ALL OR NOTHING!
Luke 14:31-35
A woman walked into her bathroom at home. As she did, she saw her husband weighing himself on the bathroom scales, sucking in his stomach. The woman thought to herself, "He thinks that he will weigh less by sucking in his stomach." So, the woman rather sarcastically said to her husband, "That's not going to help." Her husband said, "Sure it will. It's the only way I can see the numbers."
Losing weight is one of tho
se things that is easy to talk about, but it is so difficult to do. There are literally thousands of books on the market telling us how to lose weight. There are programs to join, foods to cut from your diet, doctors who recommend a particular program, exercise videos, all of those things are available to help people lose weight. However, until you decide to do it, until you decide that you need to lose weight or that you must lose weight, you will never lose it. Losing weight begins with a decision, it begins by making a choice.
In reality, all of life is filled with choices. Think about the decisions that we make every day. We decide whether or not to go to work. We decide what to wear. We decide what phone calls to return. We decide between low fat ice cream and Blue Bell Ice Cream. We decide whether we should talk with the doctor about a pain we are having or to just live with the pain. Thousands of decisions are made every day. Some decisions are important, many decisions are routine.
However, the most important decision that we will make today or any day is this one: What will I do with Jesus? What will I do about His offer of salvation and His offer of eternal life? Will I accept Him or will I turn away from Him?
As with losing weight and as with the other decisions that we have to make in life, it is so easy to talk about what we need to do with Jesus. It is so easy to plan to do something about Jesus. It is easy to plan to do what God wants us to do.
Here's the difficult part: doing something about it! As we read the New Testament, one thing becomes clear: Jesus' call to each of us is the same. Jesus has called each of us to open our heart to Him, to seek His forgiveness for our sins, and to trust Him with God's offer of salvation. God's offer of heaven is available to all of us. God's desire is for all of us to join Him for eternity in heaven.
However, even though eternity and salvation are offered freely to all of us, we must decide what we will do with that offer. If our choice is God and His plan of salvation, then He expects us to be completely dedicated to Him. But notice. That's the order. First we must accept His offer of salvation, then we commit our life to Him.
Today, I want us to focus on our commitment to God and what God expects from us in our commitment. I know that in church, we often talk a great deal about commitment to God and about His offer of salvation. However, our decision, our choice, is so important, that we must talk about it again and again and again.
A pastor was called to a new church. The first Sunday the pastor was there, his message was taken from John 3:16. The message was entitled, "How to Be Born Again." The
message was well received, but no decisions were made. The second Sunday, the pastor's message was taken from John 3:16 and was entitled "How to Be Born Again." Again, no decisions were made. The third Sunday, the pastor's sermon was taken from John 3:16 and
was entitled "How to Be Born Again." Again, no decisions were made. By this time, the deacons were worried about what was happening—he just kept preaching the same sermon over and over and over again. So, they called a special meeting with the pastor to discuss his choice of sermons. One deacon said, "Don't you have any more sermons?" The new pastor responded, "Yes, I have plenty of sermons. However, I am going to keep preaching this sermon until you get it right. Then, I will move on to something else."
That's what I hear Jesus saying in this passage. Three times in this chapter Jesus reminded the people following Him that they needed to do more than just follow, they needed to have a personal relationship with Him. Three times Jesus told them that they were invited to the banquet being hosted by God Himself. Three times, Jesus told them that if they wanted to go to God's Kingdom they had to accept His invitation. Three times, Jesus told them that all they had to do was to come to Him. Jesus continued to drive that point home again and again throughout the New Testament.
Why? Why did He do that? Simple. Here's the reason Jesus did that. There is no more important decision that any of us will make in our life than the choice we make about God's offer of salvation. Our marriage partner, having children, where we work, where we live, where we go to school, where we attend church, are all important choices. However, those choices are temporary choices. Salvation, accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, is an eternal issue.
Let me ask you, where do you plan to spend eternity? Now listen, if you said heaven, you have to do more than wish for it, work for it, or be related to someone who is going to heaven. To go to heaven, you must ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart, to be your Savior and Lord, and to forgive your sins. Here's the good news. The moment that you do that, Jesus becomes your Savior and Lord. Right then. No waiting.
