It Will Cost You Everything --- Luke 14:25-35 --- Dr. Steven Lawson --- Nov. 21st 2017

well am i on yes I am on ok wonderful turn me on Lord well it's so good to be here with you at a Manuel Baptist Church and it speaks volumes to me that you would be back at church so quickly at 4 o'clock in the afternoon to hear a sermon of all things so I just thank the Lord for your dedication to Christ I know I'm in a church and in a place where the Word of God is honored and so that makes it a great delight for me to be here maybe just a brief word of background I'm on a thirty four day trip around the world I've never done a 360 where I go all the way around the world and so I've I left Dallas Texas in October and I'll return in December I left going west and I will return from the east and the Lord has allowed me to be with so many wonderful people like you so I am very enriched I get to be with the finest Christians wherever I go and you obviously are that so I look forward to the time that we'll have to spend together it's difficult to know what to speak when you said one time to preach a sermon and I have a passage that I think will challenge but also encourage us as well and so I invite you to take your Bible and turn with me to the Book of Luke to the Gospel of Luke Luke chapter 14 and I want us to look at a particular passage tonight or this afternoon rather Luke chapter 14 we'll be looking at verses 25 to 35 to put a title on this passage or this message I would call it it will cost you everything so I want to begin by reading passage Luke chapter 14 beginning in verse 25 now large crowds were going along with him referring to Christ and he turned and said to them if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters yes and even his own life he cannot be my disciple whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple for which one of you when he wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it otherwise when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish all who observe it begin to ridicule him saying this man began to build and was not able to finish or what king when he sets out to meet another king in battle will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand or else while the other is still far away he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace so then none of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his possessions therefore salt is good but if salt has become tasteless with what will it be seasoned it is useless either for the soil or the new the manure pile it is thrown out he has ears to hear let him hear this is what we call one of the hard sayings of Christ not necessarily hard to understand it's hard to accept because these words are so strong like to begin by illustrating this by saying years ago when I was a young man I played sports I played football basketball baseball ran track and I was able to be at a point as a young man that when it came time to go to college Texas Tech University offered me a full four-year football scholarship I remember when they explained to my father how happy he was to hear this that my tuition was free my room and board was free all my meals were free my books were free my laundry was free my travel was free my tutors were free for four years I did not pay one thin dime and I remember as a senior in high school when I signed the contract my parents were there my football coach was there was a great moment and as soon as I signed that contract Texas Tech University owned me for the next four years they determined when I would show up at the University they determined when I would go to bed when I would wake up they decided for me what I would eat they put me through rigorous Viggers to day practices and the hot Texas Sun I remember it was so hot out in West Texas that one day we put a thermometer on the on the football field and it exploded the murk it was so hot you could stand on one end of the football field and look at the other end of the football field and not be able to see the other end for all the heat ways that were rising from the surface we lifted weights we ran agility drills we ran the stadium steps we ran laps around the stadium we went through blocking drills tackling drills every imaginable discipline and rigor to which you could put oneself through yeah my education was free but it cost me everything in a very real way this illustrates the Christian life that our salvation is free it was purchased in full at Calvary's cross when Jesus said it is finished it meant paid in full every sin every debt every transgression paid in full through the sinless life and substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ yet that moment when you took that step of faith and committed your life to Jesus Christ at that moment you were signing your life over to Jesus Christ at that moment he owned you he bought you with the precious blood that He shed at Calvary cross and you and I went from being a slave of sin to becoming a slave of Jesus Christ under new management under new authority under the lordship of Jesus Christ and the Christian life that lay ahead for us that would not be an easy path it would come at a high cost in a great cost each one of us it would require self-denial and death to self-sacrifice submission obedience even facing a new set of problems that we previously did not have it would mean tribulation