Keep Your Hand to the Plow

Well, amen. I appreciate that worship as always and I know that when brother Keith is out or even when he is fired, Jared can fill in very well and I appreciate that. Well, here we are this morning. It's a unique time. We are celebrating brother Keith serving in the life of our church for 10 years. It's gone by really, really fast. And you know, as I was preparing really for a couple of weeks, I was thinking about how I would get started in this message. I could share quite a bit about how I met Keith when I first moved to Brookhaven or even before I moved to Brookhaven. I could share about how I saw him be converted to Christ.

Many of you have heard his testimony about how he came to Christ as an adult. And I can share with you about how he was called into the ministry. Now, I do want to pause there and make a few comments. I can testify that I have seen the fruit of a converted man to Christ all these years. And I've known him for quite a few years. And not only can I testify about seeing a man who was truly converted to Christ, I can testify that I have seen a man work hard to know that he is truly called into the position that he has in the life of this church.

You know, a lot of people that just kind of assimilate in the ministry, maybe for the paycheck or maybe it's a good idea. I don't know that list can get long. But I can testify to that and you can too. And you should. I see some heads nodding. What I mean by that is some of you have seen this. You've seen evidence of his conversion to Christ and an evidence that he is truly called. But you know, I've never shared with you, I don't think, about how Keith was hired. Let me take the time before we really get started in the message. Many of you know the story of Grace Life Church, Brookhaven. We used to be known about this church. We moved.

That's a great story about how God moved us. And we relocated and we just really restarted everything. When I went to Nola Baptist Church back in 2010 as an interim, you know, Nola was about to close. It was eight or ten people, twelve or fifteen on a red-letter day. And you know, there really wasn't much there. Just a few bodies, a building. I mean, they didn't even have enough money to turn on the air conditioning at times. And you know, Brother Keith came and he attended and I had him for some particular special events. And he was familiar with Nola Baptist and the folks at Nola Baptist were familiar with Keith.

And you know, in those days, I would lead the music. Yeah, I would lead the music. I see some smiles. If you've ever seen or heard of the sin that is close to the sin of death, it's that, if I lead the music. But you know, as our church, Nola Baptist, as I took the church and we really jump started becoming a church again, I just said to the folks, I said, "We need Keith." I hired him really right there on the spot. And the people affirmed that decision. And I know that's an unusual way to hire a music minister. And then later through that, God affirmed that he was being called to be an elder in the life of the church.

And you know that story. But what I'm sharing with you this morning is this. I can testify to his conversion to Christ as being called into the ministry. And we look back at how God planted him in the life of our church and this church. And we have celebrated and we're here to celebrate 10 years of faithful ministry. But you know, as I look to the message, we're really here to do two things. We're here to honor Keith Stovall and we're here to preach God's word. It's kind of like a funeral. Isn't that what you do at a funeral? At least that's what I do. I honor the one who has passed and I preach God's word. Well, Keith hadn't passed.

He's been fired for the day. But you know, jokes aside, we're here to do two things. We are here to honor Keith for 10 years of faithful service. And we're here to study and learn from God's word. And at this particular day and time, God's going to speak to us. But a question, is it wrong to honor a man like this? Think about that. Is it wrong to honor a man of God for faithfully serving in the life of the church? Well, the answer to that question is no. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul honored servants of the Lord more than you know.

If you read his epistles, you will see that Paul, he commended often, he honored often faithful servants of the Lord. Some of them we know a lot about and some of them we know very little about. One comes to my mind, one of my favorites, a man named Epipharus. He's found in the book of Colossians. In several places in the book of Colossians, Paul honors this man before the church. In chapter one, Paul honored him for being a successful evangelist. As a matter of fact, scholars tell us he most likely was the one that planted the church there at Colossae.

And Paul goes on to say that Epipharus was a faithful fellow bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul puts Epipharus in his own category. And then over in chapter four, Paul said that he was a hard worker and he was faithful to gospel work. And he goes on to honor Epipharus by saying that Epipharus had a burden for three churches. Think about that, three churches. He had a burden for the church there at Colossae, the church at Heropolis, and the church there at Laodicea. So today we are doing something that is very biblical. We are honoring Keith as a faithful man of God, a faithful servant of the church, a faithful servant to this church.

And we are celebrating ten years of service. But more than honoring Keith, we are honoring the God that he loves and the God that he serves. We are honoring God who enables men like Keith to serve faithfully. Now a part of what we are doing this morning is we are going to look at this portion of scripture in Luke's gospel. And I really think this is going to speak to us in a way maybe that will surprise you. So let's go back to Luke chapter nine. I want us to read verses 57 back down to verse 62. "As they were going along the road," I think I said earlier that Matthew's account tells us this was a crowd. "Someone said to him, 'This is Jesus.

