According to Luke: The Cost To Following Christ

According to Luke: The Cost To Following Christ

Opening Illustration:

Endurance is a quality that God expects us to manifest. If you go to an IKEA store, you will find somewhere in the chair department a glass box with what is called the durability test. They have a mechanism that simulates someone sitting on the chair, and they say the chair was used 10 times a day for 10 years and it’s still like new in its original shape. The furniture at IKEA was never meant to be as sturdy or as high quality as the good old teak or oak furniture that the older generation has probably been accustomed to. Let’s face it--it’s cheap quality but they want to sell it by showing how durable it is.

2 Timothy 4:7 Paul says "I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith."

Someone posted a very funny picture on the Internet called "The real IKEA durability test" where a dog is chewing one of those chairs and it didn’t pass the test. In our lives we will be put to the test, and many times we think we are faithful and ready to endure anything, but God will sometimes allow us to go through hardships in order to help us to become approved. His intention is not to see us failing the test of fire, but he always help us to learn our lessons and to endure our trials through faith.

Following Christ was never meant to be easy. There is absolutely a cost to following Christ. Anyone that says otherwise is lying to you. We have to endure, we have to engage, we have to know that trials and tests will come. It won’t be easy but it will be worth it. There is a reward! Fill in these blanks this morning. 

Following Christ is not for the faint of heart, but it is fruitful for the faithful!

Following Christ Is Not For The Faint of Heart, But It Is Fruitful For the Faithful!

Background:

This morning we are wrapping up Luke 9. We have been in this chapter for the better part of 2 months now. There have been miracles. There has been unbelievable things seen by the disciples. The disciples have been partners to Jesus in spreading the Good News and even in performing miracles themselves. However, Luke 9 is a turning point for Jesus and His disciples. Jesus is preparing them for the trails to come and getting them ready for the persecution they will face. It has been all fun and games until now. Now the hard work is coming. The crowds will turn on Jesus. His message will not be accepted. Cities will run Him out of town. People will pick up stones to kill Him. People will begin to hate Him and eventually they will call for Him to die. 

The disciples did not see this coming. 

Jesus is about to educate the disciples on the cost of following Him. The disciples thought that they would receive fame, instead Jesus said that they will receive famine. They thought that they would receive power, but instead they would receive persecution. They thought that they would receive glory but instead they were gifted with pain and suffering. 

Get ready boys, following me is going to be tough! This is Jesus’ message for His disciples and this is our message today. Get ready, following me is going to be hard. 

The context of today’s passage is a journey, a journey that Jesus is making towards Jerusalem, and as He walks along, people are coming up to join Him, even as He teaches more and more about discipleship. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus sends out the 12, and we also have His call for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him.

We’ll be looking at 3 people, their response and Jesus’ challenge to each of them. Through these 3 encounters, He also teaches us what it means to be His disciple.

Scripture:

Luke 9:57-62 ESV

[57] As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." [58] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." [59] To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." [60] And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." [61] Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." [62] Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

I. Following Christ Means Giving Up Our...

A. Comfort

Luke 9:58 ESV

[58] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Point:

Now instead of Jesus encouraging and working to make more disciples, in fact, it seems that He actually discouraged and dissuaded people from being his disciples.

Here was a man, all passionate and on-fire for the Lord, responding to his call to discipleship, saying "Hey Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go!" Now which church or which pastor wouldn’t want a disciple like that? Even without Jesus initiating, he comes to Jesus and says, Me, Lord, me, Lord, I will follow You! Imagine that you are giving a message, and before the altar call, you already have people coming forward to respond to the Lord.

But Jesus knew this man’s heart, and in this instance, it was his comfort zones that needed challenging.

Point:

Instead of welcoming this man to join his band of disciples, Jesus said, in v.58.

You see, Jesus was not going to Jerusalem Hilton Hotel, jetting around in his own private jet, drawing a huge income and budget, no cars, no fancy ministry, no large following. He was literally preparing Himself, heading towards Jerusalem, to fulfill the Father’s will, to take on our sin and shame, and to die a cruel death on the cross.

Throughout Jesus’ life and ministry, we see that He had no earthly security. He was born in a manger, He was persecuted from day one with Herod trying to kill him, He lived a simple carpenter’s life, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He was even buried in someone else’s tomb. We read in Phil 2:6-8.

Quote:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book The Cost of Discipleship, said, "Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life." Likewise, Martin Luther noted that, "A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing."

Jesus is challenging our comfort zones, because being His disciple involves costly sacrifice.