and to be sure the blessings and the benefits far outweigh whatever sacrifice we would ever have to make to be a follower of Jesus Christ as we go from death to light from darkness to light but make no mistake about it it's not an easy believe ISM and it's not cheap grace and as we now have embarked upon the adventure of being a disciple of Jesus Christ as I look at the text in front of me the key word is found at the end of verse 26 it's the last word of verse 26 it is the last word of verse 27 it is found in the middle of verse 33 it is the thread that is woven through this passage it is the word disciple a disciple is a follower of Christ a disciple is one who has a supreme loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ the term Christian would not be invented until years later until the book of Acts Acts chapter 11 in Antioch they first called the disciples Christians Jesus did not refer to his followers as Christians in fact the term Christian originally appeared in Antioch as a term of mockery and Davitt and derision because Christ was so hated in the Roman Empire and and taunted and and mocked that these believers in Christ they tried to belittle them by calling them Christians which means little Christ in the early followers of Christ so loved any identification with Christ that they embraced this term they loved being identified in any way with their Savior and Lord Jesus Christ but previous to that every authentic genuine believer in Jesus Christ was referred to as a disciple in fact in the book of Acts they referred to as those who are on the way in a disciple as one who is following Christ on the way and so in this text before us Jesus lays out for us his words that challenge the crowd so long ago about being a disciple and as we begin to look at this I want to ask you this personal question are you a disciple of Jesus Christ now you might initially say oh I'm a Christian the question is are you a disciple of Jesus Christ granted all disciples are Christians authentic Christians and authentic Christians are disciples but this is the way Jesus chose to identify those who are on the way well may the Lord help us understand this text in this passage to understand what it is that we have agreed to to understand what we have signed on for that our eyes are wide open that we understand really what it is to be a believer in Jesus Christ so I'm going to begin I have 5 things I want to set before you from this passage of Scripture and in verse 25 I want you to note the crowds in verse 25 we read now large crowds were going along with him my police note he wasn't just a crowd it was crowds in the plural and it wasn't just crowds in the plural it was large crowds literally in the original language many crowds people are flooding out of there it's in towns and in cities - to follow and to be a part of this crowd that is following Christ Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem and they have heard of his teaching they have heard of his miracles and and they are just attracted and they are drawn to him you know it says they were going along with him there is a certain aloofness about that they're just going along with him how easy it is just to be a part of a crowd now easy it is to be just swept up in a movement to be swept up in a larger crowd because you can remain anonymous and then because you can remain even uncommitted and and not have to declare your allegiance you can just blend in and be like a piece of dead wood and just float downstream and and just go with the flow in this large crowd in these many large crowds there are all kinds of people there were those they were genuinely committed to Christ we know 11 of the 12 original disciples were on board they had left their nets they had left their world behind and they were attached to the Lord Jesus Christ and there were surely some others like that as well but by and large there were many who were just curious they just wanted to be a part of a crowd every want to be a part of a religious crowd nobody wants to eat at a restaurant and no one's in the restaurant you just think what's wrong with the food in this restaurant that I'm the only person here no one wants to stay at a hotel and you're the only person in the entire hotel you feel odd weird you want to be where there's other people and there's a sense of security about that and you can keep your distance and remain aloof and the larger the crowd the better and that's something of what is going on here and so Jesus never wanted a crowd he had a crowd later that crucified him he's after disciples and Jesus was never into sighs he was into substance and so we read in verse 25 that he turned around which meant he was leading this entourage this procession and they were following him and he stops and turns around and said to them Jesus now addressed them and as Jesus addressed them Jesus addresses us as this finds itself in the Canon a scripture to speak to every generation on every continent to every person who will hear these words as he spoke to the crowds that day he nevertheless spoke to every individual who was in the crowd and he is speaking to you tonight through his word individually and personally as if there is no one else in this building tonight it's you and Jesus second I want you to note in verse 26 not only the crowds but in verse 26 the commitment because Jesus now states what is