IT IS ONE OF THE SUPREME HANDICAPS OF THE CHURCH THAT IN IT THERE ARE SO MANY DISTANT FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST AND SO FEW REAL DISCIPLES. ALL OF THIS SIMPLY DUE TO THE COST INVOLVED WITH DISCIPLESHIP.
NOT VERY MANY PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR FOLLOWING JESUS. INSTEAD, TOO MANY JUST CONTINUE TAGGING ALONG ON THE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP ROLLS AS STAGNANT, UNCOMMITTED, DEAD WEIGHT.
CHRISTIANITY WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE JUST A "GO-TO-CHURCH" RITUAL. ANYONE CAN COME INTO A SANCTUARY AND SIT THROUGH AN HOUR-LONG WORSHIP SERVICE. IT IS WHO ONE IS AND WHAT ONE BECOMES BEYOND THE SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE.
CHRISTIANITY WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE A ONE-SIDED RELIGIOUS CEREMONY. CHRISTIANITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT DEVELOPING A PERSONAL, INTIMATE, RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THE FATHER THROUGH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.
A RELATIONSHIP THAT IS NOT BUILT ON DOING BUT BY BEING.
JESUS CALLS US INTO A RELATIONSHIP NOT "JUST" A DECISION. JESUS NEVER SAID HE WANTED DECISION-MAKERS TO FOLLOW AFTER HIM.
JESUS WANTED DISCIPLES WHO WOULD PAY THE PRICE OF ENTERING INTO A LIFE-LONG RELATIONSHIP OF LEARNING ABOUT AND RELATING TO BOTH HIM AND THE FATHER.
THIS RELATIONSHIP HE SPOKE OF WOULD DEMAND EFFORT AND A LOT OF COMMITMENT. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS NO JOKING AROUND BECAUSE ONE WOULD HAVE TO PAY A PRICE IF THEY WANTED TO FOLLOW AFTER JESUS.
THIS WAS THE POINT JESUS WAS TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO THE LARGE CROWD THAT HAD BEEN FOLLOWING HIM ON HIS WAY TO JERUSALEM. PEOPLE CROWDED AROUND JESUS QUITE OFTEN IN HOPES THAT ONE OF THEM WOULD BE SINGLED OUT AND ASKED TO BE A DISCIPLE.
SOME WERE FOLLOWING AROUND AFTER JESUS JUST TO BE SEEN WITH HIM SO THEY COULD GO BACK HOME AND RIGHTFULLY CLAIM OWNERSHIP OF THE TITLE "DISCIPLE" ON THE GROUNDS OF ASSOCIATION.
JESUS PROBABLY OVERHEARD MANY OF THE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT "WHY" THEY WERE FOLLOWING AFTER HIM. I’M SURE THAT ALL THE REASONS FOR WANTING TO BE AROUND JESUS WERE NOT FOR THE RIGHT ONES. IT WAS PROBABLY SO CHAOTIC THAT IT STARTED TURNING INTO A CIRCUS ACT AND JESUS FINALLY HAD ENOUGH OF IT.
JESUS BRINGS HIS JOURNEY TO AN IMMEDIATE HALT. JESUS STOPS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AND TURNS ON THE PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY OBVIOUSLY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND HIS DEMANDS OF DISCIPLESHIP.
JESUS SAID THAT IF THEY REALLY WANTED TO FOLLOW HIM AND BE A DISCIPLE THEY MUST HATE THEIR FAMILY AND HATE LIFE ITSELF WHILE, AT THE SAME TIME, CARRYING THEIR CROSS. I’M SURE THE CROWD BEGAN TO THIN OUT QUITE A BIT AFTER HE SAID THAT.
I’M ALSO SURE THAT MANY TURNED AROUND AND WALKED AWAY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE, TO THEM, THE FUN WAS OVER. IT WASN’T A GAME AFTER ALL, BUT A STUNNING REALITY THAT JESUS WAS SERIOUS ABOUT WHAT HE SAID.
YOU JUST CAN’T TAG ALONG AND FOLLOW HIM AROUND. YOU MUST FOLLOW AFTER HIM AND "FOLLOWING AFTER" CAME WITH TWO CONDITIONS.
FIRST, YOU MUST HATE YOUR OWN FAMILY, AND EVEN YOUR OWN LIFE IN ORDER TO BE ONE OF HIS DISCIPLES. SECONDLY, YOU MUST CARRY YOUR OWN CROSS WHILE FOLLOWING AFTER JESUS.
