got old enough, and man alive, he went the way he was looking because he didn’t fit. By the way, you could tell, you could tell he wanted to fit in so bad with the world because he didn’t fit real good with the kingdom. And everything he could kind of get by with his parents, whether it be his dress, his music, whatever, he’s always just kind of pushing the fence because he didn’t fit in the Kingdom of God. And so when all the fences were opened up and he could do what he wanted to, man, he just went that way. And I love this boy. But can I say he wrecked his life. Not too long ago, he passed.
And his dad called me. He said, “You know,” he said, “before he passed, I was able to talk to him. And he said, when we’re at that church, we’re a storefront building, and that’s where I am saved. That’s what I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.” They’re always looking back. He never fit. That’s what Jesus is talking about.
Now let me just ask you real quickly this morning. I’m trying to be quick. Where do you fit? I understand Christians and people and churches have different personalities. I get that. I’m not even saying you’ve got to go to this church. We’ve got a weird personality because usually the church follows the personality the pastor, so it’s a little crazy. I understand. I mean, come on. The guy doesn’t even have ten fingers, you know. What can you say? But every church has different personalities. They really do. And if you don’t fit here, I’m not necessarily talking about personality this morning, but…
And here’s the thing: if I’m around somewhere where they love God, they love the Bible, they love people being saved, they love answers to prayer, I ought to fit somewhat. Where do you fit? Do you fit in the Kingdom of God? If I’m not fitting in the Kingdom of God, there might be some kind of trouble there.
Can I say this? I ought not to fit in too good down here in this world. I ought to feel like an odd boy a little bit every once in a while. Six times the Bible calls us peculiar people. I understand. Everybody tries to explain what that means, but friend, I’ll just take what it says right now. And six times the Bible says, he said, we ought to be peculiar people. I like that old song, “This world is not my home; I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.” And somehow, sometimes I ought to say, I just don’t fit in down here. I’m ready to go home one day. And if I fit in, if I fit in too much down here, and I just fit in with all the philosophies and all the talk and all the trash down here, something is not right in my life.
Here’s the sad thing you see sometimes: us Christians, we want to kind of have one foot in the Kingdom of God and then the other foot in the kingdom of the world. And friend, if you would, let me say it this way: you’re not going to fit in over here. That’s why Joshua said, “Hey, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I’m going to put my hands to the plow; I ain’t looking back. That’s why Elijah on Mount Carmel—Carmel, however you say it, I can’t pronounce English properly anyway, you know—but Elijah, he came to the people and he said, “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him.” He’s saying, hey, get your hands on the plow and look. I’m going to serve God.
This morning we turned on, we listened to our house—we had speakers to the house, and we returned. I think my wife, she turned on, I think it was ACDC or Kiss. Was it? And I went and turned… I scored points earlier; I just lost all the points. No, we listened to KVC. It’s from North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, California. And we listened to that. And they were playing that song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” And I love it. And one of those verses says, “The world behind me, the cross before me.” Notice, wasn’t “no.” And he says, hey, he says, I’m going to follow him, and I’m not looking back. And I’m not planning on change, and I’m not contemplating. If it wasn’t for living for the Lord, what could I be doing on Sunday? Sage is, Brother Joshua, need you a teacher that women can’t be preachers? Would you please teach you that? I’m teaching. She’s preaching back there. No. No. Where’s your mind’s eye? Where is it looking at?
This man here was a—he was still in there. He still had his hands looking back. He didn’t fit the Kingdom of God. And I ought to fit with God’s things. I’m not saying God’s people are perfect; they’re not.
Can I say this just kind of standing up for God’s people in the church? It’s kind of like the devil’s old whipping post in our day and time. Everybody wants to criticize God’s people in the church. You find it all over on the radio and everywhere. It’s just kind of the standard thing about our day and time. But friend, the best people in the world are God’s people. The best organization in the world is the church. Those same people that criticize the church and criticize you sometime when they need some help, they come to you because they know somebody wants some money. I think in their last building, and I can’t remember the circumstance, but I remember he got mad at me. “Well, you’re a bunch of hypocrites and all that.” So every once in a while, you get that righteous indignation going, you know. And I got a little mad. I didn’t point my right here; I’ll point my left finger. Amen. You know? I say, hey, look, if we’re so bad, why is it when you want some money, why’d you come to the church? Because you know there are good people in the church. You wouldn’t have anything to say. But, friend, you ought to fit somewhere there. You ought not to fit too well with the world.
