2015-11-15: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – It Costs To Be A Disciple

Sermon Audio: It Costs To Be A Disciple
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 14:25-35
Duration: 22:47
Size: 10.4 MB

Luke-The Investigative Gospel
It Costs To Be A Disciple
Luke 14:25-35

If the message is too confrontational, or too judgmental, or too exclusive, scary, unbelievable, hard to understand, or too much anything else for your taste, churches everywhere are eager to adjust that message to make you more comfortable.

In contrast to the consumer-friendly counterfeit gospel of today, Jesus actually made it clear that following him would not be easy.

I. To Follow Jesus You Must Hate Your Family – Luke 14:25-26
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus…,
…and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple.”

In fact, this life-long commitment involved three separate criteria, the first of which is: to follow Jesus you must hate your family.

So, Jesus was teaching that your love for your family must pale in comparison to your love for him.

II. To Follow Jesus You Must Carry Your Cross – Luke 14:27
“And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

They would have immediately understood what Jesus meant because they were so familiar with the Roman form of execution by crucifixion.

It is in fact the suffering you endure because you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

III. To Follow Jesus You Must Count the Cost – Luke 14:28-35
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, …those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

In order to help his followers count the cost, Jesus gave two examples from daily life.

This is the third time in this portion of scripture that Jesus has said that you cannot be his disciple unless you fulfill a certain criteria.

Jesus concluded his teaching in this section by pointing out that it is worthless being anything less than a wholehearted follower of Jesus.

What it does mean is that you will live your entire life, moment by moment and day by day,

  1. Following Jesus by loving him supremely,
  2. Willingly experiencing humiliation, rejection, and suffering,
  3. Renouncing your right to all that you have.