Sermon: What it Means To Following Jesus
Scripture Lesson: Luke 14:27-33
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, "This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish." Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose a king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
Introduction: Jesus Changes Everything! Salvation was instant, but what does it mean to follow Jesus? How should we follow Jesus? Follow him when, where, how long? It is more than walking behind Him, it means obeying His commands and living our lives according to His Word. It means being willing to sacrifice our own desires and plans to serve Him and further His kingdom. In short, being a disciple of Christ requires a willingness to put Him above all else in our lives. Discipleship comes with a cost, as Jesus often reminded His first followers. Rather than hiding is in the small print, Jesus put it on blast. Following Jesus is costly. Following Jesus is like building a great tower or like strategizing for warfare, that’s a radical idea. Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 16:24-26 that, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would it be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?”
1. Following Jesus Means Embracing The Cost. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?”
Salvation is free but it is not cheap. The grace God freely gives ultimately has a cost, because we can't fully receive that gift without responding. Just as in a romantic relationship, truly receiving the love from another can't help but make us care and return that love.
It might seem to be a paradox to say Salvation is free and at the same time say, we must pay a price. But Following Jesus and walking in His way is not a way to comfortable living or of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, mockingly calls "cheap grace." Cheap grace is not real grace but an illusion. It is what happens when people approach the following of Christ as a way to pleasant experiences and feeling good. Bonhoeffer contrasts this with "costly" grace. It is costly because it calls one to give up their lives and take up a cross. It is costly because it requires every disciple for Jesus' sake to put aside the craving for domination, possession, and control, and embrace a completely different kind of life. That new life leads to true liberation and eternal life. Yet James, John, Andrew and Peter gave up fishing careers. Matthew gave up a government Job and benefits. All gave up the comforts of home, family ties and embraced criticism and being ostracized. Each must count the cost and be willing to pay a price. Following Jesus Means Embracing The Cost.
2. Following Jesus Means Walking Away From Sin and Pursuing Holiness. "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would it be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?”
To walk away from the old life and pursue Scriptural holiness is the cross we must bear and the cost we must pay. It is costly, because it requires Christ’s followers to forsake sin, condemn old sinful practices and embrace a new way of living. Yet it is grace because God offers justification to every sinner who will believe and repent. As believers follow Jesus, becoming true disciples is a journey of transformation. The Believer’s experiences with Jesus changes the heart and life. They begin seeing the world in a different way, through Jesus' eyes. They begin seeing and serving the poor and marginalized. They commit to new core values and adopt new goals. They want to grow spiritually, please God fully, live life simply, and embrace community with others. They move from selfishness to selfless service. That’s a radical conversion.
Conversion through our relationship with Jesus should radically change every follower. It turns us into intentional disciples, who seek to live in line with their values and pursue new goals. Followers of Jesus, imitating his ways awakens His followers to a new kind of awareness, new attractions, new desires and a better understanding of self-denial. Following Jesus means becoming like him and modeling his lifestyle. Following Jesus is not just complaining about how everything is wrong in the world because of what other people do. It means becoming a part of the solution and not part of the problem. That will require a radical change from the inside out. But don't tell me something that will require me to change. As Christ follower uncover the truth, they cannot close their eyes and ignore it; nor can they keep living out their own values. "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would it be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?”
Following Jesus means embracing costly grace, not cheap grace. Following Jesus means walking away from Sin and pursuing Scriptural Holiness. When we choose to follow Jesus, our regular ways of thinking and acting no longer work. Troubled and confused, we must review our expectations, reexamine our values, raise questions about how our life should go. As we follow Jesus, reflecting and obeying His teachings, significant transformation occurs spiritually, morally, personally and continually.
3. Following Jesus means Living In Community and Embracing Others. Jesus gave his disciples a New Commandment, a great commission and called them into a great collaboration. Jesus knew that life would sometimes become complicated and hazy, when it does, we will need the support of others. Others can help us choose the best course of action. We need to value the support of the faith community as we take on ministry commitment and fulfil our call. The faith community can help us stay healthy and live in balance as we seek to do God’s will. Lone rangers tend to burn out. God is not calling us to burn out, He calls us to let our light shine. As we live within the faith community and embracing one another, we find security and support. There will be those who can watch over us, helping us maintain a well-balanced life spiritually, emotionally and personally. They will correct us when we make errors, help us when we stumble, and pick us up when we fall. God calls His beloved family to respond in love.