necessary to be a true follower in his kingdom Jesus begins in verse 26 by throwing open his arms this is a an open invitation of the gospel we would say this is a a free offer of the gospel it's as if he's swinging open the gates of paradise and he says if anyone they know no matter who you are whether you're male or female whether you're rich or poor whether you're young or you're old whether you're educated or uneducated whether you're cultured or you're uncouth if anyone comes to me and to come to Christ is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to come to Christ is to come all the way to Christ by faith then when he says if anyone comes to me he is not talking about with your feet walking across the room he means with your heart to take the steps of faith to enter through the narrow gate if anyone comes to me in John 6 and verse 35 jesus said I am the bread of life he who comes to me will not hunger and he who believes in Me will never thirst and there Jesus equates coming to him with believing in him if anyone comes to me and Jesus will now define the terms for coming to him the one who issues the call sets the terms the crowd was not allowed to define or to determine what would those terms be Jesus himself sets the condition and he says if anyone comes to me and does not hate they stop right there that's a word we would not let our children use growing up around the dinner table I have three sons and a daughter I have three sons Andrew James and John we're into discipleship and I have a daughter named Peter we're into discipleship if one of my sons said I hate my sister my wife is going to wash your mouth out with soap until you have bubbles coming out of your ears you are not allowed to say you hated your brother or your sister but what does Jesus say here this is the inspired the inerrant word of the Living God if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters he can not you cannot be my disciple those who are your loved ones if you love anyone in this world it is these whom you love and jesus said except you hate them you cannot be my disciple what does this mean how are we to take this does not the fifth commandment say honor your father and mother is that not still in the books does Paul not in Ephesians 6 still quote that for children today yes and did not Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount to love your enemies how much more so should we love our own mother and father and spouse and did not Jesus when he hung upon the cross before he said father received my spirit did he not love his mother did he not look at John and say behold your mother and did he not say to his mother behold your son he was loving and caring for his mother as he hung upon the cross and did not the Apostle Paul say that if you do not take care of the members of your own household you are worse than an infidel so what is this except you hate your own father and mother and brother and sister one of the key principles of interpretation is that scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture the Puritans used to say just as only a diamond is sharp enough to cut another diamond so only Scripture is sharp enough to rightly divide Scripture so I want you to turn back to Matthew chapter 10 in another discourse in which Jesus addresses the subject of being a disciple who would follow him in a Matthew chapter 10 and in verse 37 Jesus gives us the interpretation I think of his own words in fact he becomes very clear in verse 37 of Matthew chapter 10 jesus said he who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me now it is crystal clear that in Luke chapter 14 Jesus is using a figure of speech that is known as hyperbole which is an intentional deliberate exaggeration in order to make a point and it does so with shock an intentional shock value and what Jesus is meaning in Luke 14 on the basis of Matthew 10 is that the love that you have for Jesus Christ must be so superior and so supreme compared to the love that you have for those whom you love the most that even the love that you have for your own parents and spouse and children would be by comparison as hate when compared to the supreme surpassing love that you have for Jesus Christ in other words what Jesus is saying to be my disciple he must be our greatest affection he must be our greatest treasure he must be our greatest prize we must desire him and worship Him and adore him more than anyone or anything in this world he must be supreme in our lives or you're gonna have to find another line to get in or you cannot be my disciple please note how Jesus puts everything in the negative intentionally this is a positive negative Jesus is stating the positive in the negative to have greater impact to our ears in our hearts this is like Paul and Romans 1 verse 16 when he says I'm not ashamed of the gospel he puts it in the negative it's a it's like a double negative not ashamed can you imagine if you asked me tell me about your wife back home in Dallas Texas well I want you to know this I'm not ashamed of her you know what kind of a what kind of an answer is that well I would never say that but when Paul says I'm not ashamed of the gospel it's a double negative to state the positive it's a figure of speech known as leotis and here in mark or in Luke chapter 14 Jesus is using hyperbole to so state his case that it rings in our ears and it echoes in our