Scripture: Luke 9:57-62
Title: Costs, Commitment and Crosses
What does it mean to follow Jesus?
This sermon looks at the cost (total trust), the commitment (total loyalty) and “the cross” (an ALL IN LIFESTYLE) of following Jesus.
INTRO:
Grace and peace this morning from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Some years ago, the story goes a certain country farmer decided that it was time for him to buy a new truck. In the local paper he had noticed that there was this truck on sale. Not only was it on sale but from what he could read it also came with some added factory rebates. With all that potential savings the farmer decided it was time for him to retire his worn-out old clunker.
The next morning bright and early he went to the car lot. He looked around and found the exact truck he wanted. It was the right color; the right size and he thought the right price. He sat down with the salesman and started writing out his check.
The salesman asked him what he was doing. He replied – “Well, that is the truck I want and the paper had the price so I’m writing you a check.”
“Hold on a minute, partner. I haven’t told you the final price yet.”
“Final price? Oh, I know the final price, it was in the paper.”
“Well, yes, we did advertise in the paper, but you see that was just the basic model. Your truck has several added options on it. Here is the real price. Now, you can write the check.”
The young farmer wasn’t thrilled at all. The price the salesman gave him was thousands more than what the paper had advertised. He felt like he had been lied to and cheated.
About six months later he got a call from his salesman. It seemed he (the salesman) was looking for a nice milk cow for his son’s local 4-H project. The farmer assured the man that he had several nice young cows for sale for $ 500.00 apiece.
The salesman drove over to the man’s farm and sure enough the man had quite several really good-looking young cows. He picked out the one that he thought his boy could not only raise but could win the 4-H prize. He got his check book out and started to write the farmer a check for $500.00
“Wow wait there a minute, partner”, the farmer told him. “I haven’t told you the price yet.”
“Oh, yes, you have. Remember we talked on the phone and you said that you had a number of young cows for sale for $ 500.00.”
“Oh, yes, I did. But that was the basic model of a milk cow. The cow you picked out has several add on options. He then handed the man a piece of paper explaining the added options and the cost of the cow.
Basic Cow - $ 500.00
Two – tone exterior - $ 45.00
Extra Stomach - $ 75.00
Product storing equipment – 75.00
Straw compartment - 120.00
Four spigots @ 10.00 apiece – 40.00
Leather upholstery – 125.00
Dual horns – 45.00
Automatic fly swatter – 38.00
Fertilizer attachment – 185.00
Extended warranty – 200.00
Total cost for this model milk cow - $ 1448.00
Whether you are buying a milk cow or a car or really anything else it is always good to know the total cost.
And that is what our passage is about this morning. When it comes to being a disciple of Jesus our LORD wants us to understand the COST, THE COMMITMENT AND THE CROSS involved. Jesus wanted everyone around him that was wondering if they could follow him to know up front what it meant to follow him. What it would mean to become one of his disciples.
You see this morning, Discipleship is not a casual affair to Jesus.
Let me say that again – Discipleship is not a casual affair to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is not a casual affair to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Discipleship is not a casual affair.
In our passage we find several individuals who said that they wanted to begin following Jesus. Two of those people volunteered while the third one was asked by Jesus to follow Him.
Luke tells us that all of this happened towards the end of Jesus’ ministry. It was at a time when everyone who was anyone wanted to be a part of the “Jesus band”. Jesus’ name was synonymous with healing, excitement, freedom and salvation. Jesus was the talk of the whole country. Everyone wanted to come out and hear Him speak and see what exciting things were going to happen. Many people thought that Jesus was going to soon raise and army and cast out the Romans and set up a New Israelite Kingdom that would one day rule the world.
Luke also tells us that it was during this time that Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem. In other words, it was that time of Jesus’ ministry that not only was He popular, but it was also the appointed time for Him to go to Jerusalem, be arrested, crucified and resurrected.
While many people want to follow someone while things are going great there are not so many that want to follow someone when things turn south. When things go from being great to being difficult to being grim and life threatening. That is some of the background Luke wants us to be aware. He wants us to understand that following Jesus comes at a cost, a commitment and a cross.