I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' To another, he said, 'This is Jesus. Follow me.' But he said, of course he's saying, 'Back to the Lord. Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' And Jesus said to him, 'Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Yet another said," in other words, another one spoke up.

He said, 'I will follow you, Lord, but let me first go and say farewell or say goodbye to those in my home.' And Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Now, basically there were two things going on in these verses. First, Jesus was explaining and is explaining true discipleship and what that really meant. And then second, Jesus was exposing false discipleship that was in the hearts of some that were there that day. And we must get that. Jesus had this crowd of people following him, and some were claiming to follow him as the true Messiah of God.

And Jesus was exposing the delusion of their false discipleship claims. But he didn't stop there. He was also explaining the demands of true discipleship. And that's what I want us to look at this morning. I want us to examine these demands that Jesus lays out for true discipleship. And Jesus gives us three right here in the verses. So the first demand, the first demand of discipleship is what I call a sacrificial service. Jesus gives the demand for a sacrificial service. And this is in verse 57 and verse 58. Now remember that this was a real life event. There were people, crowds that were following Jesus.

And there was a ton of excitement surrounding Jesus in the culture. Thousands, the Scriptures say, were following him. He was preaching like no one had ever preached and taught before. He was performing great miracles. Many were hoping and thinking that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God. And all throughout his earthly ministry, people would often claim to be disciples of Jesus. But notice we have one who declares that he would follow Jesus. Look back at verse 57. As they were going along the road, someone said, they spoke up and they said, "I will follow you wherever you go." Now this is the one that I call the spontaneous disciple.

I call this one the spontaneous disciple. He makes what I see a spontaneous declaration of discipleship. Now the text doesn't say that Jesus spoke to them as they were walking along the road. But he steps forward in this impressive way and he says that he would follow Jesus anywhere and everywhere. Isn't that what the verse says? To me, he's excited. To me, he is enthusiastic. He really seems impressive. He is what I call the spontaneous disciple who makes what seems to be an impressive declaration of discipleship. But notice Jesus gives his first demand in true discipleship in verse 58, in response. Look back at verse 58.

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes. The birds of the air, they have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Now this is what I call the demand for sacrificial service as a true disciple of Christ. Jesus was responding to this spontaneous disciple by saying something like this, "Sir, sir, you really have no idea what it means to be my disciple." Jesus was and is saying that a true discipleship means to walk away from the comforts of life, the conveniences of life. He is saying that to be a true disciple, you must even turn your back on the securities of life.

Jesus was and is saying that foxes and birds have homes, but he has none of these things. Isn't that what he said? Jesus is asking this spontaneous disciple. He is saying something like this, "Sir, are you willing to leave these things and follow me?" He is asking, "Are you willing to leave the comforts, the securities of this life and follow me?" And we must see that Jesus is demanding a sacrificial service. Jesus is explaining that true discipleship demands sacrifice. True discipleship demands sacrificial service to Christ and unto Christ. Now, a question. Is Jesus saying that to be a true disciple, you must give up your home?

Is he saying that? Is he saying that to be a true disciple, you must give up your comforts, your conveniences, even your safety and even your security? Listen, folks. Jesus is not saying you must give these things up. Jesus is saying that you must be willing to give these things up. And there is a difference. You see? He is saying that you must put these things on the altar of God and you must be willing to give these things up if Christ so desires. You see? And it seems that the one here in verse 57 wasn't interested in true discipleship. It seems that he was a spontaneous profession of faith. You see? It seems that he was full of zeal.

It seems that he was full of passion. But it seems that he was unwilling to pay the price for true discipleship. Now, in application, I will be straight and direct. I have seen this as one of the greatest Christian characteristics in Keith's life. I have. Throughout all of the years as I have watched him walk with the Lord, I have seen this as one of the greatest Christian characteristics in his life and in Teresa's life and in their home. See, these verses deal with the home. Do they not? I have seen Keith and I have seen Teresa. They haven't left their home. They haven't left the comfort and the security of their home.

But I will tell you what. I have seen them give their home away. I have seen them give the comfort and the security and everything that comes with home. I have seen them sacrificially, willingly give all of that away. It has been a joy. It has been a challenge to me. At times it has been convicting to me. As I have seen you sacrificially serve God with your home even when you did without. Now, he is not liking me bragging on him right now. But it is not him. It is not Keith. It is not Teresa. It is the Lord working in them. You know, on my notes here I have got names.