hearts and in our souls this can't pass in one ear and out the other this sticks on the back wall of our of our heart and of our mind and it's intended to arrest our attention and to call for supreme allegiance and supreme affection for the Lord Jesus Christ or you're an unbeliever what does Jesus say or what does Paul write in Romans 8 verse 28 and we know that he causes all things to work together for good for those who love God that's how the true believer is identified in Romans 8 verse 28 you're a god lover you used to be a Christ hater and a Christ rejecter and you just kept him at arm's length but now you are a Christ lover and a Christ adore if you're a true disciple of Jesus Christ and how this should challenge us in the midst of all the hecticness of life have you ever noticed the traffic around here this is this is wild this is chaos I just want to fix everything as I'm going in the hecticness of living in a city of four and a half and four and a half million people with the activities ministries of a thriving church with a family with children with grandchildren or the work and a business all of the demands upon your life how easy it is for me and for you at times for our love for Christ to grow weak Jesus had to address the church at Ephesus and he commended them for their doctrinal purity and their theological accuracy and their activity in ministry and then he says but I have this against you you have left your first love and it doesn't happen overnight it's like a leaking tire it's not a blowout it just slowly loses all the air until you can't go anymore I don't know where you are and your spiritual walk with the Lord I would assume for most of you to show up on a four o'clock worship service in the afternoon to hear someone you don't even know I'm gonna assume that most of you are true disciples I say most of you but how even for us as disciples now we have to continue to cultivate our love and affection for the Lord Jesus Christ and to remind ourselves of who he is and what he has done and what he continues to do at the right hand of the Father and what he shall do throughout all the ages to come the distinguishing mark of a true disciple is his supreme love and affection for Jesus Christ but continue to look at verse 26 because Jesus now puts his finger on the jugular vein Jesus now hits the most sensitive area within each and every one of us he says in verse 26 if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children brothers and sisters now here's the hard part yes and even his own life you cannot be I know how hard this is to overcome I'm a firstborn son in the post-world War 2 era it's not an exaggeration to say my mother adored me can you blame her and she pampered me and spoiled me and told me in exaggerated terms how wonderful she thought I was and what a shock it is to my system and I'm sure to your system to read this but you're gonna have to hate your own wife or you cannot be my disciple again again Jesus is using a figure of speech and he's gonna ask what he is saying is you're gonna have to die to self it's just over for you if you're gonna follow Jesus he's gonna be in the front seat and you're gonna be in the back seat or he's not getting in for the ride what does self-love look like self-love is an ugly thing self-love is an awful thing self-love is a monster that will devour a person's life self-love means self-centeredness that everything revolves around you self preoccupation so flattery self-indulgence self pampering self-pity self-promotion selfies self-exaltation you're the hero of your own stories self esteem self love is being self-absorbed self-consumed self focused so fixed and if we are to live for Jesus Christ you're gonna have to reject self reject our agenda for Christ Genda we're gonna have to reject my will and what I want to do when I want to do it and how I want it and now to live for what Christ desires for my life to be willing to go anywhere anytime with anyone and pay any price it's all about Christ now it's not about me it's about Christ what did Paul say in Philippians 1 verse 21 for me to live is Christ and to die is gain why because when we die if we live for Christ we go be with Christ and we become made like Christ but if you live for anything or anyone else for you to die is loss this is what it is to be a disciple you have such a supreme commitment and loyalty and love for Jesus Christ that even the closest relationships in your life and even your little love affair with your own life would appear to be as hate compared to your love for Christ so where are you this afternoon how can your heart be enlarged more for Christ the happiest you will ever be in your life that's when you're growing in your love for Christ the greatest joy you will ever know in your life is when you are growing in your love for Christ and you will love your parents more when you love Christ more and you will love your wife or your husband more when you love Christ more and you will love your children more you will love even your neighbor and your enemies more when you love Christ more he's the key to your whole life so that's the commitment and it's never this this price of commitment to Christ it's it's never lowered it's never put on sale it's never discounted it's never marked down it's always this high cost of being a disciple of Christ but it is the greatest joy and pleasure if I had a