Every Tub Must Sit On It's Own Bottom

Scripture Focus - Luke 12:57 “Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?”

Thought to lift up - “Every Tub Has Got To Sit on It's own Bottom.”

God is bringing an indictment this morning. He is bringing a charge against the church. The judgment is this. God is not pleased with the empty way of worship that you are bringing before Him. God is real and He is aware of everything that goes on. He is aware of every broken promise. He is aware how you say you love Him, but are not willing to make sacrifices for Him.
I want to take you back to a time when you were a child – and for some of you, you don't have far to go. And while I am on the subject, let me tell you that every human being has two ages. What do you mean preacher? 1) they have a physical age from the beginning of exit from their mother's wound. 2) we also have a cognitive age – the age of the development of our brain/reasoning power. In this case of remembering, it don't make a difference – just that you remember a time ago when the teacher or principal would call your mama or daddy because you had gotten into something. Perhaps you go caught cheating on a test, or you got into a fight, took something or cursed the teacher – or you just plain acted up in class. When they came, Mama or Daddy had to hear all about it. And later on – if you were lucky, you would get one of the worse whippings of your life!
But now that you've grown up, Mama and Daddy don't get called. You have to stand on your own bottom. Discern the difference between right and wrong for yourself and decide for yourself which way to go. Unlike public school, you are now in the school of hard knocks. And I'm here to tell you today, life does not believe in taking any captives. In life, every tub has a bottom and every tub stands on its own bottom – not someone else's.
In this passage of Scripture in Luke, Jesus is in the height of His ministry. He is going around the countryside teaching and preaching. He has drawn the attention of the Pharisees – who are angry with him. They try to plot and trap Him (Have you ever been in a situation where you was trying to do the best that you could, and someone was out to hurt you – to criticize everything that you tried to do? No matter which way you turned, trouble was present on every hand – well this was Jesus.) He was going around trying to do good. Trying to teach that the Kingdom of God had come – in Him. Tell the people what they must do to be saved.... casting out demons, healing the sick – setting those captured by the devil free. And He was saying some hard stuff – listen in to His conversation.
Starting at verse 49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth – now that's enough to scare some people right there – and how I wish it were already kindled! But - this signifies something has to happen first. In this simple word, the rubber meets the road for Jesus. The “but” for us might be, Man I want to, but (you fill in the blank). You know, I would like to, but (you fill in the blank). Jesus continues, “I have a Baptism to go to and how distressed I am until it is completed.” Now, Jesus is talking about the Cross – and we can look at all that occurred on the Cross . . . how he was whipped, jabbed in the side ..and Jesus seems to be saying I am anxious to go.
Stay right there awhile! Now, I don't know about you, but anxious to go and have all that done to you? Well, some of you might be saying perhaps, he is saying that he is going to to his Baptism by John the Baptist, but that had already taken place – almost three years earlier at the beginning of His ministry. And since we know his ministry was only three years – he must nearing the end and headed straight for the cross.
No, Jesus was not speaking of that Baptism. He was speaking of His coming suffering on the Cross. He was also speaking of the coming sufferings of each of His followers. Jesus was saying, “I can't run away. I gotta sit on my own bottom.”
And each of us has to sit on our own bottoms if we are going to follow Jesus. Jesus was saying My Mama can't go to the Cross for me. My Father in Heaven can't take my place. He sent me and I gotta bear that cross for myself.
When Jesus said, “I have come to bring fire on the earth, he was looking to His crucifixion in grateful obedience. Oh, He did not look forward to the physical pain or the spiritual separation from God – that would accompany His death. But He did look forward to carrying out His Father's Will and being the Savior of the World. His heart was set so greatly on the redemption and salvation of mankind because of the great love God has for us that Jesus put His own comfort and His need for self preservation on the back burner.
I want to ask you today, is there anyone that you love more than yourself – that you are willing to put your need for self gratification on the back burner – in order that you might be a creditable witness for Jesus Christ?
Is there anyone that you care about – be it mother, father, sister or brother or friend – a girlfriend or boyfriend – that you are willing to put your need to party on the back burner for? People are dying for lack of knowledge. You know the truth, but are you willing to share it with anyone?
Just as God had baptized the Israelites in the red sea, God was about to baptize His own Son with fire and water. And Jesus had to go by Himself. He couldn't wait for the disciples – whom He called friends. He couldn't wait for Mama or His sisters and brothers.
The message that Jesus is sending in this passage of scripture – He is telling those around Him that they too must bear with hardships and difficulties. For every tub has to sit on its own bottom. You can't go by what Daddy did in the church. You gotta do it for yourself. You can't use the excuse that I came up in the streets – nobody was there for me – you know the truth now, and you gotta sit on your own bottom!
In v. 51 “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth?” The disciples didn't realize that not everyone wanted to be saved. We can be like that. We think everybody will welcome the Gospel with open arms. “But,” Christ is warning us – not everyone will accept Jesus – not only will they not accept Him, they actively oppose everyone who accepts Jesus. In other words, they are gonna try to stop you from spreading the message of salvation. They are going to put stumbling blocks in front of you! The Gospel, He is saying, will cause division.
