Divided Affections

by:  Matt Allen

 

FILING INFORMATION:

96041

08/15/96 - Cyclone, KY

Part 1 of 7 in a Gospel Meeting Series

 

 

I.  Introduction.

 

 

A.  As has been publicized, the theme for this meeting is “Being Fit For the Kingdom.”  I believe this is an interesting title for a series of lessons - “Are You Fit For The Kingdom of God.”

1.  It is a question which we all need to ask ourselves, “Am I Fit for the Kingdom?”  If we feel that we aren’t then we need to make corrections so that we can be fit.

2.  What do we mean when we say we are fit for something?

a.  Johnny is “fit” to run the race...prepared, in shape, ready, on guard against, [being] strong enough.

3.  Being Fit for the Kingdom and examining ourselves to make sure we are fit will be/is the most important thing we will ever do in our lives while here upon earth.

a.  being fit takes constant examination and hard work.  This is true with athletics and in our spiritual lives also.

4.  Hope the lessons presented over the next few days will be beneficial to each and everyone of us.

B.  Our text for the lesson comes out of Luke 9:57-62.  Let’s examine the text now.

1.  In vs. 57-58, Jesus is talking to a disciple who was making a rash vow.  It is possible that Jesus knew he didn’t have much conviction and that the emotion the man was feeling was only temporary.

a.  Notice that Jesus doesn’t reject the man, but wanted him to count the cost & to realize what He was saying by making the commitment to follow Him.

2.  v. 59-60 - Jesus then turns to another and exhorts him not only to follow Him, but to “preach the kingdom” of God.

a.  reply:  He is willing, but not just yet.

1.  “Lord I will,  but.....”

2.  Thus, we have a procrastinating disciple.

b.  Jesus wants Christians who are willing to put Him & His kingdom first, no matter what the cost.

3.  v. 61-62 - We find an example of a wavering disciple.

a.  except for the reply by Jesus, we could not tell the real difference between the person in v. 59 and the one here in 61.

b.  From what Jesus says here in v. 62 about looking back, it is evident that the men in these verses were not complete or thorough in their discipleship.  They were lacking something.

1.  It seems that they were not completely separated from the world.

2.  Jesus here deals with an attitude of reluctance to break with the world.

3.  Not a case of “going back” but a case of “looking back.”

c.  This is an important lesson each of us needs to consider in our lives.  How often do we flirt with or tempt ourselves with the affairs of this old world?  When we do so, we are just asking for trouble. 

C.  In our text, Jesus, the Master Teacher, uses the best possible analogy for a society which depended heavily upon agriculture to survive.

1.  Plowing takes constant eye contact on where one is going to remain straight.

2.  Rows are marred the second we take our eyes off where we are going.

D.  We can come short of our spiritual goal, if our attention is diverted away toward the world.  Our spiritual paths can be marred just like the rows planted by a farmer, if we take eyes off the prize.

E.  We want to spend this weekend looking at what can happen when we look back at the world and what looking back implies about our lives.

1.  Thus, our lesson tonight - Having “Divided Affections.”  When we look back at the world, it shows that we are not looking ahead unto Christ, thus we become unfit for the kingdom of God.

 

 

II.  What Are Divided Affections?

 

 

A.  Having divided affections is the condition of trying to please the Lord as much as possible, while we try to please the world as much as possible.  We want the best of both worlds.

B.  What does the Bible say about having divided affections?

1.  Matthew 6:24

a.  Jesus brings out the point very clearly. - We will either love one or the other.

b.  The Lord is very clear, straight to the point, & unmistakable that one cannot “straddle the fence” and be pleasing unto Him.

C.  The Lord demands whole-hearted service to Him.  Being a Christian means devoting one’s life to the Lord.  Means putting our whole trust in Him, and living in obedience to His will so that we can receive the promise of eternal life.

1.Yet today try to treat being a Christian as some hobby.

a.  a part time thing - like fishing, golfing, quilting, etc...

b.  This attitude is condemned by the Lord.