THE DEMANDS THAT JESUS MAKES UPON THOSE WHO WOULD FOLLOW HIM ARE EXTREME AND EXPENSIVE. WE HAVE TO SNAP BACK INTO REALITY AND REMEMBER THAT CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A SUNDAY MORNING, MAKE-ME-FEEL-GOOD, RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION.
IT IS A HUNGERING AND THIRSTING AFTER GOD TO THE POINT OF DEATH IF NEED BE. IT SHAKES OUR FOUNDATIONS, TOPPLES OUR PRIORITIES, PITS US AGAINST FRIEND AND FAMILY, AND MAKES US STRANGERS IN THIS WORLD.
THIS IS WHY SO MANY BAIL OUT OF OR NEVER BECOME A PART OF CHRISTIANITY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES MUCH AND COSTS JUST AS MUCH TO BE A PART OF.
YOU CAN LIVE IN THIS WORLD, BUT YOU CANNOT BE OF THIS WORLD. YOU MUST HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT INCLUDING YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.
NOW, OF COURSE, IT’S AN OBVIOUS EXAGGERATION BECAUSE JESUS DIDN’T MEAN THAT WE SHOULD HATE WITH A LITERAL HATE. THE WORD HE USED HERE FOR "HATE" ACTUALLY MEANS "TO LOVE LESS THAN."
JESUS WAS SAYING THAT OUR LOVE FOR HIM SHOULD BE SO COMPLETE AND WHOLEHEARTED THAT OUR LOVE FOR OUR FAMILY AND FOR LIFE ITSELF WOULD PALE IN COMPARISON.
OUR DEVOTION TO CHRIST CANNOT BE LESS THAN WHOLE-HEARTED. DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT SPORADIC, VOLUNTEER WORK ON ONE’S OWN TERMS AND AT ONE’S CONVENIENCE. JESUS WASN’T KIDDING WHEN HE SAID THERE WERE DEMANDS THAT WOULDN’T BE EASY TO FOLLOW.
IF YOU THINK THAT IS A LOT TO SWALLOW, JESUS DIDN’T STOP THERE BUT MADE A SECOND DEMAND, WHICH IS TO CARRY OUR CROSSES. THOSE IN THE CROWD WERE WELL AWARE OF WHAT IT MEANT TO "CARRY THE CROSS."
WHEN ROMANS LED A CRIMINAL TO THEIR EXECUTION SITE, THE CRIMINAL WOULD BE FORCED TO CARRY THE CROSS ON WHICH THEY WOULD DIE. THIS SHOWED SUBMISSION TO ROME AND WARNED THOSE WHO WATCHED THAT THEY HAD BETTER SUBMIT TOO.
JESUS GAVE THIS TEACHING TO GET THE CROWD OF PEOPLE TO RE-EVALUATE THEIR ENTHUSIASM FOR HIM. HE ENCOURAGED THOSE WHO WERE SUPERFICIAL EITHER TO GO DEEPER AND GET SERIOUS OR TO TURN BACK AND GO HOME.
THIS IS WHY JESUS TOLD THE TWO SHORT PARABLES TO GIVES EXAMPLES OF WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE JOINING HIM AS A DISCIPLE.
HE TOLD OF STORY OF THE MAN WHO WANTED TO BUILD A TOWER AND A KING WHO WAS PLANNING FOR WAR. BOTH PARABLES WERE USED BY JESUS TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF COUNTING THE COST.
IN THE FIRST PARABLE JESUS WAS SAYING "SIT DOWN AND CALCULATE WHETHER YOU CAN AFFORD TO FOLLOW ME." IN THE SECOND PARABLE JESUS SAYS, " SIT DOWN AND EVALUATE WHETHER YOU CAN AFFORD TO REFUSE MY DEMANDS."
IN OTHER WORDS, IF ONE IS TO FOLLOW JESUS, THEN A TOTAL COMMITMENT IS EXPECTED, A COMMITMENT ARISING OUT OF CAREFUL, THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION. ONE MUST KNOW WHAT THEY ARE GETTING INTO SO THEY WON’T BE TEMPTED TO TURN BACK WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH!
THE LESSON IS PLAIN AND THIS IS WHY, IN VERSE 33, JESUS SAID IT ONE MORE TIME, "SO NO ONE CAN BECOME MY DISCIPLE WITHOUT GIVING UP EVERYTHING FOR ME."
THE GREEK WORD FOR "GIVING UP" LITERALLY MEANS TO "RENOUNCE," "TO BID FAREWELL TO" OR "TO TAKE LEAVE OF."
WHAT I FIND INTERESTING ABUT THIS QUOTE OF JESUS IS THAT IT IS WRITTEN IN PRESENT TENSE. THE PRESENT TENSE SIGNIFIES THAT "GIVING UP" AND "BIDDING FAREWELL" TO THE WAYS OF THE WORLD AND TO RELATIONSHIPS THAT GET IN THE WAY OF CHRIST ARE TO BE AN ONGOING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE DISCIPLE.
