"Counting The Costs"

May 4, 2025

FBC Baxley

am service

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Welcome radio and online guests…

Vision Statement: FBC Exists to Live & Share the Love of Jesus Christ, through worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry & Evangelism.

** I want you to know, GOD LOVES YOU!

*It’s ok however you’ve entered, we are all here seeking God’s will, way and plan.

Some rescued, redeemed, Some Saved….Some Not..

All Loved…

*Acts 4:12 (repeat)

*John 3:16

Sermon Title: “Counting the Costs”

Scripture Passage: Luke 14:25-35

25 Now great crowds accompanied 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 bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

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

31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

PRAY-

Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

next week….the builder

Three Points:

1. Priorities Must Be Reordered (vv. 25–27)

2. Plans Must Be Reviewed (vv. 28–32)

3. Possessions Must Be Released (vv. 33–35)

Sermon Title: "Counting Costs"

Text: Luke 14:25–35 Theme: Home Renovation – True Discipleship Requires a Rebuild

Introduction: Cosmetic Faith or Core Renovation?

According to Barna Group (2024), 65% of practicing Christians agree that their faith is “very important” to their identity, yet only 23% say it “significantly shapes their day-to-day decisions.”

That’s a troubling —divide between what we profess and what we actually practice.

Our homes often reflect this same disconnect.

Pew research center...On the whole, U.S. teens attend religious services about as often as their parents do: 44% of U.S. teens say they go to religious services at least once a month, almost exactly the same as the share of their parents who say they attend monthly (43%).

We prioritize activities over worship, comfort over conviction, and self-fulfillment over sacrificial following.

Today’s families live in beautifully decorated houses—on crumbling spiritual foundations!!

In Luke 14:25–35, Jesus isn’t trying to recruit crowds, He’s trying to refine commitment.

He makes it clear: Discipleship is not an addition to your life; it’s a demolition and reconstruction.

Text Background

Jesus is speaking to a large crowd of followers (v. 25)—but He isn’t flattered by the numbers.

Instead, He issues a jarring challenge.

Following Him isn’t about popularity, comfort, or shallow spirituality.

It requires intentional planning, painful surrender, and permanent commitment.

1. Priorities Must Be Reordered (vv. 25–27)

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother... he cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus isn't calling for emotional hatred but a radical change of priorities.

The word "hate" here (Greek: μισεῖ – misei) is a Hebrew figure of speech meaning to love less than.

Jesus is demanding supreme allegiance—even above our closest family ties.

This is shocking in a family-first culture.

But Jesus is not minimizing family—He’s maximizing Lordship.

🔨 Home Renovation Parallel:

If your home had termites under the floorboards, you wouldn't leave it alone for the sake of comfort.

You’d tear it out and rebuild it right.

In a similar way, our lives often have beautiful exterior religion with rotting interior loyalties.

If Christ doesn’t outrank our parents, spouse, children, ambitions—and even our own sense of self—we aren’t following Him fully.

****Many Christians want Jesus to improve their lives, not interrupt them.

2. Plans Must Be Reviewed (vv. 28–32)

“Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost…”

Jesus now gives us two vivid metaphors:

A builder planning a tower.

A king calculating war.

Both involve cost assessment.

The Greek word ψῆφίζω (psēphizō) means to calculate carefully—like doing a full cost estimate before beginning a major home project.

🔨 Renovation Insight: Before you knock out a wall, you need to know:

What’s behind it?

What will it cost to rebuild?

Do I have the resources to finish?

Likewise, Jesus is asking: “Have you seriously considered what it will cost to follow Me?”

Today, many begin the Christian life emotionally without thinking through the sacrifices—then they stall out.

The result is what Jesus calls a half-finished tower (v. 29)

—spiritually embarrassing and practically useless.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Application:

We spend hours researching schools, sports programs, and college savings.

But how often do we ask,

****"What will this choice cost my child's walk with Christ?"

Discipleship is not accidental. It's intentional.

Every decision—our schedule, our spending, our values—must be filtered through:

Does this help or hinder our walk with Christ?

3. Possessions Must Be Released (vv. 33–35)

“Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus now raises the bar even higher—total relinquishment.

The Greek word for renounce (ἀποτάσσεται – apotassetai) means to say farewell to or to separate oneself from allegiance to.

Jesus is not saying every disciple must be poor—but every disciple must surrender ownership.

He’s saying, "You can no longer call anything your own."

Not your time, your money, your reputation, your relationships, your future.

🔨 Renovation Parallel:

You can’t tell your contractor, “You can renovate everything except the master bedroom.”

Partial access = no true renovation.

Likewise, Jesus won’t settle for a spare room or guest space in your life.

He wants title and deed.

🧂 He ends with a salt analogy (v. 34–35):

Salt that loses its taste is useless.

It looks like salt but has no power.

That’s the picture of a half-committed believer—outwardly religious, inwardly resistant.

Closing Illustration: HGTV vs. Heaven's General Contractor

We love home renovation shows—especially the “big reveal.”

But behind the scenes is months of dust, noise, delays, and inconvenience.

Imagine a homeowner saying, “I want the open concept, the new flooring, and the beautiful kitchen—but I don’t want you to touch anything.”

****That’s not a renovation—that’s a wish list.

And yet, this is how many approach Jesus.

We want the blessing, the peace, the transformation—but we don’t want the breaking, surrender, or sacrifice.

Christ is not a decorator.

He is the Demolisher of sin and the Builder of holiness.

He’s not adding new furniture—He’s rebuilding the foundation.

Fathers will you lead???

Three Life Applications: Renovation Requires Action

1. Inspect Your Foundation

Ask: Is Christ the foundation of my life and home—or just a decorative piece on the shelf?

Take inventory: What’s cracked, compromised, or shifting?

2. Surrender the Blueprint

Stop treating Jesus like a subcontractor.

Give Him the blueprint—your parenting, marriage, career, finances, time, and dreams.

What room of your life is off-limits to Christ right now?

3. Commit to Daily Construction

Discipleship is not a weekend project—it’s a lifelong construction site.

Read the Word. Obey in small things.

Make your decisions with eternity in view.

next week…the builder…

Final Call: Tear Down and Build Up

Jesus is clear.

Following Him means more than liking Him.

It means more than attending church or calling yourself a Christian.

It means counting the cost, picking up your cross, and letting Him rebuild your life from the studs up.

So I ask you today:

What priority needs to be reordered?

What plan needs to be reassessed?

What possession or pride needs to be released?

Let the renovation begin.

-Pray

-Invitation