thousand lies I'd give every one of them to Jesus Christ I want you to know third in verse 27 the cross because Jesus does not back off Jesus does does that say something hard in verse 26 and now try to balance it out with something soft and sweet in verse 27 the giving the tank in preaching what Jesus does in verse 27 is he pushes down on the gas pedal even harder he becomes more provocative and more challenging to you and to me here the words of Jesus Christ verse 27 whoever and again he is opening his arms to whoever whoever you are wherever you are from whence you have come whoever does not there's that word not that word not runs through this passage Jesus keeps almost poking them in the chest what's this word not whoever does not carry his own cross cannot cannot can not be my disciple what does this mean well it's not talking about a piece of jewelry around your neck that's okay if you have one but that's not what he's talking about there was no misunderstanding in the first century did those who first heard this across was the instrument from a public execution it was the instrument of capital punishment the cross was the electric chair of the first century write that down the cross was the gas chamber of the first century the can see the the cross was the lethal injection of the first century Jesus said you're going to have to take your cross not my cross his cross your cross if you're gonna be my disciple now what does this mean well in this day in time someone would a condemned criminal would stand before the judge just like Jesus stood before Pilate and the sentence would be rendered crucifixion a terrorist a robber a thief an enemy of the of the state or the nation and part of the sentence was you would be given to the cross mean and it would be on your back your shoulder and you would be forced to carry it through the streets of the city and the people would turn out and they would line the street and it was known as the death march and you would carry your cross being through the streets of the city in public shame and humiliation as you are saying you are condemned and you agree with the judge the charge that has been brought against you and you carry your cross to the execution site and there you will be stretched out upon the cross beam and the nails will be driven through your hands and you will be publicly executed for all to see today we don't even put our electric chair executions on television but in the first century it was so public and that's what Jesus did in fact he staggered under the way to the cross beam and Simon picked it up from Cyrene and had to carry it as Jesus walked the Via Dolorosa the path to Calvary and what Jesus is saying here is that you and I must agree with the verdict of the court regarding our life that we have been weighed in the balances and found wanting that we have sinned and we have fallen short of the glory of God that we are lawbreakers and we have violated the holy law of God and we must die we must die to self we must die to self will and self exaltation and self esteem and all the rest and every step of the Christian life is in one sense we're a dead man walking we're dead to the world we're dead to our old manner of life and we're now alive unto Christ who has died in our place that we might have life and have it abundantly but this is the cross and it's a part of the commitment and please note in verse twenty twenty eight it says excuse me verse 27 then whoever does not carry his cross please note the next words and come after me very important in verse 26 he said we must come to him in verse 27 he says we must come after him and if you truly come to Christ you don't just sit there you don't just become a pew sitter you don't just become a spectator of the Christian life you don't just become a passive observer of Christianity if you truly come to Christ you will come after Christ and it will be the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of the Lord Jesus Christ to put this in theological terms justification always immediately leads to sanctification the narrow gate immediately leads to the narrow path if there is no coming to Christ without coming after Christ there is no coming through the narrow gate and then walking the broad path we can't mix and match it's narrow gate narrow paths broad gate broad paths and Jesus says if you come to me you must come after me the verb come is in the present tense which is important it's a very important nuance here which means it's habitual lifestyle which means every moment of every day we are to be following Christ there is not a moment in your life in which you and I are not to be following Christ this is not just a Sunday morning thing it's not just a Sunday afternoon thing it is a Monday morning Tuesday morning Wednesday night throughout the week whether we go to work whether we go to school whether we go to our neighborhoods whether we go to be with our in-laws whoever wherever we go we are following Christ this means to follow Christ that you're an imitator of Christ that you walk as he walked that you live as he lived but you believe what he taught that you speak what he spoke that you love what he loves but you hate what he hates that you rejoice over that for which he rejoices and you weep over that for which he weeps you are so connected to Christ as you follow him you're not 40 miles behind him you are stride