1/18/2009EBFC Discipleship Ministries Discipleship– The Cost Luke 14:25-35

1/18/2009 EBFC Discipleship Ministries

Discipleship– The Cost

Luke 14:25-35


Costs?

Salvation is free – discipleship costs

everything!


Big Idea

Our Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us to Make Disciples with guaranteed results personally and in others. This process is wrought with challenges, expectations, and responsibilities. Jesus never sugarcoats His commands but tells us to calculate the costs, but, in the end, the investment made pales in significance to the results gained!


Background

• Luke, a physician, writes with the compassion and warmth of a family doctor

• Most likely a Greek writing to Greeks

• Documents the perfect humanity of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ

• Emphasizes Jesus’ ancestry and birth


Jesus Popularity

“Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:” (Luke 14:25 NIV)

– Jesus ministry is growing in popularity, and from all indicators, very successful

– By continuing to meet their physical needs would be a slam-dunk for them making Him King


Hard Sayings

““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. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27 NIV)


Hard Sayings


hate (miseo) = to love less. This means we must love all less than Christ


Hard Sayings

““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. And anyone who does not carry his crosscross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27 NIV)

• a call to self denial• voluntarily and decisively accepts the

pain, shame, and persecution for the sake of Christ

• must begin to follow and continue to follow Christ


Hard Sayings


Caution: Jesus is not advocating a monastic lifestyle, nor self flagellation in order to gain favor with God. But rather, a willingness to take what ever comes with being a disciple of Jesus.


The Illustrations

“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? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’” (Luke 14:28-30 NIV)


The Illustrations

“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? If 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” (Luke 14:31-33 NIV)


The Illustrations

“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? If 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” (Luke 14:31-33 NIV)

Jesus is not saying from these illustrations that the tower should not be built or the king should not go to war, but that careful calculation and preparation should be made for both


The Illustrations

In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33 NIV)

The design of Christ, therefore, is to warn his followers to bear the cross, that they may prepare themselves with courage.


The Savor

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.” (Luke 14:34-35 NIV)One who merely makes a profession of being a disciple of Christ without total commitment, is as useless as salt that has lost it’s saltiness.


The Savor

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”” (Luke 14:35 NIV)

hear (akouo) carries with it the necessity of understanding the implications of what is being communicated.


The Purpose of the Church

“...I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19 NIV)




Church would become the gatekeeper of those who were the disciples of Jesus Christ.




The words bind and loose were rabbinical terms meaning to forbid and permit.




This authority and power given to the church was meant to be used to guide His disciples in their journey to become like Him.



Three Marks of a True Church1.Faithful preaching of the whole

counsel of God2.Proper administration of the

sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper

3.Consistent practice of church discipline

“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” (2Timothy 4:2 NIV)

“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,” (Acts 2:46 NIV)“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”” (1Corinthians 5:12-13 NIV)



“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17 NIV)

obey (peitho) = have confidence, trust

submit (hipeiko) = to surrender: — submit self



Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Hebrews 13:17 NIV)

In our local church, that commitment statement is called membership!

The membership process is a mutual expectation which includes the use of ones Spiritual Gifts.




“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” (Ephesians 4:7-8 NIV)




“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ...” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV)


Conclusion

1. Are you fully committed to Jesus Christ in such a way that you know He demands your all?

2. Are you committed to His church in such a way that, through membership, you promise to yield yourself to it’s authority and discipline?

3. Do you desire to use your spiritual gifts for the furtherance of His church?


Conclusion

“until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13 NIV)