D.  In our text in Luke 9:57, 59, & 61, all of three of these men had divided affections.  They were not yet ready to make the commitment to follow Christ despite the costs.

1.  v. 57 - this man possibly didn’t understand the dedication that Jesus expected of Him. 

2.  v. 59 - this man wanted to put off his responsibility, because he felt something more important.

3.  v. 61 - this man was unsure of his discipleship.

4.  Jesus wanted them to understand that they needed to set their affections on Him and upon lengthening the borders of His kingdom.

E.  Our affections need to be set upon Christ.  We need to be concentrating on building our treasures in heaven and not here upon this earth. 

1.  This is the instruction of our Lord in Mt. 6:19-21.

 

 

III.  How Can We Have Divided Affections?

 

 

A.  We want to spend some time examining some ways in which we can “look back” at the glistening, bright, shining lights of the world for a few moments.  How can the world lure us away from Christ?

B.  By turning our attention to the love of money & material possessions.

1.  Luke 17:32 - Remember Lot’s wife.  Maybe it would be good for us to remember her for a few moments.  A simple 3 word sentence verse in the NT where Jesus is talking about his 2nd coming.  The reference here made to Lot’s wife.  Lot & fam. were fleeing from the dest. of Sodom & Gommarah.  She looked back to see what was going on.  Looking back caused her her life.

a.  What could be one reason for her looking back?  Great wealth and lots of material possessions?  Remember Lot was wealthy and had great possessions.

1.  Gen 13:1-8 - so wealthy that Abram & him had to split ways b/c the land wouldn’t support them both.

b.  Lot dwelt in the plain toward Sodom.  13:10-12

c.  Family was reluctant to leave Sodom when the Lord told them to leave.  19:12-16

1.  might have been because of the material things they had become attached to?

d.  direct commandment given by angel in v. 17 - don’t look back.

1.  v. 26 - She looked back.  didn’t go back to the city actually, but simply looked back.  She was destroyed for this.

2.  Luke 18:18-23 - sad story of how love of mat. possessions cause heartache.  Rich young ruler.

a.  man had kept commandments from his youth.  Felt fairly confident of this. 

b.  read the passage.

c.  had to sacrifice some things and give them to the poor, come follow Jesus and doing these things then he would have treasure in heaven.

d.  result:  went away sorrowful - he had great possessions.

1.  this man was unwilling to devote all of himself to the Lord.

2.  It becomes evident that for years, he had been trying to “straddle the fence.”

a.  hear the confidence in his voice when he answers Jesus in v. 21.  Much the way we would answer our boss who is inquiring of a task we are responsible for.

b.  then Jesus drops the bomb...

e.  Don’t know if later he had a change of heart or not, but at this time he place more value in the things of this life than in the one to come.

3.  This is one of the greatest problems of people today.

a.  have so many concerns important to us.  Perhaps the generations that are growing up now have more concerns than any other in the past.

b.  one example where we show divided affections is in the area of career advancement.

1.  many sucked into thinking the farther I can move up in the co. the more money I’ll make, the more happy I’ll be, the more prestigious I’ll be, etc.

a.  jobs are requiring more & more.  Result:  sacrificing the Lord’s time.

2.  problem arises when we begin to willfully sacrificing the Lord’s time for theses things.

a.  maybe present for every service.

1.  what about personal work?  What about teaching & helping with bible classes?  Too busy to study?

4.  Where are Your Affections in this area?

C.  By Turning Our Attention to the pleasures of the world & unrighteousness.

1.  In 2nd Timothy 4:9-11, Paul informs Timothy of the situation of Demas.

a.  Demas had the problem of divided affections.

1.  at onetime he had been a faithful cohort of Paul & a faithful Christian.

2.  don’t know why he left.

a.  could have been too much sacrifice for him to be with Paul in Rome.  (scared of persecution?)

b.  desired the pleasures of unrighteousness:  text tells us he loved the present world.

b.  Whatever the case, Demas had not made the break from the world to Christianity complete, so he turned his desires away from Christ back to the world.