Since the challenges of discipleship can feel overwhelming, we need to support one another on this Christian journey. We are living out our faith in a society with values that are counter to the value of the gospel. This worldly society can make believers feel guilty, stressed, and miserable at times, we need one another’s support.
Living in Community means giving up on trying to go it alone. We are a work in progress, we are not perfect but striving for perfection. Believers are all sinners, saved by grace. None of us have all the answers, nor are we totally sinless and living a fully righteous life. We have missed the mark and will continue to miss the mark at times. This is why we need one another, pray for one another and constantly encourage one another. So we can keep making progress, pick up our crosses and keep on keeping on.
Following Jesus means living in community with other believers who help us stay focused. Following Jesus is about what we are becoming in the process. it can be helpful to focus not on what we haven't done yet, but rather who we are becoming. Each action we take in Jesus’ direction makes us a better disciple and a better person. Am I making progress? Are my actions transforming me? Am I making the mark and fulfilling the call more? These are the questions believers answer along the way. It’s not about how many deeds we do, but about what we are becoming.
You and I are not called to go it alone. Neither do we have to. We must reclaim the power of unity. We must embrace one another gifts and encourage one another on our way. Believers are involved at all levels of government, all levels of the most powerful corporations and organizations, and all socio-economic levels. There are many of us. We indeed are in a powerful position to transform the world into the Kingdom that Jesus taught us about, but it requires followers of Jesus to live in community and embrace one another. It means working on behalf of each other and alongside God in bringing about the Kingdom. With God, all things are possible.
Salvation is free, not cheap, and discipleship is costly, requiring everything. We must resist the temptation to allow worldly attachments to separate the unity of the body of Christ. Christ followers have one Father, one faith, one Lord, one baptism and fight for one cause. Remember,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would it be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?”
Salvation is free... but discipleship will cost you your life. -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Jesus asked, what can one give in exchange for his life? The answer is everything. Apostle Paul said it this way, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Paul give a powerful explanation of what true Christian discipleship means. To summarize, true Christians take up their cross, count their old sinful lives as having died with Christ, replace their old ego, their old self-centered desires by embracing a new nature, putting on a new character, the character of Jesus Christ by following His lead and example in every aspect of their lives. The true cost of discipleship is the death of the old man, an exchange of the old life and accepting the reality of being a new creature. We are called to follow Christ that He may live within us in order to change us from the inside out. We are transformed through His Spirit dwelling within us. Christ being formed in us will transform the way we think, act and talk. Following Jesus begins a discipleship process, a metamorphosis to cause His follower to become like Christ.
Romans 8:29 NIV “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Jesus said, Follow me and I will Make you…” Are you following Him? Is He making you to become? I know it is costly, but well worth it! Don’t buy into a cheap grace or a cheap salvation that costs you nothing. If you do, you will settle for an imitation instead of the real thing. There is a cost to follow Jesus! Following Jesus means embracing the cost, denying ourselves and bearing our cross. Following Jesus means walking in His light and walking away from sin, then pursuing Scriptural holiness. Finally, following Jesus means finding your place in the faith community, developing your gifts, embracing and encouraging other believers as we serve others and build God’s kingdom on earth. Taking up our cross means sacrifice, laying everything on the altar. It's not half-hearted commitment; it is full surrender to God's terms of discipleship. It's a choice to live out the truth that we are “crucified with Christ” even if it means shame, rejection, or persecution. It is worth, not lonely because of what we get, but what we become! Bishop G.E Patterson summed the idea in an old Pentecostal song that said, “Count up all the cost, it takes to walk with Jesus. Count up all the cost with courage press your claim. Make up your mind to suffer if you would have Him reign. And when the battle is raging, give glory to His Name.” Amen.
