Cost of Discipleship
Are we true disciples?
• If a true disciple, your Christian walk
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•
•
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Will be challenging
Will be exciting
Will have a sense of purpose
Will have a sense of direction
• A disciple listens with attention and intention.
• A disciple has an intense desire to apply what has been learned
Luke 14:25-34
•
25 Large
crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “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. 27 And whoever
does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
• 28 “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? 29 For if you lay the foundation and
are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,30 saying, ‘This person
began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
• 31 “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? 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, those of
you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
• 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
Three costs of discipleship
1. We must hate out families and ourselves (14:26)
2. We must carry our own cross (14:27)
3. We must give up all our possessions (14:33)
Luke 14:25-34
•
25 Large
crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “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. 27 And whoever
does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
• 28 “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? 29 For if you lay the foundation and
are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,30 saying, ‘This person
began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
• 31 “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? 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, those of
you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
• 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
Requirement 1 - Love God more than anyone
else
• Luke 14:26 “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.”
• Jesus was not advocating that in order to be disciples, we must
actually hate family, friends and ourselves
• Your love for God should be so strong that your love for others is like
hatred by comparison
Requirement 2 - Deny yourself and take your
cross
• Luke 14:27 “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple.”
• Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my
disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and
follow me.””
• Denial means to repudiate, to disdain, to disown, to forfeit, to totally
disregard
• C. S. Lewis wrote “the real test of being in the presence of God is that
you either forget about yourself altogether or you see yourself as a
small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.”
Requirement 3 – Forsake all that you have
• Luke 14:33 “In the same way, those of you who do not give up
everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
• To forsake means to surrender your claim to, to say goodbye to
Count the cost
• Luke 14:28 – “or which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit
down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it”
• Martin Luther said “a religion that gives nothing, costs nothing and
suffers nothing is worth nothing.”
• If you want to follow Jesus” remarked the activist priest Daniel
Berrigan “you had better look good on wood”
What are the benefits of being a disciple?
1. The disciple is the one to whom god reveals more as that individual
drinks in his every word, marking the inflection of his voice with the
desire to obey.
2. The disciple is the one who lives the Christian life in all its fullness,
receiving all God has for him
3. To the disciple, each new day is a fresh opportunity to walk with
God
4. To the disciple, life has definite purpose and direction. It is life
abundant.
What is your response?
Yes, today I am deciding to follow Jesus
Yes, I am already a follower of Jesus
I still have questions