Years ago, before we came here, we were in Jacksonville, Florida. I worked at North Florida Shipyard, and they had some jobs up in Newport News, Virginia. We had shipped some stacks, smokestacks, some big huge oil tankers up there on the barge, and they put it on the ships, and then it didn’t fit. You’ve got to go up there retrofit and all that stuff.
And so I said, “All right, I’ll go there.” And so we went up there, and this is maybe just a handful of those five or six of us guys, maybe five guys. I can’t remember. But I think every one of the men were lost. We went up there to a large shipyard, and I’m not saying all shipyards and everybody at the works in the shipyards bad, but they’re not typically known for cleanliness. You know what I’m talking about. The language isn’t typically the best day, you know. And so I’m working at the shipyard in daytime. We go back, we’re living in the motel, and all of us guys. And, you know, we didn’t have Bible studies in all the motel rooms. You understand what I’m saying, you know?
I’ll never forget. It was when Holyfield and Tyson fought, and it’s when Holyfield—or Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear, you know. And it wasn’t in the motel room. That’s my only regret. I wanted to watch that crazy thing, you know, especially when I hear about the ear biting, you know, but my flesh may be doing. But anyway, we’re there. And man, I tell you what, after about a week of just filthy language and talk and that motel and the shipyard and all that, man, I just, I got weary of it all. Me and another fella could drive the company vehicle, and the fellas wanted me to take them to a bar all the time. I’m not taking them to a bar. Man, I had flack every angle, and just, man, just after about a week of it, you just get tired of it. Man, it was a good thing when we got our job done. We’re going back home. Man, we went home and I went back to church. Man, it was so refreshing.
Songs about Zion, God’s people, happy, cheerful, trying to encourage each other. Preaching from God’s word. It was a total atmosphere change. It’s kind of like when I sat down in church, I said, “This is where I fit.” That’s where it ought to be. I just have fit in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is saying, boy, if I got my hands on the plow, I’m not going to fit.
Now let’s say here. We’re done. There’s 10 points under this last thing, though. Amen. Just trying to emphasize some points I thank God would have us do. This last thing: It is so crucial where you’re looking. It is so crucial what you’re looking at.
Remember what Jeremiah said over there in Lamentations? He said, “Mine eye affecteth my heart.” See the two principles how to go together? What did it say over in the New Testament? “The light of the body is the eye.” It’s not a coincidence that Satan has so many devices in our day and time for our eyes. It’s at the malls, it’s billboards, it’s everywhere. Now we got it, and I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’ve got a smartphone too, but we got it here. I mean, just everywhere, something for your eyes. He’s a prince of the power of the air, and boy, he’s got so many devices for our eyes.
He’ll get you where you’re not content with your house anymore and your property anymore by what you’re looking at. He’ll get you where you’re not content with your vehicle by looking at another vehicle. He’ll get you, if you’re not careful, if you let him kind of steer your eyes, he’ll get you where you’re not happy with your spouse anymore because you’re looking at another spouse somewhere. He’ll get you where you’re not happy with your church because of where your eyes are happy. He’ll get you where you’re not happy with your job because of where your eyes are up. Friend, I’m saying your eyes are crucial. That’s why Jesus said, “looking back.” Notice that: looking, looking back. And if I get there, I won’t fit.
It’s a sad thing. You know, some people in their marriage, they started looking back. “Well, what if I was married to somebody else? What if I was here? What if I was there?” And after a while, they didn’t fit. I’m just telling you, your eyes, your eyes. It’s so crucial where we are looking. It’s vital.
I think this man was a born-again Christian. I think he was saved. I don’t know that it tells me that, but a fellow that’s willing to put his hands to the plow, I think it’s a pretty good fella. He said, “Let me go home and bid them farewell.” I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it. I’m going to serve the Lord. I think the guy was saved. I think it came a point in his life when he realized I’m a sinner, can’t save myself. Jesus is my only hope. I’m not going to trust him what I can do. I’m going to trust him. Jesus, would you pay for me? Would you save me? Praise the Lord! I don’t think that changed. Doesn’t say he can’t go to heaven.
And by the way, if you have not been saved today, it would have been a great day if you’d be saved. Well, the Bible says today is a day of salvation. Except a day of day of salvation. Great day to get saved. You’ll be headed to home in heaven. Great day.
