“The Price Is GREAT”
A Fan or A Follower - #2 of 5
Jerry Watts
Luke 9:23 / Luke 14:25-27
(Note: This series is inspired by Kyle Idleman’s book – “Not a Fan”)
* (DVD Sermont – Week 2) The concept of ‘anyone’ or ‘any man’ (KJV) is a frequently used concept in the New Testament. It is obvious that Jesus came to give His offer of salvation, eternity, and relationship with God to anyone, everyone, and whosoever. Kyle just repeated our text from this morning and we read it now. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up His cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 14 turns up the heat. We read these verses with the question looming over us: “Am I a fan of Jesus or am I a follower of Jesus?”
* To this question most of us in this building would say, “I’m a follower” without giving the question much thought. Tonight let’s follow the example of Jesus when He stood in front of a large crowd. *Be reminded that the crowd, in large measure, came to Jesus to see the show. As long as he performed miracles, fed the crowds, and hugged the babies, the fans showed up. But every time the fans showed up, Jesus raised up the level or the bar of commitment.
* In Luke 9 & 14, we get the idea that Jesus is bringing some realism to the crowd’s fantasy. He does that for us also – because, for the follower, the price is high.
1. The Call – Both passages issue a call & in our English language use the word ‘anyone.’ Some translations use ‘any man’ (mankind), some any, & some “YOU.”
* The call goes out to anyone and everyone. This call to be a follower (disciple) is not for the spiritual elite, it is for everyone who hears Jesus calls & responds to His voice. The call is not ‘just be forgiven of your sins and get to go to heaven’, the call of Jesus is to follow me & be my disciple.
* Notice the verbiage in Luke 14 where Jesus says, “If anyone comes TO me.” Remember at this point Jesus is speaking to the huge crowd; this is the Sunday morning bunch- coming at their leisure and convenience. This is the crowd who think they can meet & have Jesus on their own terms. But back in chapter 9, Jesus is speaking to the 12 and says, “If anyone wants to come WITH me.” While this is a subtle change, it seems to be that Jesus keeps the bar of commitment very high.
* The call of Jesus goes to every one of us. “IF anyone” is inclusive. He calls us. My fear is that the call of Jesus has been so watered down until we give Him our least.
2. The Cost – May I offer you my personal belief? In this truth, we can discover the ills and struggles of the modern day church in America. In the 24th chapter of 2 Samuel when David sinned against God by counting the military and God punished David by sending a plague on his men. David came to Araunah to buy his threshing floor & out of respect for King David, Araunah offered all that he owned to the King free of charge. David said, “I must buy it because I refuse to offer God that which costs me nothing.” In this phrase, we discover the flaws of American Christianity. We are content to offer God that which costs us nothing.
* Jesus is clear, ‘that’s not enough.’ To the large crowd He laid forth this stunning truth, “If you don’t hate your family you cannot be my disciple.” First of all, I didn’t say this, Jesus did. Second of all, understand this teaching in context of all Jesus’ teaching (and it’s still harder than we want to accept). Obviously, that is from the rest of Jesus’ teaching, He is not saying that we are not to love our families. Plenty of His teachings & words compel us to love our earthly family. But here is the truth: To be His disciple our love for Him must be so deep, real, and complete that we choose Him over them every time.
* Kyle Idleman tells the story of a young woman coming to him one Sunday saying that she wanted to be baptized. He told her that he would look forward to that day in the future. Her response let him know that she meant NOW! A few minutes later they were behind the stage, getting ready to go into the water and Kyle asked her if she had any family or friends who were here to encourage her. She said, “My family will not be happy about my decision for Christ.” And with those words, she led Kyle into the water.
* Over my lifetime, how many times have I marveled at those who defied their families to trust Christ and follow Him as an authentic disciple! Also, how many times have I seen kids held back by parents and grand-parents who didn’t support their decision to trust God or follow God! One young man said, “God has called me to preach” only to hear mom say, “I don’t think so.”
