Sermon Tone Analysis

Not all who say “Lord, Lord...”

Fairly early in His ministry, Jesus taught that not all who claimed to be His disciples really were.

In the few short years of the Lord’s ministry, many disciples would follow Him for awhile, only to forsake Him when difficulty arose or His teachings became too hard.

Such fickle service was not limited to the lifetime of Jesus.

As Jesus foretells in the Sermon on the Mount, there will be those who claim that Jesus is their Lord, when in truth He is not.

In other words, there will always be those that claim to be disciples and followers of Jesus, when actually they are not.

These people are not simply liars though - they believe they are followers of Jesus.

They even do certain things that they feel serve Jesus.

And yet, in the end Jesus will say, “Depart.”

What a terrifying thought!

How awful it would be to live a life thinking we are Christ’s disciple, only to find out on the Judgment Day that the Lord does not recognize us as one of His own.

So how can we make sure this isn’t our fate?

Can we know that we really are the Lord’s disciples, and thus rest assured that we are known by Him? Yes!

Obviously, the whole of the New Testament teaches us about the Lord and how to follow Him.

But further, there are some specific things Jesus Himself mentions as signs that we either are or are not His disciples.

It would behoove us to review these characteristics, and ensure we really are the Lord’s disciples.

The Cost of Discipleship

In Luke 14, Jesus mentions 3 things that keep us from being a true disciple.

In just a few short verses, Jesus reminds us of the true cost of discipleship.

There are great blessings in Christ, but there are also costs.

We should count the cost carefully, and understand what is expected of the Lord’s disciples.

Jesus Before Family (Luke 14:26)

Jesus uses strong language to emphasize where our priorities must lie.

He is not teaching that we should literally hate our relatives.

This would contradict Jesus’ own teaching to love one another.

Jesus Himself rebuked the Pharisees for not fulfilling the command to honor their father and mother (Mt.

7:11).

Jesus wants to make clear however where our allegiance must lie.

As a disciple of the Lord, we follow Jesus above all others, including those who are the closest to us.

Family is a wonderful blessing, but family can also be a dangerous temptation.

Family can lead us astray: Few people can pressure us or influence us like our parents, our siblings, and our children.

We are far more likely to follow a beloved relative into sin, digression, and error than we are anyone else.

Family can distract us: As husbands, wives, parents, and children, we have responsibilities to our family.

These are good and God-ordained, but sometimes we can allow family to occupy the number one spot in our life, instead of the Lord.

When caring for the needs of a spouse, parent, or child comes before serving the Lord, we are not true disciples.

When family time, family recreation, and family events take precedence over the worship of the church or the work of the Lord, we are not truly disciples.

Family can hurt us: Few things hurt as badly as being rejected by those we love the most.

Yet that is exactly what has happened for many Christians.

From the first century until now, there have always been people who have been rejected by their families after obeying the gospel.

Such a situation is tragic and causes immense pain and sorrow - and some have succumbed to the pressure and ultimately chosen to reject the Lord to find favor with their family.

Being cast-out by family is no light thing, but as we will see in a moment, those that wish to be the Lord’s disciples must be ready for persecution, even from those whom they hold dear.

Jesus’ point is that if we wish to follow Him, we must be prepared to put Him first, even if that means choosing Him over our family.

Jesus is possibly echoing the example of the Levites.

Remember after the golden calf incident, the Levites stood with Moses against the idolators, and they carried out God’s judgment, killing 3,000 of the guilty with the sword, whether they were family, or neighbors, or companions.

They chose the Lord over their relationships.

Later, Moses blessed the Levites:

We will not have to make a choice like the Levites, but we may have to choose the Lord over our family.

Hopefully that isn’t the case.

Hopefully our family members are also Christians.

Or hopefully we can influence them to join us in following Christ.

But if not, we must be prepared to always follow Jesus, even when it costs us those who are closest to us.

Otherwise, we cannot truly be the Lord’s Disciples.

Jesus Before Self (Luke 14:27)

At the end of verse 26, Jesus adds we must “hate” our own life also in addition to our loved ones.

Again, Jesus is not teaching that we hate ourselves - He is saying that we must be ready to put Him before all things, including our own self-interest and even self-preservation.

Jesus expounds upon that in verse 27.

How blessed we are that Jesus died for our sins.

How thankful we are that He bore His cross, and was willing to die upon it, for in that sacrifice He offered us redemption and life eternal!

We love to think of the Lord’s loving sacrifice.

We thank God in prayer for it; we sing songs about it; we preach sermons about it, and rightfully so.

While we all love to remember what was accomplished at the cross, we don’t like to think of our own cross.

When it comes to bearing a cross of our own, we often begin to doubt and shirk away from true discipleship.

When we think of Jesus taking our place at the cross, what we often really want is for Jesus to take away all the crosses of our life.

We want to be freed not only from eternal damnation, but from all pain and suffering.

But that’s not what Jesus did, and it’s not what He expects.

Yes, Jesus died in our place on the cross, and yes Jesus offered us pardon, redemption, and forgiveness.

We need to always remember what He delivered us from - eternal death!

But in return, Jesus does expect us to be willing to bear our own crosses.

Will they be as heavy as His?

Not at all.

But will they exist?

Yes they will.

And we must be willing to bear them.

Essentially, Jesus is teaching that as we make Him first in our lives, we must be ready to make sacrifices in order to follow Him.

Sacrifices come in many ways:

Time and Service: When we are the Lord’s disciples, the focus of our life is on Him and His kingdom.

That means the way we use and spend our time should be different than it was before we followed Him.

Our time is not dedicated to ourselves and our pleasures.

Our time is not to be focused entirely on secular work, or relaxation, or hobbies.

All these things can be done and enjoyed, but not to such a degree that we shirk our responsibilities to the Lord.

Yes, there are times we need to give up the opportunity to make money or enjoy some relaxation in order to attend the worship services.

Yes, we should give part of our day to reading God’s Word and praying to the father.

Yes, we should give our time in order to serve and help others.

Is that a sacrifice?

Sure it is.

But how heavy is that cross compared to Jesus leaving Heaven in order to live as a man and die on the cross?

Surely we can bear the cross of sacrificed time.

Financial Sacrifice: Following the Lord will require a sacrifice of our treasure.

In every dispensation of time, God has expected His children to recognize the blessings they receive from God, and give back a portion of their wealth to Him.

In the New Testament, we are not given a set amount to give, but we are exhorted to give cheerfully rather than reluctantly (2 Cor.

6:7), and in proportion with how we have prospered (1 Cor.

16:2).

Do we do that?

Do we give cheerfully?

Do we truly give as we have been prospered?

Do we give sacrificially?

Yes, giving up our hard-earned dollars might be a sacrifice, but isn’t it worth it?

Isn’t it an awesome thing to be able to give back tot he Lord?

To be able to help the kingdom spread?

To be able to help other needy saints?

And in light of what the Lord has done and offered, isn’t the cross of financial sacrifice a fairly light load?

Compared to the cross that Jesus bore - the cross in which He redeemed us not with silver and gold, but with His own precious blood?