Second Presbyterian Church

"Heeding the Call:
Preaching From the Gospel of Luke"
May 2, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for May 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Luke

#17 in the Series on Luke
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Psalm 23
• Luke 6: 12-16

According to Luke's Gospel Jesus is now well into his Galilean ministry. His fame is spreading; he has a significant following. He has experienced the beginnings of opposition to his ministry. Luke has already reported the calling of Peter, James, John and Levi (Matthew).

The action in this passage is that Jesus went up to pray; he prayed all night. When he came down from the mountain he called together his followers and named the twelve who were to become apostles.

Commentators note how Jesus was a man of prayer; since it was not unusual that he prayed all night on the mountain.

They note that Jesus called twelve of his followers, APOSTLES, which means someone sent on the authority of another. In our context it means that the twelve followers who were named apostles were sent into the world with the authority of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Of course there is a snag. One of the twelve betrayed Jesus; he assisted in having Jesus arrested and eventually executed on the cross. Luke uses a strong word here; he calls Judas Iscariot a "traitor" (prodotes). Luke only used this word twice: here (v.17) and in Acts 7:52. That context in Acts is where Stephen is stoned and he refers to how the people betrayed and murdered Jesus. It is a different word than the word for "betrayer" that is used in the other Gospels.

I believe that one of the major points we can make from this passage about the calling of the 12 disciples/apostles is that they were called forth to continue the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ despite the opposition that they were going to face. I say this because the immediate previous context made note of the increasing opposition to Jesus. The apostles were the successors of Jesus as far as proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world. In addition they were also the successors in experiencing resistance to the witness of Jesus Christ.

Another point is that Jesus is a man of prayer. He would take time to be with his heavenly Father. It helped him to maintain his perspective, especially while he was a mortal man. It is an example from which we need to draw. We all need to maintain prayerful contact with our heavenly Father. We need to share with Him our hopes, our needs, our worries, the things about which we are discouraged. And we need to spend time with the Lord so that we can be nourished by Him.

Yet, I believe that the main point we can draw from these five verses is the fact that WE ARE CALLED BY GOD and, as Christians; we have heeded the call. Most of the time we understand ourselves as people who CHOSE to join a church. You may have grown up in this church, but at some point you made a choice to become an active participant in this church. Others of you may have joined later in your life. You came here and made a decision to join Second Presbyterian Church. Somewhere along the way YOU decided that you would become a Christian, whether you did it here with Second, or with some other congregation.

Because of this, we primarily operate as a VOLUNTEER organization. We ask for volunteers to provide the Lenten Luncheons. We ask for volunteers to clean up after the luncheons. We ask people to volunteer to join the choir, or the hand-bell choir. We ask people to help lead Vacation Bible School. We ask people to teach Sunday school classes. We ask people to be Liturgist on Sundays. We ask people to greet at the front and back entrances. We ask people to serve on the various committees.

It is probably because we have all experienced the church as a voluntary organization that we do not understand the Doctrine of Election. The Doctrine of Election is simply the doctrine of GOD CALLING US TO BE HIS FOLLOWERS. Even as Presbyterians, we tend to be Pelagian in our Doctrine of Election. Pelagius was a theologian who basically understood becoming a Christian as a CHOICE. You were exposed to Christianity, if you said "yes," then Jesus saved you. If you said "no," then you were not saved. It sounds logical, doesn't it? But there is a big problem with the Pelagian Doctrine of Election: it ASSUMES that a particular human being has enough presence of mind to make the right decision. In other words this doctrine of choice does not take sufficiently into account just how badly sin can mess up our ability to think clearly. It also assumes that, since a person can freely choose, then the person actually has played a role in his own salvation! It takes away from the fact the Christ is the one who provides salvation, Christ alone!

Presbyterians are not Pelagians. We historically believe in some form of PREDESTINATION. That is a word that has caused consternation among many serious Christians, including Presbyterians. It sounds so hard, cold and just plain not very nice. But here is why predestination is important. First of all, it acknowledges that our salvation comes from God alone and that we, as humans, do not aid and assist it in any way! Secondly it acknowledges that sin is so significant in our world that it affects the ability of a person to think straight. Sin so pollutes our thinking that we are not capable of making the proper decision for Jesus Christ all by ourselves! Predestination understands that GOD CHOSE US BEFORE WE WERE EVER ABLE TO CHOOSE GOD! And because God chose us first, the Holy Spirit begins working in our hearts and minds; He begins PREPARING US for the time when we are able to HEAR THE CALL of Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit already within our lives that teaches us to say "YES" to the call to become Christian.

So what does that mean for us today? If you are here and you have chosen to become a follower of Jesus Christ, then take note; your ability to choose Jesus Christ is evidence that Jesus Christ HAS ALREADY CHOSEN YOU and has PREPARED YOU to say "YES" to him. You could not do this on your own!

So Jesus chose the twelve apostles. Even as they chose to follow Jesus, it was Jesus who chose them. And so it is true for us. Even as we choose to follow Jesus, thank the Lord that He had already chosen us and prepared us to be able to say "yes" to his invitation!

As far as this pertains to Second Presbyterian Church, even as we too often assume that we are a volunteer organization. Let us remember that THE LORD JESUS CHRIST CALLED US INTO EXISTENCE! AND IT IS TO SERVE THE CALL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THAT WE REMAIN IN EXISTENCE.

Sometimes we become worried about our future. And we do have cause to be concerned, in that the Lord may be giving us a wake-up call. So what are we to do? Simple, we look to the head of the church - THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. We prayerfully wonder with HIM about what our future is, about what Christ has in store for us, and for what PURPOSE has he continued to keep us in existence. Let us be faithful in that and see what God has in store for us. Remember, we are NOT a volunteer organization; we were called into existence by Christ and it is to Christ we answer! Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.