Now, as we look at these verses today, I want to ask you two questions, two of the most important questions that I will ever ask you. Here's the first question: HOW SERIOUS
ARE YOU ABOUT JESUS? Let's just cut to the chase today. When it comes to God, when
it comes to His Kingdom, or to His offer of eternal life, just how important is that to you? How important to you is what Jesus did on the cross? Is your relationship to Him the most important relationship that you have in the world?
In verses 25-30, the verses just before our text today, Jesus talked about building a tower. In those verses, Jesus emphasized the importance of counting the cost before we begin the building. What does that mean? Jesus told us that if we want to be His follower that we have to do more than just follow, we have to be willing to pay the price of discipleship, and we have to be willing to obey God.
In the verses that we read today, we have a very short parable from Jesus. Look at the verses again. Jesus told us about two kings who were going to war. The story is not too difficult to understand. Look at verse 31. Jesus tells us that it is not easy for a king who has 10,000 soldiers to defeat a king who has 20,000 soldiers. Think about that for a moment. If you were a king or queen and knew that you had fewer troops than the person you were about to fight, wouldn't you think long and hard before attacking the other king? Of course you would.
But, it doesn't stop there. If you were a king or queen and knew that you had fewer
troops than the other king, you also would not sit back and wait to be attacked and defeated
by the other king. More than likely, unless you had a death wish, if you had fewer troops, you
would do whatever it took to find a way to arrange a peace, a settlement, or a compromise.
You would find a way to stop a war from happening.
What was Jesus saying? Jesus warned us that we should consider the cost of what is involved in following Him. The builder of the tower was free to build or not to build. The builder of the tower did not have to do anything or he could do something. However, the king who was being invaded, had to do something or he would be destroyed. In verses 25-30, Jesus said, "Sit down and think about whether you can afford to follow Me." In this parable, Jesus said, "Sit down and think about whether you can afford to refuse Me." What a powerful question that is!
Listen to me carefully at this point. Jesus does not want His followers to rush into discipleship without thinking about what is involved. Jesus reminded us to count the cost before we accept His offer of salvation. We must understand that if we accept Jesus, if we
accept a relationship with Him, we are expected to totally commit to Him.
Jesus also wanted us to count the cost of not accepting His offer of salvation. If we accept Jesus, there is a cost to pay, we will be expected to follow Him and obey His Word. On the other side, if we refuse Jesus Christ, our eternal destination is hell. If we accept Jesus
Christ, He expects us to put Him first in our list of priorities. If we refuse Jesus Christ as our
Savior and Lord, He denies us entrance to heaven. The choice is ours to make. Do we pay
the price and accept Jesus or do we reject Him and pay the price with our soul? The decision is ours to make. No one else can do it for us.
Jesus was clear about the price of discipleship. Jesus said that when a person comes to Him, he must "renounce all that he has." Then, for the third time, Jesus said that if we do
not do that, then "He cannot be My disciple." What was Jesus saying? Simple. Jesus condemned half-heartedness and faint-hearted attachment.
Now don't misunderstand me. Jesus was not discouraging discipleship. Jesus was not telling us to avoid a relationship with Him. However, Jesus wanted the people who did accept His offer and chose to follow Him to be the real thing. He wanted the people to count the cost and consider everything lost for God's sake. Only then, only when we consider everything lost, can we experience the exhilaration of being a disciple of Jesus.
Then, there's a second question to examine: HOW SACRIFICIAL ARE YOU? Sacrifice is hard, isn't it? Folks, putting others first, putting God first, giving of ourselves, none of those things seem to come easily, do they? However, notice the last verse of this parable. Jesus said that a person who follows Him must "give up all possessions." That was a strong statement for Jesus to make! How should we understand what He said?
Well, throughout history, some people have literally practiced doing what Jesus said. I think of Mother Teresa, for instance. Mother Teresa moved to India to work with the poor,
the forgotten, and the sick. Mother Teresa turned her back on financial gain. She gave everything she had away. As a matter of fact, when Mother Teresa died, she was buried in a head wrap that cost less than a dollar.