Names of people that they have served in their home for long periods of time. Even when it has pulled the heart out of their chest. You know who I am talking about folks. You see, they have sacrificially served the Lord with their home. And see, they didn't walk away from their home, but they took the comfort, the security, the conveniences of their home and they put it on the altar of the Lord and they gave it to others. Gave it to others even when they did without. And see folks, this is a challenge for us. Not just from the Scripture, but from their life. Does not the Lord raise up examples around us? Living examples? Yes.

Paul put a papyrus before the Colossian church. And see, this is a challenge for us in the Scriptures that we would put our home on the altar to be used of God even if we were called to walk away from that home. You see? So what do we see here? This first demand of discipleship is a sacrificial service. And then the second demand of discipleship comes out of verses 59-60. I call this a singular service. Jesus gives his second demand of discipleship and I call this a singular service. Now again, I take us back to the context. These were real people. A crowd, Matthew says, they're walking with Jesus along the road.

And there was great, great excitement and debate surrounding who Jesus was. Jesus drew people by the thousands with the great miracles and his wondrous teaching. And at times, Jesus couldn't even get away from the people the Scriptures tell us. And with many in the crowd, there was this question of following Jesus as the true Messiah. But notice, here we have one who does not step forward to say that he would follow Jesus. Jesus asked this one if he would follow him. Look at verse 59, the beginning of verse 59. To another, he, this is Jesus said, follow me. It's real short, but it's right there.

Now this is the one that I call the reluctant disciple. The reluctant disciple. He does not openly and confidently step forward to declare that he would follow Jesus like the first man. Jesus calls him to follow him and he seems hesitant. He seems less confident. Yes, he does say that he would follow Jesus, but not excitedly. To me, he seems hesitant. To call him the reluctant disciple, not just because he doesn't step forward, but for some other reasons that we will see. But notice, Jesus gives his second demand for true discipleship there in verse 60. Jesus said to him, leave the dead to bury their own dead.

But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom. This is in response to what he had just said. Jesus said to him, you follow me and he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. Now this is what I call the demand for a singular service as a true disciple of Christ. Jesus was responding to this reluctant disciple by showing that his reluctance was because of self-interest. Jesus was saying that whether his father was dead or not, he was putting something or someone ahead of Christ and his call for discipleship. And even though with words, he was addressing Jesus as Lord, by his actions he was saying otherwise.

In words he was calling Jesus Lord, but indeed he was saying self and self-interest was first. And in his response, Jesus was saying that he was putting something or someone ahead of Christ, Jesus was calling this reluctant disciple to a singular purpose. He was calling him not to just follow him, but to follow him and to proclaim the message of the kingdom. You see that in the verse? He was calling him to one message, the message of the gospel, and he was calling him to one work and that is kingdom work. And we must see that Jesus was demanding a singular service.

He was explaining that true discipleship demands a singular service in the kingdom, in kingdom work. True discipleship demands a commitment to a singular message, the message of the gospel, and a singular kingdom purpose. We understand that's the work of the church. Now another question, similar to the first one. Is it a sin to take care of your parents? Is it? Especially in a time of need. Is it a sin to take care of parents even when they're at the point of death? Is Jesus saying that it is a sin to even go back and take care of parents in a time of the funeral? Well, the answer to that is no.

Listen, it is good and it is right and it is biblical to take care of parents, aging parents. Even in the time of death, it is biblical to honor and respect parents in life and in death. But Jesus is saying that no one or no thing, even parents can come before Jesus and true discipleship. And it seems that the one here in verse 59 really wasn't interested in true discipleship. It sure seems that he was placing something or someone before Christ Jesus and Jesus wouldn't allow it. Even if what he was placing before Jesus was something good. See that? Jesus would not have that.

And you know, I have seen Keith have this singular service for the kingdom. I have. All through these years, I have watched Keith and I have watched Teresa. I have watched Keith gear his home towards one singular service, one purpose. And that is the kingdom and kingdom work. Now, most of you know that he has a real job. You know, preachers really don't have real jobs. Years ago when my wife and I had little ones, she was home keeping the little ones. And I was going to the church office and she said, you know, you just get to go to the office and read your Bible. A lot of truth in that.

Now, when you understand ministry is real work, it is a different kind of work. But Keith works at the local community college. He has a real job. And even as he works in the secular workforce and then works in the life of the church, all these years, he has had a singular service. He has had a singular mindset. He has always preached one message, one gospel. He has always worked hard for the life of the church and everything that he does. And listen, even when it kept him from his family. Yeah, even when it kept him a distance away from his mom and his dad. And that's not easy, folks.