Jesus knows what is coming up around the corner. He knows that following Him now will demand a high cost, total commitment and potentially a cross. He knows that discipleship right now will not be for the faint of heart. It will not be for those who want to just follow from a distance, and it will not be for those who are wanting an easy way out.
This morning let’s allow St. Luke to remind us of what it means to truly follow Jesus. Let’s remind ourselves of the amazing life that we have been called to live and the life that we have chosen to live. That is what Luke is doing in this passage. He is reminding everyone who is reading His Gospel of the cost, the commitment and the cross that is involved in following Jesus. He is wanting his readers to have an UpToDate relationship with Jesus.
I. It is a life that involves a Cost – the Cost of Trust
Jesus’ answers to all three people seemed a little abrupt don’t they? Some have even thought that they were a little harsh. I don’t think that they were harsh, I just think that Jesus knew where He was going and He knew that following Him would not always be easy. It would take a person willing to put their trust in Him.
Jesus wanted each of them to understand that following Him would be much like an Abrahamic journey.
Remember when God called Abraham? It was an Exodus Call of Trust – it was a call to go from his homeland to the land God had chosen for him and his family. It was a call to leave the comfort of Ur of the Chaldees to go to the place where God had chosen for him, Sarah and future generations.
And while we may not be called to leave our homes physically we are called to live differently.
+We are called to leave behind a life of sin and trust in God’s life of holiness.
+We are called to leave behind a life in which all we seek are our own physical, emotional and social comforts and depend on God’s protection and provision.
+We are called to leave behind a life of negativity and enjoy God’s life in the Holy Spirit – a life of blessings, anointing and favor.
+We are called to leave behind a life of depending on ourselves, our own resources and our own wisdom.
Abraham’s life was stretched. At times as you read his story he thought it might even break apart it was stretched so much.
Abraham’s life was one that was tent based and not brick and mortar based.
Abraham moved from place to place at God’s command. He had to trust God for everyday direction. While at times he did put down stakes, he also knew at God’s command to pull up stakes. Abraham depended on the moving of God’s Holy Spirit in his life.
He had to learn how to become a citizen of heaven. He had to learn to put all his focus on the future and what the future held instead of dwelling on the past. He had to learn how to trust the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY for water, for food, for land and for friendships.
This is what it means to follow Jesus. It means for us to put our trust; our security in God’s hands. It means to put our trust; our conviction in knowing Jesus. It means to put our hands in Jesus’ hands and fully understanding that Jesus will take care of us, provide for us, protect us and enable us to enjoy an abundant life here on this earth.
It means to live what many have called a sabbath life in Jesus. A life that practices times of sabbath – times where we make sure that we rest, we listen for God’s voice and we follow God’s directions. A life in many ways is the life that John Wesley did his best to teach those in the early Methodist Church
– make all you can, save all you can and give away all you can.
In other words, don’t just depend or trust on/in yourself. Don’t just focus on your own needs. Don’t believe that you are alone in this world. Learn to support yourself but at the same time depend on others. Learn how to reach out and help others while at the same time doing all you can to support yourself.
It is not an easy life but one that most of us live every day. Many here this morning live a life of trust in your Social Security check or pension check. You trust that each month a certain amount of money will be deposited into your account for you to pay your bills, buy your food and provide your shelter.
Others depend on the faithfulness of a company or on individuals that have contracted their labor. Many others like myself depend on your faithfulness in giving to the Church and to the Kingdom of God for a paycheck, for food, shelter and clothing. Without your faithfulness we can’t fulfill the call that God has placed on our lives nor can we pay our bills. It is all a matter of putting your trust in God and in others.
Most of us live this way week to week, month to month and year to year. We live being dependent and trusting others. On the government being faithful to send a Social Security Check, on your 401 K being faithful to disperse the funds, on those who have hired you to hand you a check regularly or on a family member being there for support and comfort.
This is what Jesus was talking about. Understanding that following Jesus means that we must acknowledge that we are not self-sovereign. Understanding that following Jesus that we must put our security in Jesus. We must follow His words. We must follow His direction and guidance. We must live an Abrahamic, sabbatical, dependent life on one another life.
