Hate Your Father And Mother Series

How quickly do you turn your love for Jesus into hate for Jesus

… in the Hebrew sense of “giving preference to X over Y” type of hate …

How quickly do you turn your preference

When you are faced with making a choice for discipleship?

I stayed out too late last night … I need to sleep in.

I’m going onto the internet to do my personal Bible Study … Oh look a cat video.

I had a big week at work. I have an exam. I couldn’t mow the lawn yesterday.

Clara has invited us to little Timmy’s first birthday party.

It’s raining.

Mum expects me to visit.

No guilt trips, but let’s be honest. How serious are we about counting the cost?

How quickly do our preferences change because a different offer has come up?

Jesus is challenging us.

Not because, by doing these things, we are “more saved”.

Rather Jesus wants us to see that a relationship with Him moves us beyond mediocrity.

There is a cartoon on the 1983 Leadership Magazine called “The Lite Church”

It is up on the screen. The billboard outside the church says:-

(you can find the cartoon at

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2004/april-online-only/church-that-demands-less.html)

There are too many churches like that in this world. And what has been the result?

Mediocrity.

People doing the same thing … just bumbling from one week to the next.

Nothing changes. There is no excitement. And one day the door is shut and bolted.

The building is sold and it becomes a child care centre.

That’s not living. Disciples need a challenge.

And Jesus extends that challenge.

I challenge you to carry your own cross (verse 27).

Those who heard Jesus use this phrase knew exactly what He meant. The cross was a cruel form of punishment used by the Romans. When it came time the criminal was forced to "carry his cross" to the place of execution.

Everyone knew that this person was saying "goodbye" to everything.

There would be no turning or coming back.

The cross is a very dramatic illustration of showing what it means to follow Jesus. We are basically being asked to say "goodbye" to our own will and desires and not turn back.

That is a challenge isn’t it.

I challenge you to be a successful tower builder (verses 28-30).

This challenges comes through the person who has set out to build a tower. It is going to be a master piece and all the people are going to walk past and say, “Wow, what a great tower! Its builder must be a great man”.

The problem is that the builder didn’t count the cost involved and the superstructure is not completed. Now people walk past a half finished abandoned building. The builder has become a laughing stock because it is clear he was never really committed to the project in the first place. He only had thoughts of grandeur and blessing – he forgot to give real thought to the cost.

Jesus is saying, “We don’t need to be like that”.

I challenge you to be wise in all circumstances (verses 28-33).

This challenge comes through the king in a battle field. It is possible for an army of 10,000 to beat an army of 20,000 – so the size is not the issue.