THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS
Luke 14:25-34
OUR AGENDA MUST BE ONE WITH JESUS
V:25. Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 \”If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
A. In any crowd, there will
be people with different agendas.
1. There will be some who are just curious, but no committed.
2. There will be some who are there to see what they can get for themselves, but not committed.
3. There will be some who hate the agenda of Jesus.
4. There will be some who have not made up their mind
about Jesus.
5. There will be some who are committed to Jesus and
ready to build God’s church.
B. Jesus demands that He be first in your life.
1. God put us first above His own Son.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave only begotten Son.
2. To follow Jesus, we must put Him first.
C. The Greek word for “hate” in this text means to love less.
1. The Lord would not contradict His command to honor your mother and father.
2. Putting Jesus first means, living in
obedience to His commands.
3. Living in obedience to God\’s commands means every other consideration is second. And some things are not considered.
4. According to the text, the order of our love is Jesus, the family then self.
5. Our daily objective ought to be to serve Christ by drawing others to Him through our Christian lifestyle.
C. According to the Roman custom of the time, a convicted man was forced
To carry his cross to the crucifixion site.
This was a sign that the
Roman government was right and the condemned man was wrong.
1. To carry the burden of the cross for Jesus is to say that Jesus is right and the world is wrong.
2. The burden of the cross requires us to forsake our fleshly desires for the righteousness of Christ.
3. The burden of the cross requires us to be submissive to the guidance and directions of the Holy Spirit.
4. The burden of the cross requires us to serve God with the gifts and talents He has provided.
5. The burden of the cross requires our agenda to become one with Jesus agenda.
THE TOWER OF DEFENCE
V:28 \”Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, \’This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.\’
A. The tower was a tall lookout station used for observation to guard against the enemy.
1. The enemy to every Christian is Satan and his demons.
2. We have to build a defense against Satan.
3. Eph 6:13-18 outlines our tower of defense:
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and
with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which
you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit.”
4. Notice that our tower of defense is trusting in God’s protection and provisions.
5. As Christians, we stand on God’s promises and noting else.
B. Satan goes to and fro to see who he may destroy.
1. The moment you declare Jesus as Lord and Savior, you become his target.
2. Friends and relatives may be who he uses to Polk fun at your religion.
3. In addition, you may face all kinds of temptations to draw you away from Christ.
4. Therefore we must always guard our hearts and minds
from being distracted from Christ.
THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, IT’S THE LORD
V:31 \”Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 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. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
A. We are in a constant battle with Satan.
1. The Apostle Paul stated it as follows;
Romans 7:21-25
I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!
2. We cannot make peace with the devil, but we can make peace with Christ.
3. To make peace with Jesus is to take up the cross and follow Him.
4. The cost of discipleship is to put our trust in Christ and not rely on self.
B. The battle that we are in, is fought in the spiritual realm which we are not capable of winning without Christ.
“Ephesians 6:11-12
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
1. We have to humble ourselves before the Lord and allow Him to work in our favor.
2. 2 Chronicles 20:15
For the battle is not yours, but God\’s.
3. Jesus rose from the dead with all power over heaven and earth in victory over Satan and his demons.
4. We have no business in a battle that is already won.
WE ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH
V:34 \”Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
\”He who has ears to hear, let him hear.\”
A. Salt was designed with a purpose.
1. It seasons that which it comes in
contact with.
2. Salt adds flavor to food.
3. Salt preserves food.
4. Salt can be corrupted by rain and lose its quality.
a. Salt contains sodium chloride which is water-soluble.
b. Our love for Christ should not be dissolved by the lust of the world.
B. The life of a Christian is designed to be the salt of the earth.
1. We are to affect those we come in contact with by proclaiming the Word of God.
2. It is our job to season our conversation with love, grace, and mercy, and compassion for everyone.
3. When we proclaim Christ, the Holy Spirit works in the lives of the hearers.
C. If we lose our desire to serve Christ we become corrupt and useless to the Church.
1. According to the Apostle Paul, it is the temptations of life that derails our intentions to serve,
“ Heb 12:1
12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”
2. It is up to us to stay focused on Christ and serve Him through which success in mission is obtained.
Rev M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North
Houston, Texas 77041
For More lessons follow me on facebook and visit my blogs
Revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! 🙂