Application:

What are the areas in our life where Jesus might be challenging us to step out of our comfort zones? What are the things we hold on to or pursue that give us a sense of security? Perhaps for some, it might be our careers, our homes, our lifestyles, our bank account, our retirement fund, our yearly holidays, our possessions? For some, it could also be the safety of our country, the clean air and water, the good public transport system and infrastructure? Perhaps for some, the comforts of the language, the culture, even the food that we are used to, or the comforts of our church and cell group? Jesus isn’t saying that in order to follow Him, we need to forsake everything, but I’ve learnt that in whatever circumstances, and with whatever God has blessed us with, we have to come before Him with open hands. And to be 100% clear that there will be areas that God will call on us to sacrifice, and it will be costly.

This first man obviously did not consider or count the costs before committing his life to follow Jesus. He was probably also not prepared for the possible hardships, suffering, persecution and rejections that Jesus warned might follow. Jesus was advising this man, "Hey, you don’t know what you are in for, will you still follow Me when you have to step out of your comfort zones, and step away from your earthly security?"

II Timothy 3:12 ESV

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…

I. Following Christ Means Giving Up Our...

A. Comfort

B. Commitments 

Luke 9:59-60 ESV

[59] To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." [60] And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Point:

Let us look at the second man. This time, Jesus issues the call, "Follow Me." And the man’s reply is, "let me go bury my father first." Now on the surface, this seems like a legitimate reason to delay following Christ, for taking care of your parents was one of the most important duties as a Jew, but yet Jesus’ reply is shocking. Now Jesus is not calling us to dishonor our parents, or give up our responsibilities to our family, but what He is saying is that if we’re going to follow Jesus Christ, then the claims of His Kingdom come before ANYTHING and ANYONE else. And that at the end of the day, if we are pressed into a choice between Christ and anything or anyone else, Christ comes first! And indeed, some have lost family in order to follow Christ.

Point:

When Jesus says, let the dead bury their own dead, it is actually a play on the words, meaning, let the spiritually dead bury the physical dead, but as for you, You! Follow Me! There are others who can attend to his father’s burial, the demands of the Kingdom are more urgent, His call cannot wait!

Point:

Jesus here challenges the man’s commitments, because being His disciple involves absolute surrender.

All of us have commitments, we have family commitments, work commitments, financial commitments, study commitments, even church and ministry commitments. Are there times where God has called on us to follow Him, but somehow because of all our ongoing commitments, we actually delay or put off obeying the Lord?

Illustration: A Total Commitment 

A conversation is said to have taken place between a hen and a hog when they passed a church and observed the subject of the pastor’s sermon: "How Can We Help the Poor?" After a moment’s reflection, the hen said, "I know what we can do. We can give them a ham-and-egg breakfast!" The hog protested, saying, "The breakfast would be only a contribution for you, but for me it would mean total commitment."

Point:

For some, as long as I’m coming to church faithfully, and tithing regularly, maybe once in a while I help out in an event, I’ve done my Christian duty, don’t come and disturb me, anything more than that, please leave it to the full-time staff or those who have less "commitments". You see, the commitments by themselves are not wrong, but when we start to use our commitments as excuses when God speaks, when we delay, deny or even disobey the Lord when we know clearly His will and leading, we need to ask ourselves, does God have first place in our lives anymore? Have we cluttered our lives with our own agendas and priorities that God is crowded out, and we never stop to discern what He wants us to do or be? What are the areas that He might be calling us to surrender to Him?

Jesus is challenging our commitments, because being His disciple involves absolute surrender.

Mark 14:35-36 ESV

And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

I. Following Christ Means Giving Up Our...

A. Comfort

B. Commitments 

C. Conditions

Luke 9:61-62 ESV

[61] Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." [62] Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Point:

So again, this man appears to have a legitimate reason to say good-bye to his family. If he knew his OT history well, even Elisha was given a chance to say good-bye to his family by the great prophet Elijah. Jesus is removing the preconceived notion that anything is more important than following Him. 

Jesus challenges our conditions, because being His disciple involves lifelong allegiance.

The issue here was not that this man could not go and say bye to his family, but that he came to Jesus with conditions. Excuses, the great "BUT" or "IF ONLY". Ok, Lord, I will obey You, but ... I will do what You want, if only ..." Time and time again, we read in the Gospels, when Jesus called his 12 disciples, they dropped their nets, they dropped everything they were doing, and immediately followed Jesus. No turning back, no regrets, no conditions.

As I prepared for this message, I was also reminded of those recorded in the Bible who looked back, we remember Lot’s wife in Genesis, Demas in 2 Tim, and the saddest of them all, the people of Israel, in fact a whole generation, who spent 40 years wandering in the desert, and even after they entered the promised land, time and time again, they would turn back their backs on God and return to their sinful ways.