There have been times when it would have been easier for Keith to just pick up and move back home to take care of his parents as they were growing older. But he knew that he had a call to Brooke Avon. And he knew that he had a call to Grace Life Church when we used to be known about this church. You see, he has had this and he has maintained this, this singular service. This one eye for what? For the message of the gospel, the kingdom and kingdom purposes here in Brooke Avon. And see, for all of us, this is a challenge as well. We must have a singular service.

We must see that we are to have this singular service to preach and declare the message of the gospel around the world and to pour our lives into what? The work of the church. And let me tell you, folks, if all you do is share the gospel and pour your life into the work of this church, you will do what this verse requires. Now, let's continue. I want us to see this third demand of discipleship. And this is in verse 61 and verse 62. I call this a straightforward service. This third demand is what I call a straightforward service. Now, again, this was a real event with real people.

And in the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry, he was very, very common, very, very popular, especially with the common people. And during these great ministry events, it wasn't uncommon for people to declare that they would follow Jesus. The Jews were eagerly awaiting the promised Messiah, and many declared that they believed Jesus was He. But notice, we have another one who steps forward to say that he would follow Jesus. Look back at verse 61. Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell or goodbye to those at my home." Now, this is the one that I call the seeming solid disciple.

This is the one that I see as the seeming solid disciple. Now, I say that for two reasons. He is a combination of the previous two. You notice? He steps forward to declare that he would follow Jesus, and he calls Him Lord. This seems like a winning combination, does it not? He initiates this encounter, and he seems to understand who he is talking to. What does he say? Jesus is Lord. And his desire to say goodbye to his family does not seem out of line either. Now, think about it. How long would it take for him to go say goodbye? How long would it take for him to go and say goodbye and to get back to be able to follow Jesus?

Surely it wouldn't take that long. But notice, Jesus gives His third demand in true discipleship. Look at verse 62. "And Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Now, this is what I call the demand for straightforward service as a true disciple. Jesus was responding to this seeming solid disciple by raising the standard a little higher. He is saying that as soon as he puts his hand to the plow, the plow of true Christian discipleship, he could not look back. To look back would make him not fit for the kingdom. Isn't that what the verse says?

Jesus was revealing that this seeming solid disciple was really a half-hearted disciple. He was really a half-committed disciple. He is saying that as soon as he puts his hand to the plow, he must not look back. Now, a couple of questions. Was Jesus saying that he was not fit for salvation? Another question. Was Jesus saying that he could lose his salvation? Well, the answer to those two questions is no. Jesus was saying that if he puts his hands to the plow and he looks back, he is not fit for kingdom service. If he looks back, he is not fit for work in the kingdom. And we must see that Jesus is demanding a straightforward service.

No turning back, not even looking back. Jesus is explaining that true discipleship demands a straightforward commitment to true discipleship, which is the only life that is worthy of kingdom service and work. And we must see that. Jesus is saying that true discipleship demands a straightforward commitment to Christ, and this is the only life that is worthy for service in the kingdom. Again, almost the same question as before. Is Jesus saying that to be a true disciple, you can't have a relationship with your parents? Is Jesus saying that to be a true disciple, you can't even say goodbye? No, he's not.

It's a matter of a half-hearted commitment, folks. It's a matter of a torn allegiance. It is a matter of complete commitment. It's a matter of a complete commitment to Christ. No going back, not even looking back. And the one here in verse 62 doesn't seem to be willing to pay that price. It seems that he was interested, that it seems that he wasn't really interested in true discipleship, that he had this half-hearted commitment. That he was unwilling to pay that price, and Jesus is saying that he wasn't fit for service or work in the kingdom.

Now, I can honestly stand right here, and I can honestly say that for the past 10 years, Keith, you have maintained a straightforward service in the kingdom. A singular straightforward service. No going back, not even looking back. Now, folks, let me tell you how this happens. Every now and then, opportunities come along. And listen, job opportunities have come his way.

Secular job opportunities, and I have heard him weigh out those job opportunities, and one of the first things he says is, "How will it affect my service in the life of the church?" And look, not only have secular job opportunities come his way, I have seen him have opportunities for other church work. I've seen him step up and say, "You know, this is a bigger church, and this is more money, and they do all this, and they do all that." And he'll come down and he'll say, "But I don't want that." Because what? He has this singular straightforward service. He never wavers.

You know, even in the life of our church, the past ten years, everything hadn't been perfect. You know that. We've had troubles. We've had difficulties. And even when folks have maligned him or disrespected him, he has never wavered. He's had a singular straightforward, I for what? For service in the kingdom. He's never gone back, nor has he looked back.