for stride and step first step with Christ you're in his hip pocket and you're attached to him and shoot follow him and please note he does not tell the crowd where this will take them he doesn't give them a 5-year plan he doesn't give him a ten-year plan he doesn't unfailing Philo me you and I don't need to know where we don't need to know how all we need to know is who we just need to follow Christ that's what the Christian life is it's Christ the sum and the substance of the Christian life is Christ the Alpha and the Omega of the Christian life is Christ even the father is saying this is my beloved son listen to him even the Holy Spirit is pointing us to Christ away from himself Christ is in the spotlight we don't follow a church we don't follow the denomination we don't follow a cause we don't follow a ministry we follow Christ and Christ will lead us into a church and that church may be in a denomination and he may lead you into he will lead you into a ministry and he will lead you into a cause but you come to Christ and you follow Christ every step for the rest of your life you were to follow him personally no one else can make this decision for you you were to follow him wholeheartedly you cannot be half in and half out you cannot straddle the fence you have to be all-in to follow Christ you follow him permanently there's no turning back we have burned our bridges behind us this isn't a weekend journey this is a lifelong pursuit we follow him repentantly we have turned our back to the world we have turned our back to a life of sin we are following Christ we follow him obediently his word is now our command we follow him openly and for before the eyes of the world there are no hidden disciples there are no secret disciples we're flying our flag for all to see we are to follow him comprehensively every area of our entire life is to be lived on this path in following Christ there's no little secret part of my life that I get to hold back that is not a part of following Christ we must follow Christ exclusively meaning Christ in Christ alone so lost Christos not Christ and this not Christ and that Christ has a monopoly on our lives and we must follow Christ immediately not tomorrow tomorrow's the devil's day today is God's day behold now is the accepted time behold today is the day of salvation boast not yourself of tomorrow you know not what a day may bring forth we follow Christ immediately this very moment even as you're sitting before me you're to be following Christ in your heart your body is still your heart is alive your heart is active your heart is beating with a pulse for Christ miss the cross are you carrying your cross are you dying to self are you living for Christ I want you to know fourth the calculation you've got to do the math on this and beginning in verse 28 and extending to verse 33 Jesus gives two parables they are the heads and tails of the same coin they fit together the first parable is found in verses 28 to 30 the second parable is found in verses 31 and 32 and they are inseparably connected to the verses we've just looked at in the first parable Jesus says it will cost you to follow him in the second parable it's he says it will cost you if you do not follow him it's gonna cost you either way whether you follow Christ or you don't follow Christ there is a high price to pay none of us get out of this on easy street none of us will just slide into eternity it's gonna cost you either way so in the first parable beginning of verse 28 jesus said for which one of you and as he said this he's looking into the eyes of the crowd that day a crowd of many who were unconverted who were uncommitted who were just curious he says for which one of you when he wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it I mean what fool would enter into a building project he'd have no idea what it will cost him you just start building you just make a snap decision you just start this and you have no idea where it'll take you and what will require and and what it'll cost you are an F oh oh L a fool let me spell that again a fool no one would be that stupid no one would be that illogical or irrational to just jump into a project a huge project to build this tower and yet no earthly idea what it will cost you well you know what's going to happen he tells us in the next verse in verse 29 otherwise when he has when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish others begin to ridicule him and rightly so people come walking by in town and they see this just empty slab on a piece of dirt and there's a few bricks laid around the side and this man has had to completely abandon the project that he started everybody in town talks about that crazy old man he started to build this tower and he wasn't able to finish because he had no idea what it would require what it would cost verse 30 saying this man began to build he's a model of stupidity you know who he's addressing people who would just want to make a quick decision for Jesus just walking on raise a hand sign a card parrot of Prayer join a church you're in it was easy let's go to lunch and then down the road a couple months he's identified with Christ founded his business there's a price for him to pay and he's not willing to ante up some persecution some tribulation begins to come his way and he goes I didn't sign up for this I didn't buy in for this I just wanted forgiveness