The Cost!

Sermon: The Cost!

Video David Platt: Radical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoicm4wnQ4c

Scripture Text: Luke 14:25-35: NIV

The Cost of Being a Disciple

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:

26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.

27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,

30saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 14:25-35 “The Message”

25One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them,

26“Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple.

27Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

28“Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it?

29If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you:

30‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’

31“Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other?

32And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?

33“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.

34“Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing. “Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

Some of the following thoughts came from: http://kawaguchichurch.org/messages/20100502_Sermon_Text_Schaeffer_English_The_cost_of_being_Jesus’s_disciple.pdf

Luke 9:56–62: And they went on to another village. 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." 61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home." 62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Thesis: When Jesus speaks about counting the cost to be his disciple he made it clear that following him would cost us our life of ease, our money and our time.

Video Clip Illustration: From wingclips.com (From Machine Gun Preacher clip)

SYNOPSIS: Machine Gun Preacher is the inspirational true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who undergoes an astonishing transformation and finds an unexpected calling as the savior of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children. Gerard Butler (300) delivers a searing performance as Childers, the impassioned founder of the Angels of East Africa rescue organization in Golden Globe-nominated director Marc Forster’s (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland) moving story of violence and redemption.

When ex-biker-gang member Sam Childers (Butler) makes the life-changing decision to go to East Africa to help repair homes destroyed by civil war, he is outraged by the unspeakable horrors faced by the region’s vulnerable populace, especially the children. Ignoring the warnings of more experienced aide workers, Sam breaks ground for an orphanage where it’s most needed—in the middle of territory controlled by the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a renegade militia that forces youngsters to become soldiers before they even reach their teens.