V. 52 “From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Do you know that just because someone is physically related to you – you have the same father or same mother – or both, they may not be spiritually related to you? When you became a believer, you were rejoined to the family of God You moved up and away from your natural family into Jesus Christ. !Some of you don't realize that yet!
You see beloved, when a person receives Jesus Christ as His/Her Savior, that person is immediately separated from the unbelievers around them. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 says “If anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God – it is not something we do ourselves.” We become ambassadors to the Word for God!
An ambassador is an agent or representative. In other words, we become just like the disciples whom Jesus called and walked with one by one. We are now His disciples – whether you understand it or accept it or not. This which is done is supernatural. We can't see it, but the devil can see it! HE KNOWS that we promised to follow Jesus. He also knows that we are not serving Him. .
Now that we are a new creation, we can't depend on Mama and Daddy or grandmama or sister or brother. Some of them are not saved – and it's our duty to walk so before them that they will see our good works and come running to us to say “What must I do to be saved?” Some of us, because we are not following Jesus, are putting nails in His coffin every day. [that's not Bren Wilson, that's the Bible!] And the truth shall set you free. . .
You see, the Gospel demands a response from everyone who accepts salvation. Joshua said it best, “Choose ye this day whom you will serve?” As each one chooses, people are lined up by God – separated supernaturally – depending on their response.
Some hearts are filled with pride and prejudice and they are resisting the Gospel message. They are choosing not to judge what is wrong and what is right.
Some hearts know the truth, but they don't want to make the sacrifices to become disciples – they can't hurt people's feelings or risk being separated from family and friends.
When you choose to follow Jesus, some family and friends will refuse to join you in following Him. Division will occur – God is causing this to happen. You try to hold on to the life you had before joining the family of God and it cannot be so – What fellowship does darkness have with light? What fellowship can wolves have with sheep? There is no middle ground. Loyalties must be declared. Commitments must be made! Sometimes to the point of breaking up relationships – breaking up homes, breaking up business partners and friendships.
Now, some of us don't like to hear that. We like to be gentle and kind towards everyone, treat everyone right – and we should be. But you must understand that everybody is not going to be gentle and kind towards you! And some of us are still trying to figure our why I have so much animosity and hostility coming towards me.
When we are snubbed, lied on and talked about, James said we ought to count it all joy because that is a sign that we are truly disciples of Christ. You have to remember that those people who are treating you that way are not the ones who saved you – they are in need of being saved.
When they hurt your feelings, that's a challenge and a trap! When you hear that someone has been talking about you, that's a challenge and a trap. When they don't include you, don't speak to you, that's a challenge and a trap.
Understand this - If the spirit of God dwells within you, it's not you that they hate, it is the Holy Spirit within you. At times like this, we must remember that the battle is not ours, it's the Lord's!
I'll tell you something else. The devil knows the name of every believer. He knows that Christ has made you an ambassador for taking the Gospel message – whether you are doing that or not. He can't take your disobedience and use it for His kingdom. He can shine a spotlight on you as a “suppose to be Christian” and say “Is this what a child of God is suppose to be doing?” “Is this how a child of God is suppose to be acting?” Then instead of people joining the church, they are repelled by your false witness. So the devil sits and sets traps for you strategically designed to stop you from being a witness. Strategically designed to cause you to sit down on God or walk out of His will for your life.
Conclusion:” Jesus tells us we will be hated for His namesake. But He also tells us to be of good courage for He has overcome the world. He gives us peace to go through – joy in the midst of the storms. He gives us encouragement through His word and through the example He has set for us.
And He's coming back again to take us to Himself. What a glorious time it will be! He will divide the sheep from the goats. We who are blessed of the Father – we who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior – we have a work to do. We must stand on our own bottom – do the work that has been set before us – and that is to make disciples for the Kingdom of God. We do that through our actions as well as what we say. If we do that on earth, then we will hear Jesus say, “Well done my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, now come sit and enjoy the table that has been set before you – won't be no diabetes or high blood pressure to worry about. Won't be no upset stomach or irritable bowels to worry about – we'll be able to feast all day and all night – at the table that Jesus prepares for us.
Let us Pray: Father, in the name of Jesus - Help us to have the courage to make up our own minds to serve you in season and out of season. Help us to remember that we are always ambassadors for you and to seek every opportunity to lift up the name of Jesus – understanding that we will be opposed, we will be talked about, lied on and rejected for the cause of Jesus Christ.
And now to Him who came to show us the way – to the only wise God, Jesus Christ, who died on a Cross at Calvary and on the third day rose again – to the one who has washed us in His own blood and is able to present us faultless before His father in Heaven – to Him be power, glory and dominion forever and ever . . . Amen.