WILL WE PAY THIS PRICE? OTHERS HAVE PAID DEARLY. FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE WHO LITERALLY FOLLOWED CHRIST HERE ON EARTH?
ANDREW DIED ON A CROSS. SIMON WAS CRUCIFIED AND BARTHOLOMEW WAS FLAYED ALIVE. JAMES (SON OF ZEBEDEE) WAS BEHEADED THE OTHER JAMES (SON OF ALPHAEUS) WAS BEATEN TO DEATH.
THOMAS WAS RUN THROUGH WITH A LANCE, MATTHIAS WAS STONED AND THEN BEHEADED. MATTHEW WAS SLAIN BY THE SWORD, PETER WAS CRUCIFIED UPSIDE DOWN, THADDEUS WAS SHOT TO DEATH WITH ARROWS, PHILIP WAS HANGED.
NOW, WHAT THOSE OF US WHO ARE UNITED METHODIST DISCIPLES? ACCORDING TO A RECENT BARNA RESEARCH GROUP POLL OF 6,000 PEOPLE, FOUND THAT ONLY 49% CLAIMED TO BE "BORN-AGAIN." BORN-AGAIN MEANING "THOSE WHO SAY THAT WHEN THEY DIE THEY WILL GO TO HEAVEN BASED SOLELY ON THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE CONFESSED THEIR SINS AND ACCEPTED JESUS CHRIST AS THEIR SAVIOR." JUST 49%!!
IN THAT SAME RESEARCH THEY FOUND THAT ONLY 38% BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS TOTALLY ACCURATE. ONLY 28% SAID YOU MUST SHARE YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS.
ONLY18% BELIEVE SATAN IS REAL AND 33% SAID JESUS WAS SINLESS. MOST SURPRISINGLY, ONLY 47% SAID THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY COMMITTED TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. LESS THAN HALF!
IF YOU THINK THOSE STATISTICS ARE FRIGHTENING, THAT SAME SURVEY FOUND THAT AS UNITED METHODIST ONLY 20% WITNESSED TO A NON-BELIEVER LAST YEAR.
43% SAID THEY READ THEIR BIBLE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. 49% ATTEND CHURCH REGULARLY AND 90% SAID THE PRAYED TO GOD WITHIN THE LAST SEVEN DAYS.
WITH THE ONE EXCEPTION OF PRAYER ALL OTHER STATISTICS WERE UNDER 50%. THIS MEANS THAT NOT EVEN HALF OF THE PEOPLE WERE TRULY FOLLOWING AFTER CHRIST.
JESUS IS ASKING FOR ALL 100% OF YOU. WILL YOU PAY THE PRICE THAT JESUS DEMANDS OF YOU TO REACH THE FULL 100%?
THE COST WILL CARRY A DIFFERENT PRICE TAG FOR EACH ONE OF US BECAUSE THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP IS PAID IN MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF CURRENCY.
FOR SOME OF YOU A TOTAL REDIRECTION OF WHERE YOU ARE NOW. YOU AREN’T TRULY BORN AGAIN AND YOU NEED TO ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR RIGHT NOW.
MAYBE IT’S BREAKING HABITS OF A PERSONAL, MORAL, AND BEHAVIORAL NATURE THAT AFFECT YOUR REPUTATION AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS.
SOME OF US IT WILL REQUIRE A TOTAL CHANGE IN VOCATION AND NEW EDUCATIONAL TRAINING. OTHERS WILL HAVE TO LET GO OF THEIR FINANCIAL RESOURCES AS THEY REALIZE THAT BY NOT GIVING THEY ARE ACTUALLY STEALING FROM GOD.
WHATEVER THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS YOU OF THE FACT IS THAT JESUS REQUIRES A COMPLETE CHANGE IN PRIORITIES OF ALL WOULD-BE DISCIPLES.
NO PART-TIME DISCIPLES ARE NEEDED. NO PARTIAL COMMITMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. IF WE WILL FOLLOW THEN LET US ESTABLISH OUR PRIORITIES, COUNT THE COST AND THEN PAY THE PRICE.
I LEAVE YOU WITH MATTHEW 19:29,"AND EVERYONE WHO HAS LEFT HOUSES OR BROTHERS OR SISTERS OR FATHER OR MOTHER OR CHILDREN OR FIELDS FOR MY SAKE WILL RECEIVE A HUNDRED TIMES AS MUCH AND WILL INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE."