Listen. Jesus taught us that the most important thing in life is not money, possessions,
or material things. Jesus told us that the most important things in life are not those that you
shop for or buy in the store or the deal you find on a car dealer's lot. Now, I realize that idea
goes against everything our world tells us. Our world tells us that value is found in what we
have. Our world tells us that importance is determined by our net worth. Our world says grab
more and more. Jesus, on the other hand, told us that value is found in a relationship to Him.
Jesus told us that our value begins the moment we surrender ourselves to Him and put Him
first in our life. Have you done that?
You are on your way home from work when you hear a news bulletin about a village in India where three villagers have died of a mystery flu. Doctors are investigating. On Sunday, you hear another news bulletin. This time, it's not three people in the village, it's 30,000 villagers who have died. By Monday morning, the mystery flu is the top story. Now,
it's not just in India, it's in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. That's when the President of France makes an announcement that shocks Europe, he is closing their borders. No one is
allowed in or out.
That night, as you are watching the news, a French woman is speaking. The announcer translates her words: "There's a man dying in a Paris hospital of the mystery disease." Britain closes its borders, but it's too late. The next morning, the President of the
United States is on TV. He says, "Due to a national security risk, all flights to and from Europe have been canceled." Within days, America is in a panic. People are selling masks for your face. The church parking lot is filled on Wednesday night for prayer meeting. While you are praying, someone rushes in with a radio. The announcer says, "Two women are dying in a New York hospital with the mystery flu. Doctors around the country are trying to find an antidote. The disease has spread to California, Idaho, Florida, and West Virginia."
Finally, a vaccine is found. But, for the vaccine to work, the blood of someone who hasn't been infected has to be found. Everyone is asked to go to their local hospital to be checked out. You take your family. You stand in line for hours, waiting to see if you have the blood they need. Suddenly, a doctor comes out of the hospital yelling a name. He yells it again. Your son tugs on your coat and says, "Daddy, that's me!" The doctors grab your son.
You yell, "Wait, wait, that's my boy." The doctor says, "It's okay, his blood is clean. He doesn't have the disease."
Later, the doctors come out, crying and hugging one another. The doctor says to you,
"Thank you, Sir. Your son's blood is perfectly clean and pure. We can make the vaccine from him." Word begins to spread through the line. People are crying. Then, the doctor pulls you aside and says, "We need you to sign this consent form." You begin to sign the form and then you see that the number of pints of blood they will need is blank. You ask, "How many pints will you need?" The doctor says, "I am sorry, but we need all of his blood." You try to interrupt the doctor, but he continues on, "We are trying to save the world here. We need all of his blood."
In stunned silence you sign the form. You go to see your son. He says, "Daddy, what's wrong? What's going on? Why do I have to do this?" You don't know what to say. The doctor tells you that you need to leave. Your son calls out to you, "Daddy, why are you leaving? Where are you going? Why are you forsaking me?" The following week, a ceremony is held to honor your son. Some folks sleep through it. Some folks don't even bother to come, they are at the beach or playing ball. Some folks just pretend to care about your son's sacrifice and death.
Now, if that happened to us, wouldn't we as parents jump up and down and say, "My
son died! Don't you care?" We would be angry, we would be broken-hearted at the people's
indifference. Hopefully, something like that will never happen to us. However, we must remember, that story has already happened to God. Two thousand years ago, God's Son, Jesus, gave His blood as a cure for our disease, sin. Jesus was nailed to the cross where He gave His blood, His life, for our sins. While Jesus was dying, God turned His back on Jesus. Even though it was His Son, God could not look at sin. Finally, Jesus died, He gave His blood, every drop of it. Why? Why did Jesus do that? Jesus died for our disease, sin.
Now, every Sunday, we meet to remember what Jesus did on the cross. Every Sunday, we gather to celebrate Jesus' defeat of death, Jesus' defeat of the powers of satan, and we gather to celebrate Jesus' offer of eternal life through Jesus. Not a Sunday goes by that we do not celebrate the shedding of blood by Jesus.
When you think back to the cross, don't you think that there were times that God wanted to shout to the world as they nailed His Son to the cross? Don't you think that God
would have been justified to say, "My Son died! I let Jesus die for you! I gave Him for you!
Don't you care?"
Let me ask you, do you care? Do you care what Jesus did on the cross? Do you care
that God has offered to forgive your sin disease? If you do, do something about it today. Trust Him. Give yourself to Him today.
