I've Made Up My Mind

This powerful message confronts us with a challenging question at the start of a new year: Have we truly made up our minds to follow Christ, or are we simply keeping our options open? Drawing from Luke 9:51-62, we're presented with Jesus' unwavering commitment as He 'set His face toward Jerusalem'—a decision made before the pain, before the cross, before the crowd's rejection. The sermon exposes three types of would-be followers: those seeking comfort and status, those with honorable delays, and those looking backward while moving forward. Each represents an 'exit route' we're tempted to take when obedience becomes costly. The agricultural imagery of plowing fallow ground is particularly striking—our spiritual lives aren't cursed, just neglected. When we put our hand to the plow and look back, we create crooked rows where nothing can grow properly. The resistance we feel isn't always spiritual warfare; sometimes it's simply the hard work of breaking up ground we've stopped tending. What we don't work, works against us. Neglected areas become shelter for things that shouldn't be there. This message calls us beyond inspiration to decision, beyond starting to finishing, beyond excitement to commitment. It's a sobering reminder that momentum attracts crowds, but only conviction sustains us when applause fades and difficulty increases.