Commands of Christ - 34a

Wednesday, December 21, 2022 Commands of Christ – 34

A Christian's Mission: Counting the Cost

OPEN:

With YOUR conversion experience in mind, AND knowing the true cost of following Jesus would you (and if you would) how would you evangelize someone from a non-christian religion, knowing he or she might be disinherited or disowned by family on conversion?

DIG

READ: Luke 14:25–35 (LSB) Now many crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Lest, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 34 “Therefore, salt is good, but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem occupies more than half of Luke’s Gospel, but our focus is on only one incident and its context.

In Luke 9:51 Luke says Jesus “resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” “He was determined...”

It took resolve— crucifixion awaited him.

The Jews of tiny Palestine had had ample opportunity to see and hear Jesus.

Religious leaders were plotting his death.

The air was so politicized that religious decisions had political implications.

That is JUST like today. We are labeled with the epithet of “Christian Nationalist” if we stand up for Biblical values. Like: a belief that follows clear Biblical teaching concerning gender, sexuality, marriage, family, etc.

Many people had turned back from following Jesus, others feared to confess him openly or receive him in their homes.

And yet great crowds accompanied him to Passover.

But still, He asked the Twelve to pray for more disciples, which makes his words to this holiday crowd surprising.

Luke 10:2 (NASB95) And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

What important lesson do you think Jesus is teaching His disciples?

What He said in: Matthew 7:15–23 (NASB95) [After saying in Matthew 7:1–2 (NASB95) “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ] “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Realize that Passover was like a combined religious festival and national independence week.

Participation was obligatory for all men who could make the journey, and women and children were welcome.

It was a happy time with picnics and singing and friendly chats.

1. Look closely at verses 25-26. What information do you discover about the crowd?

It was large.

They were going along with Him — they weren’t necessarily following Him. He wasn’t their necessarily leader.

Again, just like today.

From His words, there must have been families.

What would it have been like to be part of this crowd?

It must have been a joyous time.

Last week I watched a video of Jewish men celebrating Hannikah called “Elton Johnukah.” They sang Elton John tunes about jelly doughnts, latke, driedels, menorah and other unpronouncable things (for me). Happy. singing, dancing.

2. In the context of the chapter, Jesus uses becoming a disciple interchangeably with receiving eternal life and being saved. Consider Jesus’ first condition in verse 26. Since he could not be asking them to hate their families, how were they to understand his words (compare with Matthew 15:3-4 “ And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 “For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’” )?

Matthew 15:3–4 (LSB) And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’

By comparison, their love for family members would look like hate.

3. Consider Jesus’ second condition in Luke 14:26-27. What is he asking of these men (see also 9:22-26)?

Luke 9:22-26 “saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.” 23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25 “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 26 “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

Hate their own lives.

Carry your own cross - a commitment no matter the cost

Fire Bible - For Jesus, it would represent shame and humiliation. But the sacrifice He made on the cross provided us with the opportunity for an eternal relationship with God. Now, we must be willing to identify with Christ and His sufferings, allowing our own reputations to become wrapped up in our devotion to Him. The choice between living for ourselves (i.e., denying Christ) or living for Christ (i.e., denying ourselves) must be made daily. That continual choice will determine our eternal destiny.

Come after me — NOT, I will follow you, but you follow ME (SEE: Batterson All In)

It’s less about us serving His purposes and more about Him serving our purposes.

I call it the inverted gospel.

Who’s Following Who

Most people in most churches think they are following Jesus, but I’m not so sure. They may think they are following Jesus, but the reality is this: they have invited Jesus to follow them. They call Him Savior, but they’ve never surrendered to Him as Lord.

4. In verses 28-32 Jesus gives two brief illustrations. What lesson was the crowd supposed to draw about discipleship from the example of the foolish builder?

Following Jesus means not quitting in the middle like some do because (apparently) they didn’t know or count the cost:

2 Timothy 4:10 (NASB95) for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

5. If people make premature decisions for Christ and then drop out, how is it likely to affect them and the believers and nonbelievers who know them?

It discourages believers.

It persuades unbelievers NOT to follow Jesus.

From your experience, how are believers and nonbelievers affected when a professing Christian doesn’t really follow Jesus?

They say they are a Christian but they don’t really follow Him.

It makes it confusing on how to interact with them.

Unbelievers get a wrong idea of Christianity.

6. The second illustration Jesus uses is about war — How might war a truer picture of Jesus’ mission than a building project, and how does it explain his stiff requirements?

Ephesians 6:12–13 (NASB95) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

Revelation 12:7–12 (NASB95) And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

War is more demanding than building something. It requires:

Constant training.

Constant vigilance.

Extraordinary courage

Commitment to follow orders.

7. Consider Jesus’ third condition in verse 33. How might this have upset their expectations even more than the other two?

Again, Batterson’s book: I haven’t met many people possessed by a demon, but I’ve met a lot of people possessed by their possessions. They don’t own things. Things own them.

8. What difference does it make to you that your possessions belong to Christ?

Instead of being an owner, I am a steward.

1 Corinthians 4:1–2 (LSB) Let a man consider us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found faithful.

9. How were these followers, who had no genuine commitment to Jesus, like “salt” without saltiness (vv. 34-35)?

They had no effect on their world.

No healing.

No infection fighting.

No taste-enhancing.

Today: Salt to melt ice

APPLICATION

10. What are some reasons that Christians might pressure seekers into premature decisions?

Higher numbers to feel better about themselves.

11. How can we responsibly determine if someone understands enough to make a commitment?

We pray and ask.

12. How can we help seekers make rightly motivated commitments regardless of personal cost?

Help them understand: (Batterson) Let me put my cards on the table.

I don’t think anyone has ever sacrificed anything for God. If you get back more than you gave up, have you sacrificed anything at all? The eternal reward always outweighs the temporal sacrifice. At the end of the day, Judgment Day, our only regret will be whatever we didn’t give back to God.

This may seem counterintuitive, but I’m convinced it’s true: the key to self-fulfillment is self-denial. Self-denial is shorthand for delayed gratification. And by delay, I don’t mean days or months or years. I mean a lifetime. Our delayed gratification on earth translates into eternal glory in heaven.

Most of us spend most of our lives accumulating the wrong things. We’ve bought into the consumerist lie that more is more. We mistakenly think that the more we give, the less we’ll have. But in God’s upside-down economy, our logic is backward. You ultimately lose whatever you keep and you ultimately keep whatever you lose for the cause of Christ.

13. Ask God to help you evangelize responsibly, helping seekers to count the cost and to mature.

Now or Later

Jesus said, “Make disciples . . . teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). Reflect on how to “disciple” seekers into the kingdom so they can make intermediate responses to the Lord, at their own pace, as they discover new truth, until they come to full commitment and assurance of salvation. What do you see as some of the key aspects of discipleship?