III just wanted to be a part of a group I just wanted my wife to be happy and I'll just go ahead and come that man is a Judas disciple that man is a counterfeit convert that man is a delusional disciple that man is a bogus believer that man never became a disciple to begin with you need to count the cost and I'm sure most of you here this afternoon are genuine disciples let us remember our commitment what we signed up for and let us not think it's strange when certain trials and tribulations come our way it's a part of the cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ and let me tell you when you become a disciple all your problems do not go away in fact you're gonna have a new set of problems look at Jobe he was the most righteous man on the face of the earth there was nothing he didn't do anything wrong he was the most righteous man in all hell broke loose in his life count the cost remind yourself of the cost in your Christian life and his first Peter forces do not think it a strange thing when fiery trials come because of Christ it's par for the course I don't like it you don't like it but it's a part it's a it's par for the course now look at the second parable someone here today may be thinking you know I don't want all this hey I don't want the trials in the tribulation I don't want the obedience I want to go my own way to do my own thing I want to do what I want to do when I want to do it okay you're in the second parable your name is written on the second parable so look at the second parable because it will cost you everything if you do not follow Christ so jesus said err what King when he says King he's referring to everyone there in the crowd who have been ruling over their own little island of a life who have been overseeing and calling the shots in their own life for what king when he sets out to meet another king and the other king is the one who's giving this parable this other king is none other than the king of kings nor Jesus Christ or what King when he sets out to meet another king please note not at a coffee shop in battle there's a battle brewing on the horizon there is a gathering storm on the horizon and it speaks of the last day and the final judgment there's gonna be a battle in which Christ will enter into conflict and war with everyone who has rejected him and Jesus said er what King when he sets out to beat another King in battle will not first sit down you need to sit down and consider at the Greek word look into my we get logarithms from it or logic you need to do the math on this before you go any further will not first consider whether he is strong enough with 10,000 troops to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand troops listen to the truth of the matter is he has myriads of myriads and myriads and mirrors in 10 thousands and ten thousands of soldiers and if you had two brain cells touching between your ears you would send out an envoy to make terms of peace you would want to make peace with this king because when he comes in the final judgment he will come in vengeance and fury and the Lamb of God will be the Lion of the tribe of Judah and he will stuff every unbeliever down the chute into hell and follow them down into hell and damned their souls forever and cast them into the lake of fire and brimstone for which there will be no relief and they will suffer under the weeping and the gnashing of teeth and there will be eternal torment and not one moment of relief and it will be Christ himself who will be inflicting the eternal torment and rightly so because you have trampled underfoot the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and you have insulted the spirit of grace hell cannot be hot enough for Christ rejecters and for those who will not truly surrender and submit their life to Jesus Christ so Jesus says in verse 32 or else well the other referring to this king with twenty thousand troops is still far away he sends out a delegation and asked for terms of peace don't enter into battle with him what are the terms of peace you must hate your father and brother and mother and sister yes even your own life and you must take up your cross and carry it the terms of peace are the unconditional surrender of your life to Jesus Christ and nothing less that you just turn everything over and you entrust your entire life to King Jesus and you bow the knee and surrender so what does Jesus say in verse 33 he says so then none of you here's another negative none of you there's no exceptions to this there's no exemption clauses none of you can be my disciple who does not there's another not who does not give up all his possessions what on earth does this mean does this mean I have to buy my forgiveness of sin no does this mean I have to sell everything in a garage sale and post everything on eBay and just liquidate and sell everything that I own and just give it to the poor give it to charity whatever no don't do that because then we'll have to support you you'll just be a burden to us what does this mean this means that when you surrender your life to Jesus Christ it's more than just your life it's everything you own and everything that you have it now belongs to him it's still in your hand it's just not yours anymore your house is his house your car is his car your bank account is his bank account you're just a steward of his possessions you now are in management of his