But if you’re saved, Satan, once he gets you where it loses you—excuse me, he loses you—and you grab a hold of the plow, the next thing he tries to get you to do is he’s always busy about that. He’ll do that by putting about a million things: “Hey, look over here!” Well, he’ll do that by in the Kingdom of God, show you every flaw you can ever find—not flaws of the Lord, but with us. And he’ll do his best to get you looking back. See, it is important what you’re doing, but it’s also very, very crucial where you’re looking at. Often say about a ministry: it’s not just important where we’re at today, our church, but what direction we’re going is very important.
Remember Abraham and Lot over there? And it’s in Genesis 13. The Bible talks about Lot that he—now he was over in the land of Canaan, the promised land. Lot was. But the Bible in Genesis 13, it says, “Lot, he took his tent and he pitched it towards Sodom.”
In other words, every morning he got up out of that tent, hopefully he could stand up his tent, amen. I don’t know. But he came out of his tent and he would always see the well-watered plains of Sodom and Gomorrah. What does that represent? As sinful, place, quote-unquote, of prosperity? Kind of where the prodigal son went and spent all his money on righteous living. Now, he was in the land of Canaan, but he pitched his tent. That’s where his eyes would look. Every morning he’d look over there. Every nighttime, he said, “Man, time to go to bed,” you know, and I’ve got to go to sleep. I’m about to go on the tent, the tent door. And he looked over there.
Here’s amazing: the very next chapter, the Bible doesn’t tell us a whole lot of what happens from here to here as far as the last life. But the very next chapter, do you know where I find Lot at? He’s living in Sodom. And then you follow the story on down when Abraham’s praying, “Lord, you spare it if I find 10, I’ll spare it.” And actually, if you add it all up, we don’t have time to do it, and Lot’s family, counting himself and his wife, there’d have been 10. He lost his family. Mother, I get my eyes over there, and I go over there. So sometimes the parents, you can kind of say them sometimes, but the kids. And those kids, sometimes they say, you can get them out of Egypt, if you will, but you can’t get Egypt out of them. Lot lost his family.
And then you remember the story? The two angels are, “Let’s get out of here. God’s judgment’s about to come on Sodom and Gomorrah.” And remember they’re getting out of there, and remember what happened to Lot’s wife? The Bible doesn’t say it doesn’t say that she went back. What did she do? It’s a sad thing. God’s a judge, not me. But maybe God just said, “I know where that ends up. I know the end of that story too many times.” She looked back, turned a pillar of salt.
Jesus said, friend, you’re going to go bid them farewell? Let me tell you the lesson here, rather about it. He said, hey, you’re putting your hands upon, you look back. You’re not fit for the Kingdom of God.
It’s amazing how the devil is always pulling trying to get us to look back. He’s busy at it. You know, use every angle he can to get us looking back. It would have been sad if the children of Israel would have ended up back in Egypt. What a sad thing, looking back. Oh, I don’t want to look back. I won’t fit. So off of the next step, going back, we don’t want to go back. I happen to keep my eyes on you, Jesus. Would you let him know that as we sing another verse? Would you do that?
I mean, you know, someone, they used to be in church serving God and just working for God, whether it may be at work or maybe, and they’re not there anymore. Anybody? I think all of us do. Can I just say a word? I know we’ve got to get out of here, and I want to do that. But let me just say a word. They don’t fit. So often someone made this statement. They said, “Acceptance is the optimum environment for growth.” They don’t need us to point out of them and say, “You don’t fit over here,” or live like that. They need us to love on them. We want you to fit here. You’re not our enemy. The devil’s our enemy. We want you to fit here. We love you. And they get some acceptance, and so often that’s part of their growing, getting back close to the Lord. Glad you in church this morning. Ice cream tonight. Somebody say, amen. What’s the thing? Ice cream, we scream. We all scream for ice cream. Is that it? Come on. We just, I don’t think I made it. That’s from, “Oh, ice cream, you scream, we’ll all scream for ice cream.” All right, we’re going to get it. We’re going to get it. That’s what we’ll be. Instead of saying amen tonight, that’s what we’ll be. Oh, you know, no, no. We’ll have a good time. Make sure you’re in God’s house tonight. Choir practice five and service at six. Looking forward to being back tonight. Glad you in church. Praise the Lord for you being here, every person. And praise the Lord. Brother John Rice back there. Would you lead us to dismiss the word of prayer, please?
Original File: No looking back - Pastor Paul Chisgar - Sunday AM 73122