* Jesus says, “If you don’t love me more than ‘these’ – you cannot be my disciple.” A fan of Jesus will ‘come to’ Jesus as long as it doesn’t conflict with his family, friends, or better said, ‘his life.’
* Another story told by Kyle that impacted me. At Southeast Christian Church, they received an email from a man who asked to be removed from their membership. His stated reason was, “I don’t like Kyle’s preaching.” Kyle says, “This begs for a deeper understanding of the meaning.” So Kyle called the man (blocking the caller ID) and when the man answered the phone Kyle said, “Hello this is Kyle Idleman. I understand your leaving the church because you don’t like my preaching.” Obviously, there was a brief silence and then the man began to stumble around trying to explain what he meant. Finally, he revealed the truth in one sentence. He said, “Kyle, when I listen to one of your messages I feel like you are trying to interfere in my life.” Every authentic word of God & from God does just that. It interferes with our lives. The fan simply dismisses it, but the follower responds.
* The cost of following Jesus is high but the price is right. There exist a direct correlation between the cost of something & the quality of something. To get the best, you pay the most. Jesus says, “I have to be first.” He is a jealous God.
3. The Competition – Jesus does not want to be one of many who have your allegiance, love, and commitment; He demands to be your one and only. According to Luke 14 – no one is to even be close to our commitment to Him.
* How would it be if your mate carried your picture prominently in their wallet – but just behind your picture they carried pictures of their last three girlfriends or boyfriends? You see, someone who is a fan of Jesus says, “I love you, but I want to see other people. I want to hang on to my other relationships & priorities.”
* You may say, “Jesus has no competition in my life.” If this is true, try these;
o What is it that you will sacrifice your money for? Honestly, one of my weaknesses as a Pastor is that I hate to talk about money. However, the Biblical truth is that Jesus had much to say about money – and probably the reason He did was because MONEY is so easy to become our god – replacing Him. Whatever we will sacrifice our money for is a competitor to our Lord.
o When you get hurt, where do you turn for comfort? While it is true, there is wisdom in much counsel, it is equally true that the one who died for you is the one who can give you the most comfort in your times of struggles.
o What is it that frustrates you the most? The answer to this question will reveal much about your priorities, your focus, your selfishness, and more. This reveals what is important to you. Amazingly fans are frustrated about one thing while for followers it is something entirely different.
o What is it that excites you the most? One of the things which I don’t think I’ll ever reconcile in my spirit is how excited we can get about a ballgame, a ball-team, or even a Christian Concert, and how unexcited we get about WORSHIP.
* A fan gets excited about winning while a follower gets excited about the ONE!
4. The Conclusion – Our two texts are hard & difficult texts but they are at the heart of the heart, call, and offer of Jesus. No one else is offering this word; it is not being delivered second hand. Jesus gives to the 12 & to the multitude the same message: “It’s all or nothing.” Jesus made no apologies for His strong words, after all, He was going to suffer, bleed, and die for this message. I end with Kyle’s story:
* John Oros was a church leader in Romania during the communist era. When he spoke at the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, he talked about what that was like:
o During communism, many of us preached…and people came at the end of a service and they said, “I have decided to become a Christian.” We told them, “It is good that you want to become a Christian, but we would like to tell you there is a price to be paid. Why don’t you reconsider what you want to do, because many things can happen to you? You can lose, and you can lose big.”
* John said that a high percentage of them chose to take part in a 3-month class to better understand the decision they were making. John said;
o At the end of this period, many participants declared their desire to be baptized. Typically, I would respond, “It’s really nice that you want to become a Christian, but when you give your testimony, there will be informers who will jot down your name. Tomorrow the problems will start. Count the cost. Christianity is not easy. It’s not cheap. You can be demoted. You can lose your job. You can lose your friends, neighbors, kids, even your own life.”
* Here’s my question for tonight: If following Jesus costs you everything, would you do it? Would it still be worth it? To the fans-the answer-no. To the followers-Yes.