This is how Abraham was able to travel, how Moses gave up Egypt, how Ruth left Moab and how Elijah sat by a brook knowing that God would take care of his needs even if it meant God using ravens.
2. It is a life that involves a Commitment – A Life of Loyalty
Jesus let these individuals know that following Him would not only come at a cost, but it would require a commitment; a commitment of total loyalty. A commitment that is intended to be lifelong. A commitment that is intended to be life strong.
This is where King Saul, Demas and so many others failed God. They were committed in the short term but not to the long term. They were willing to pay the cost of following God while things were going well but when temptation came or when it looked a little bleak they bailed out. Somewhere along the way they decided that following God was not a lifelong commitment.
Being committed is not an easy task, especially in our every changing world. More and more it appears that the word commitment is a rather fluid term. People are changing jobs, marriages, relationships and even faiths rather often.
If you have been watching anything about basketball you know how this summer was a flurry of people changing from one NBA team to another team for more money and/or for what they hope is a better chance to win an NBA World Championship. It seems like if you don’t like your current contract you just push your way out and figure out a way to get a better contract or go to another team where you think that you have a better chance to win a championship. Of the 400+ players in the NBA less than five have been with their current teams at least 10 years.
For right now, it seems that gone are the days of players like Dirk Nowitski (21 Years with Dallas Mavericks), Carl Michael Yastrzemski (23 years with Boston Red Sox) and Tom Brady (20 years with New England Patriots). Gone are most owners that stay faithful to their players as well.
Did you know that the average person in the United States now changes jobs every 4 to 5 years? Sometimes that job change comes as a result of a promotion but many times those job changes are new places at new companies.
And of course, there are a great many reasons for all of this. But more and more the days of when a person was hired and then stayed with a company 30 – 40 years until they retired are becoming less and less.
We see this same trend happening in relationships, in being faithful to a club, an organization and even to a church fellowship as well. Did you know that the average church turns over most of its membership every five to ten years?
Again, there are a multitude of reasons for this – people moving, churches compromising, the Gospel not being explained and a host of other factors. But many of those changes is because people choose not to have stick-it-ness; they choose not to be committed or loyal.
Change is not bad – unless it results in us no longer being committed to Jesus.
Christian Discipleship again is not for the faint of heart. It is not for those who will not pay the cost of acknowledging their sin and accepting God’s grace, mercy and love. It is not for them that will not accept a lifelong commitment as well.
Being born again is being born again from now on. Being a disciple of Jesus means that we stay committed from now to the day that we go to be with the LORD. Being committed is to stay committed; it is to be loyal.
Now, of course, there is a big difference between being committed to an organization or an institution than being committed to Jesus. Millions of people down through history have changed their affiliation with some institution or organization while at the same time staying 100% committed to Jesus.
I have friends that because of the institution or organization which once were faithful to Biblical truth have found themselves having to leave that institution or organization because they wanted to stay committed to Jesus. They believed that they had leave not because they wanted to but because they wanted to be committed more to Jesus than to a certain organization.
We must never get to the place where our relationship with a club, an organization or a institution triumphs our commitment to Jesus. Our relationship to Jesus must be the most solid and rock-solid commitment that we have in this life so that we can enjoy everlasting life.
Let me say that again:
Our relationship to Jesus must be the most solid and rock-solid commitment that we have in this life so that we can enjoy everlasting life on the New Heaven and Earth.
This is what Jesus was referring to when he told the man that the Gospel – the commitment to the LORD must be more foundational in our soul than even our family relationships.
Now, I know that this might sound hard. It might even rock our souls. But the truth remains that when God gave us the first two commandments He didn’t back down
+Thou shalt have no other gods before me
+Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
In other words – no relationship – no matter how sweet, how wonderful can take the place of our relationship with God.
This was the sin of Adam. Even if Eve wanted to take the fruit and was the most beautiful woman on the earth and was made from his very own flesh, Adam should have put his personal relationship with God before his relationship with Eve. Now, I know that sounds harsh. But the truth is that our relationship with God must be more important than any other relationship that we enjoy.