Application:

Brothers and sisters, when God speaks, when God reveals His will to us, when God calls us, what are the conditions, the BUTs that we give to Him? Ok, sure Lord, I will follow, I will obey, BUT first let me gain some experience in the working world, first let me take care of my aged parents, first let my children grow up, first let me wind up my business. You see, all those things will come, the preparations, the arrangements, but Jesus is first and foremost interested in one thing, our HEARTS. Where does our allegiance ultimately lie? Who is SUPREME in our lives, in our hearts? Not only that, are we steadfast in our allegiance to Him, forgetting what is behind, and pressing on. For Jesus, it was fixing His eyes on the cross in Jerusalem, but for us, it’s fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross.

Point:

Friends, God is not interested in our excuses. When He calls, we are expected to come. We are expected to leave everything and go where He has commanded us to go. If God is calling you to go on the mission field, you better go. If God is calling you to adopt, better start moving. If God is calling you to foster parent, start the process. If God is calling you to preach, find a pulpit. 

Open your Bible’s briefly to Luke 14:15-24. Let’s read what God thinks of our excuses over obedience. 

Luke 14:15-24 ESV

15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

Point:

Everyone had an excuse. Sadly, their excuse got them thrown out of the party. They never tasted the reward! This morning, get rid of your comfort, get rid of your commitments, get rid of your conditions and follow Christ. Why?! What you gain is far more than what you give up!

WHAT YOU GAIN IS FOR MORE THAN WHAT YOU GIVE UP!

II. Following Christ Means Gaining God’s...

A. Companionship

Point:

Ok, so we have talked about a lot of negative things this morning. After all, no one is excited about losing one’s comfort, leaving our jobs and families behind. That is a very difficult concept to think about or even to preach. However, we need to remember that when we sacrifice for Jesus, it is not all for nothing. We receive tremendous rewards for our perseverance. I want to cover just a few of things for you this morning. 

The first thing that we gain, our first reward is of course God’s presence in our lives. He will never leave us or forsake us. There will never be a moment that He is not surrounding us, loving us, protecting us, and providing for us. Never. 

This means that even in our darkest moment that God is there. He is keenly aware of our pain, our discomfort and He will never forget about us. Not only that, but He is working things out for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. This means that God is doing good things in your lives. Sure, you may have a bad day, but God has a purpose for that bad day and He will bring good from it. 

When we obey God and persevere through trials, one reward is that God is there, holding our hands and carrying our burdens. We can talk to Him, sing with Him, and count Him as our never failing friend. That is great news this morning. 

Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV

[8] It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

II. Following Christ Means Gaining God’s...

A. Companionship

B. Compassion

Point:

Another bit of great news today is the compassion we find in knowing Christ. You see there are some people who believe in a divine creator but they believe that he is far off and removed from human existence. There are others who believe that there is a god but that he does not care about humans. Some believe that God is like a watch maker who made a watch and set it up on a pedestal just to look at it. Time just ticking by, not really concerned or caring. That could not be further from the truth. The God of the Bible is very concerned with the outcome of human history. He is intervening constantly to show us His unfailing love. He has given us life. I cannot count the times in my life where I have done something where I probably should have been hurt or even died and yet God miraculously saved me. I have survived serious accidents. I have survived serious illness. I have survived the stupidity of my teenage years. Why? God. This was not an accident. He saved me. Im not even talking about salvation. At least not yet. I just thinking of all the good things that God has blessed me with and I am so thankful for it. My wife. My family. My home. My church. My transportation. My stuff. All good things from God and I am forever grateful. 

Friend, God did not put you on earth just to watch you suffer. Sadly, suffering and hardship are a part of this fallen world. There may be times when we have to walk through those deep waters, but God is compassionate. He cares. He knows your name and longs to have a relationship with you. 

Ephesians 1:7 ESV

[7] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace…

II. Following Christ Means Gaining God’s...

A. Companionship

B. Compassion

C. Connection

Point:

Next, another reward for pursing Christ, sacrificially obeying Him, is compassion. We have salvation from sin. God has made atonement for our sins, that means that He has paid what we could not. He has purchased us off the slave block of sin and set this captive free. 

Jesus’ death was a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 

Jesus death made peace between God and humanity. Our sin had separated us from God and there was a penalty. Death! Jesus took that penalty for us. So now we can enter the throne room of God with confidence and assurance. 

Following Jesus means that we leave behind our shame and our guilt. 

When Jesus died on that cross it demonstrated how much God truly loved us and continues to love us today. 

When we follow Christ, we have a direct connection to God. What a glorious and mysterious blessing it is. 

So remember, whatever we give us for Christ is small potatoes when we think of what we gain. 

Titus 3:5 ESV

[5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…

Closing Illustration:

Leaving everything for Christ is worth it. The cost is always worth it. 

Let Today Message Be Your Motivation!