resources and you are to invest them and to use them for his kingdom and for his purposes and also to take care of your needs and also to share with those who have needs but every single one of us whether you're rich or whether you're poor whether you have a lot whether you have very little it's all signed over to Jesus that's what that means have you thought about that that you simply are a trustee and a steward of the Lord's possessions and you cannot waste his possessions you must be strategic you must be wise in the investment the investment of your possessions now there's one last thing I want you to see the caution Jesus is a great preacher and he brings this all to a bottom line and he brings a challenge he's not just a teacher Jesus is a preacher and Jesus says in verse 34 and therefore salt is good and of course salt is good salt gives flavor to food it preserves spoiling but if even salt has become tasteless with what will it be seasoned tasteless salt is not salt tasteless salt is in this part of the world half gypsum and has salt it's a half in half out crowd follower it's a fake follower this tasteless salt there's no zing there's no punch there's no flavor to your life spiritually speaking it's just flat this this represents those in the crowd that day who were not on board with Jesus who were just swept up in this whirlwind of activities in motion and religious talk then Jesus says in verse 33 something that is some starter it's startling if it wasn't in the Bible I wouldn't say it tonight from the pulpit it referring to the half in half out salt the half in half out disciple is useless the unsaved church member is just useless you're just in the way you're useless either for the soil meaning you're useless for fertilizer nothing can grow where you are and then Jesus said or for the manure pile because real salt was sewn into a dunghill to the stench and Jesus says if you're if you're just playing games in the crowd and just going along with the crowd and you don't love me more than anyone or anything else and if you're not carrying your cross you're not even useful for the dung pile and Jesus is intentionally sharp with his words and then he says he who has ears to hear let him hear you have heard my voice have you heard what Jesus is saying as it sunk in or are have you been playing games in your mind and trying to find loopholes and excuses and alternate interpretations to explain this away you has ears to hear let him hear I need to hear this you need to hear this we all need to hear this I need to sit up straight in my chair I need to be reminded of what is required of me to be sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ and to be half in half out is useless to the Lord I will close with this someone has written I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ the die has been cast I have stepped over the line the decision has been made I am a disciple of Jesus Christ I will not look up let up slow down back away or be still I no longer need preeminence prosperity position platitudes or approval I no longer have to be right first recognized praised regarded or rewarded my pace is set my gate is fast my goal is heaven my road is narrow my way is rough my companions are few my mission is clear I am a disciple of Jesus Christ I cannot be bought compromised deterred turned away turn back deluded or delayed I will not back up let up shut up until I have preached up prayed up stored up and stayed up the cost of Christ I must go until he returns give until I drop preach until all know and work until he comes and when he comes he will have no trouble recognizing me my colors will be clear I am a disciple of Jesus Christ how about you are you a disciple of Jesus Christ it is the greatest joy the greatest privilege the greatest pleasure to step out of the world and to step out of the crowd whether anyone comes or others come and to be committed to Christ and to follow Christ it leads to 10,000 Joy's it leads to life and life abundantly it leads to the the will of God which is good and acceptable and perfect and one day it will lead us to the very throne of grace into the very presence of God the Father if Jesus Christ be God and died for me then no sacrifice is too great for me to make for him if you've never believed upon Christ if you've never become a disciple of Christ I call you this very moment to give your life to Christ surrender your life to Christ to stop the struggle within your soul because if you do not there's a battle that will be a far greater struggle on the last day settle it now while you can send for terms of peace I just pray father in heaven thank you for the words of our Lord that always both challenge and comfort always both build up and tear down we need all of it lord I pray for those who are discouraged today that you will encourage them and remind them of the privilege of following Christ and Lord if any of us have slowed down our pace have lagged behind if any of us here tonight need to pick up our pace and following Christ then use these mess these words in this message to draw back to where we need to be father we thank you and praise you for the sufficiency of Christ in his name we pray amen you

Channel: Ekklesia Afrika

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Id: aH0pKT8LyjM

Length: 72min 44sec (4364 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 08 2018