2.  Those who turn away from Christ & love to walk in unrighteousness will pay.

a.  They will pay just as the Israelites did in the OT.

1.  Ezek. 20:16 - they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statues, but polluted my Sabbath’s, for their heart went after idols.

2.  Jer. 14:10

3.  As Christians, we are to part company with the world and focus upon living for Christ.

a.  Rom. 12:1-2

b.  We are to put our minds of spiritual things - Rom. 8:5-8 - to be carnally minded is death.

c.  to split our affections between spiritual things & carnal things will cause us to become unfit for the kingdom - just as the men back in Luke 9.

4.  One thought before we move on:  Back to 2 Tim. 4.  Don’t know if Demas ever came back to the fold.  Hopefully he recognized the error of his ways and repented.  But look for just a moment at the situation of Paul.

a.  forsaken & lonely. - in prison in a far away place.  All friends had forsook him except Luke.  imagine his pain.  time of greatest need, Demas leaves him for the world.

b.  BUT, imagine how Christ feels when we forsake Him!  How does He feel when we turn our attention away from Him for even just a little while?

1.  What if the Lord had divided affections while here upon the earth?  What if He turned His desires to please Himself only?  Would he have died on the cross for our sins?

a.  prayed 3 times in the garden of Geth. not to go through the pain and death of the crucifixion.

2.  Christ showed and demonstrated all of His affection toward us that day by dying on the cross.

c.  Shouldn’t we RESPECT that enough to be willing to follow Him no matter what the cost?  He gave Himself for us!  What are we giving Him in return?

D.  We Can Divide Affections by not Accepting the Gospel on Christ’s Terms.

1.  It seems that some don’t want to follow only the NT, but the NT and whatever agrees with them.  In this people divide their affections between Christ and their own ideas.

2.  Thus we have the situation of the present religious world.  Many people echo the man in Luke 9:61, Lord, I will follow you, but.....

a.  I think we need an instrument in worship.

b.  I don’t think it is necessary for me to be baptized in order to receive salvation.

c.  I think the church needs to get involved in social gatherings, sporting events, or other things the church has no business getting involved in.

3.  We need to realize that when we come to follow Christ, we submit ourselves to HIS will - not ours.

a.  Mt. 7:21 - does who’s will?

b.  John 15:14 - do whatever “who” commands you?

4.  The simple truth is when we don’t follow the teaching of the Lord, when we don’t follow Him by book, chapter, and verse, then we are doing OUR will (WHAT WE WANT TO) not His!

a.  These divided affections will cause us to be unfit for the kingdom of God.

 

Conclusion

 

 

A.  Do you love the Lord & Focus upon Him?  When we look back at the world as the person in Luke 9:59-61 did, we show how our affections can be divided between what is right and what is wrong.

B.  Where are your affections?

1.  For Christ? - John 14:15 - if you love Me, Keep my commandments...  Are you willing to follow Him as he directed the man in Luke 9:59-60? 

a.  Christ not satisfied with the leftovers.  He demands our time, love, longsuffering, patience, and faithfulness.  The man in our text wanted to give Christ the leftover of his time - there was something more important to Him.

2.  For Something Else?  If you affections are set on ANYTHING else, then you are UNFIT for the kingdom of God.  You are not prepared to go to heaven.

a.  Jesus said in Mt. 12:30 - He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

C.  This evening, you have the opportunity to turn your affections to Jesus Christ before it is everlastingly too late.  Why not make the commitment to come to Him now?

1.  you can by: believing on the Lord Jesus

2. repenting of your sins.  Are you sorry for the things you have done in the past?

3.  confessing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God according to the example found in the NT & finally,

4. be baptized for the remission of your sins.

D.  Maybe you have already become a Christian, and are not serving Him as you should.  Maybe your affections have been turned away from Him, by the cares of this world.  Why not come back this evening while you have the chance?

E.  As we stand and sing the song that has been selected ask yourself - “Am I Fit For the Kingdom of God?”