What Commitment To Christ Really Means Series

What Commitment to Christ Really Means

Series: Encountering Jesus (through the Gospel of Luke)

Brad Bailey - October 27, 2019

Series #44 / Luke 14:25-35

Intro

It goes without saying…that we all have very different personalities…or dispositions. And one of those is related to the way we make decisions.

Some of us may be the “high process” types… before we buy something…we like to gather a lot of information… compare every option… and we fear regret.

Others have a freer spirit…they are more “grab and go.”

This kind of difference often becomes clear between partners in marriage.

I tend to assess something for a while…my wife would walk by and say “I like that one”… and away she goes. And I’m like…”You can’t just decide without researching and considering…and comparing.” And she reminds me… we’re just buying paper towels.

And of course I am reminded that it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind. Apparently, it’s a fact of nature. Some believe it’s in the Bible.

But when it comes to the big choices in life… we can all struggle.

Where we should live… what career we should invest in…who we should marry.

Some may try to be quick… go with their gut…but impulsiveness can leave us with decisions that are shallow… that have no roots…and no real staying power.

And those who brood over making the right decisions… may also feel unsettled within… unsettled in their process.

We can all find that the really big decisions are hard to settle.

Those who study the nature of decision making… identify that one of the things that blocks real decisions…is a lack of priorities.

The leader of a company cannot guide it’s choices without knowing what matters most… without a grasp of priority. As one author notes…“A company with too many priorities has no priorities.” And neither can we navigate life without a grasp of priority. [1] We want a lot of things …many of which we must decide between… …. and the only thing that guides us is a clear sense of priority. We need a sense of order in terms of what matters most.

Without a guiding priority… we can become lost in sea of indecisiveness.

…unable to move forward and finish

Today, as we continue in our weekly focus on Encountering Jesus through the Gospel of Luke… Jesus calls us out.

Luke 14:25-35?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. 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.' 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. 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."

Would you join me and take a moment to pray…and simply open our hearts to hear this call? {PRAY}

[Return to just Luke 14:25-27 (NIV) on screen]

Luke 14:25-27 (NIV) ?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.

What we find here is the moment that Jesus calls us out.

It’s helpful to recognize who Jesus is speaking to.

Luke notes specifically that "large crowds" were following Jesus and that Jesus specifically "turned to them" and elaborated on being a disciple.

Jesus was not talking to those who were antagonistic towards him or to those who were uninterested in his life and message. No, these were people who were "traveling with Jesus."