And Keith, if you're honest, if you're like me, sometimes it's probably been because your wife has said, "I'm not even going to let you quit." There have been some times, folks, I've wanted to throw in the towel, and my wife would say, "No, you're not." And sometimes that was just the strength I needed. And you know, folks, listen, this is a lesson for us. These verses, in his example, this has been before us all through these years. We must have this singular, straightforward, I for what? For the service in the kingdom. We can't even look back, much less go back. Much less go back.

Now, there are three different ways we can look at these verses. I want you to kind of step back from what I've been sharing. We could look at this teaching focusing on the three individuals. Now, we've really kind of done that. Let me explain what I mean. We could really make much of this spontaneous disciple. We can make much of this reluctant disciple. And we can make much of this seeming solid disciple. What I mean by that is this, we could spend more time here. We could deal with this insight in other passages. And we can highlight these different approaches to discipleship.

And you know, if I was going to take that angle, I would call this sermon the three delusional disciples. I think they were delusional. I think they had a faulty understanding of what it meant to follow Christ. But we could take this teaching another direction. We could focus on the three demands that were given by Jesus. We could really zero in on Christ's commands and demands for a sacrificial service, a demand for a singular service, and a straightforward service. And what I mean by that is we could go deeper. I could take you to other scriptures. We could look at examples.

And if I was going to do that, I would call this message the three demands for true discipleship. But this morning, I see this sermon with one theme. I see this sermon with one message. I see the message and the theme and the charge of the day really in one way. And this reminds me of some stories that I heard growing up. Many of you know that I was really close to my grandfather. I had a grandfather that lived to be very, very old, 99 and a half in five days. He lived by himself up to the very end. And he was born in 1908. You do the math. He lived to be pretty old. And he lived during some interesting times.

You know, we used to quiz him about what his life was like growing up. He grew up as a young man during the Depression. He used to say something like this, "You know, we were poor before the Depression, poor during the Depression, and poor after the Depression." He was a son of a sharecropper. What that meant was they didn't own anything. But you know, my granddad worked hard as an adult. And he saved up his nickels and dimes. And he was able to buy what he had always dreamed for. And that was a piece of land. He bought 500 acres. And when he bought that land, there were five sharecropping families living on it.

I heard about those families all my life growing up. There was old man Joe Bethlee. Then there was young Joe. I think young Joe always gave my granddad problems. There was Hayes and Peggy. They were the ones that stayed till they died. They didn't move off. They never had children. I heard all about old man Jack who burned up in his house. And then there was Odessa who lived on the front part of the place. And she had a bunch of kids. I think my granddad took care of those children in a big way. But you know they were sharecroppers. That meant they farmed the land. A mule and a plow. Some of you know what that looks like.

And you know my granddad's place isn't exactly ideal farm country. It's hills and ditches and canyons and creeks and more ditches. It's hills and hollers. Some of you know what that phrase means. And you know if you walk through those woods now, you see all of the roads where they used to farm. They're still there. And I used to love to ask my granddad how they farmed the land. He would talk about when they would raise corn over here and they would raise cotton over here and they harvested so much cotton over there and so much corn over here.

And you know I'd ask him how in the world did they farm on top of those ridge tops and along those bottoms and along those hills. If you look in the woods there are rows all over the place. If they could get the mule and the plow in there, they farmed the land. And listen, they farmed that place one way. They kept their hand to the plow. In the summertime heat, year after year, rain, sleet or snow, they farmed the land. They kept their hand to the plow. See that's the message this morning folks. This is the charge for us in our day. That is to keep the hand to the plow. Don't go back and don't even look back. Keep the hand to the plow.

And listen Keith, if you keep your hand to the plow, to the calling that the Lord Jesus has on your life. If you have seen the calling, these folks have seen the calling. If you will keep your hand to the plow, the calling of the Lord Jesus on your life in this church. And if I will do the same, and see we're all in the same boat folks. If we will keep our hand to the plow, pouring our lives into the work of the local church, Grace Life Church, listen, generations from now will see our work. Generations from now will see our work. People will see our work after we are dead and gone.

They will see the remnants of the rose that we have plowed in this world. And they will ask our sons and our daughters and our grandsons and our granddaughters. They will ask how in the world did those folks do all that work? How? How did those people do all of that kingdom work in Brookhaven and even around the world? How did they do that? And the answer they'll be able to give is this, with God's help. By the power and the work of the Spirit in their life, they kept their hand to the plow. They kept their hand to the plow. Let's pray. Let's commit what we've studied to the Lord.

And then we'll sing a closing song and then wrap up our service this morning. Let's pray.