This was brilliance of Job. The devil thought that he would put his family, his wife and all his possessions before being committed to the LORD. He thought that he could use his friends to break his commitment to the LORD.
The Devil was wrong. Job stayed committed. He loved his wife, his family, his friends and even all those things God had put into his hands. But even if he lost all of them he was going to stay committed to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. That is why Job stands in the line of the faithful showing us how we can do the same.
3. It is a Life that involves a Cross – It is an All In Life
If we back up a little in our chapter and read Jesus’ words in verses 23 – 26 we will see that overall what the LORD was telling these individuals was that being a disciple involved a cost, a commitment but more importantly it involved a person going all in – living a cross led life so to speak.
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
This is what Jesus means when he speaks about one putting his hand to the plow and looking backwards.
If you are going to plow you are going to go all in – you are going to keep your eye on the prize and that is not looking backwards.
Of course, when Jesus said those words many no doubt thought of Elisha when he was called to follow Elijah and become a prophet. He was plowing at the time. He had a choice to make – follow Elijah or keep plowing. He not only stopped plowing, but the Bible says that he sacrificed his oxen on the wood that was used to make their yoke.
In other words, he was all in – he had not only counted the cost and was committed but he had surrendered it all to Jesus – lock, stock and barrel.
This is the difference between Jesus being your Savior and your Lord. Many people want a savior – after all, who wants to go to Hell?
Do we want to carry our own cross and die out to Jesus as Lord? Do we want His Holy Spirit to not just infill us but to be our controlling agent? Are we willing to put everything on the altar day after day and allow the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be in total control?
This is where St. James helps us so much in his book. James tells us that we can’t be half-way and expect anything in this life in Christ.
“for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the LORD.” – James 1:8
You see, when we are not all in – we cut off God’s blessings, anointings, miracles and favor. Oh, we have a little favor her and sometimes some blessings there but if we want to go whole hog then we have to speak go whole hog – we have to lay everything down on God’s altar and then the windows of heaven will break forth and we can expect supernatural power, blessings, favor, miracles, anointings, salvations and transformations.
That is why the Apostle Paul is so adamant about us having our mind renewed, being sold out and giving all to the LORD JESUS. He knew that we needed all of God’s anointings and all of God’s favor if we are going to live the abundant life. He knew that if we held back then all we were doing was putting a crimp in God’s pipe of blessings and favor.
Have you ever taken a garden hose and put a crimp in it to shut the water either off or cause it to quick flowing as much? When we don’t sell out to Jesus then that is what we do to our abundant living – we shut off the greatest parts of living for Jesus.
A life lived well is a life given completely over to Jesus. A life lived well is a life in which Jesus has all our heart, all our soul and all our strength.
It is not by accident that following this passage Luke spends a great deal talking about the 70 that Jesus sent out – 70 people who decided that they would not only pay the cost, not only be committed but they would go all in – they would make Jesus more than their rabbi, more than their teacher but everything. They would go out and in his power attempt to do the impossible.
Chapter 10:17ff tells us that when the came back they were exhilarated. They had witnessed demons falling, people being healed and lives being transformed.
Jesus says that He even saw Satan fall like lighting – in other words, when we are totally sold out to Jesus the Devil no longer can act like he is in control. He is below our feet. He is defeated, vanquished and has no power.
Then Jesus finishes all of this up with telling them that they had not seen anything yet – Jesus will give them even more power, authority and blessing.
But it doesn’t happen by accident. It all happens when we tell Jesus
+I will pay the cost – I will live like Abraham – I will trust you
+I will be committed – I will be loyal to you – I will be like Job
+I will live a cross led life – I will go all in – Jesus – you are not only my Savior but my Lord – You are my King – I will serve you – I will obey you – I will hold nothing back.
That my friends is how you experience the supernatural in ways the world will look at you and be amazed.
That is how you obtain the power to transform your world.
That is how you live a life like none other – when you are totally sold out to Jesus.
Closing Song - Altar Call/Commitment with Communion or Prayer
