Sermon Tone Analysis

“The Cost of Discipleship”

 

Introduction:

The benefits of discipleship are many.

The greatest is the promise of eternity with God in Heaven.

However, that is just the tip of the iceberg, there are countless benefits in this life to discipleship.

We have the ability to speak to God through prayer, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, a joy that no one can take away, a hope that will never disappoint, a peace that we can never understand, a Father who loves and cares for us, and Christian friends who we can count on and rely upon.

The cost?

It will cost us everything we have.

It will require complete sacrifice.

You probably heard about the hen and the pig who approached a church and read the advertised sermon topic: “What can we do to help the poor?” Immediately the hen suggested they feed them bacon and eggs.

The pig thought for a moment and said, “There is only one thing wrong with feeding bacon and eggs to the poor.

For you it requires only a contribution, but for me it requires total commitment.”

Discipleship requires total commitment.

I would say as I said before that often times you get what you pay for.

Many people may want just a casual relationship with God that costs them nothing in this life.

You get what you pay for.

Many people may want a religion that suffers nothing.

Martin Luther said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”

The Scriptures often compare the process of discipleship to that of an athlete in training.

Some of today’s athletes are born with special abilities, but most of their talent is developed.

Most people have to train for it.

It is amazing the amount of time and energy athletes spend in training and practice in order to get good.

In order for an athlete to be really good it usually is going to cost them something.

It is usually going to mean a lot of sacrifices.

It is going to mean a lot of practice and hard work.

It may mean time away from family; it may mean extra time in the gym.

Athletes make incredible sacrifices in order to get better and develop their talents and the best of them are usually the hardest working, the ones who make the most sacrifices, the ones most committed to their goal.

There are so many who refuse to make the disciples commitment.

Remember there is no distinction between a disciple and a Christian.

We are all called to be disciples and not just Christians in name.

There were many times that great crowds gathered around Jesus.

They loved him, and they wanted to hear him teach.

Often times people would come from great distances to get something from him, maybe to be healed.

There is a difference between the crowd and the committed.

There is a distinction between the crowd and the disciples.

When all was said and done the crowds left Jesus, but the disciples stayed.

When the crowds turned on Jesus, for the most part the disciples stayed loyal.

On one occasion as Jesus was teaching on the bread of Life, the crowds didn’t like what they heard, so they turned and they left Jesus.

Then Jesus turned to his twelve disciples and asked them if they planned on leaving him too.

Peter spoke up and said, “To who shall we go, you alone have the word of eternal life.”

In other words Peter was saying, we are not a part of the crowds, we are a part of the committed, we are in this to stay.

The crowds left because they thought the message was too harsh and was expecting too much, they thought they would go hear a rabbi that would teach what they wanted to hear, but the disciples decided to stay and conform to what the Savior taught no matter what it entailed.

Yes, the crowds may have loved Jesus, but they were not committed followers of Jesus.

Are you a part of the crowd or the committed?

I believe we will see together this morning that discipleship is worth the cost.

\\ \\ I. Discipleship Will Cost You Relationships

One of our greatest problems today is that we so badly want to be accepted.

We want everyone to like us, and often times we will compromise our beliefs and values so that other people will like us better.

This is the great problem that young people face today.

We call it “peer pressure”.

Today, young people feel so pressured by their peers to do certain things that often times they give in to those pressures for the sake of being liked and accepted.

I don’t believe the issue of wanting to be liked or accepted stops when we exit our teenage years though.

Many of us still are seeking to conform to others so that we can find acceptance in the world.

That is one reason Paul made clear to the Romans in chapter 12, “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Life is often about choices and sometimes we have to make difficult decisions.

Sometimes following Jesus will cost us relationships and acceptance among other people.

I don’t believe that we can maintain everything the way it was before we were Christians after we come to Christ.

I believe sometimes our relationships and friendships need to change, however our hunger for popularity and acceptance often hinders us from leaving it all behind.

It would have been easy for the original twelve disciples to have popularity and acceptance in the world.

Before Jesus they were very uncontroversial people, but after Jesus they became very controversial.

Jesus made clear to them on numerous occasions that following him meant they would face opposition from others and that they would face persecution.

Paul could have easily been a well-liked person among the Jews.

He was well respected, he was thought of as one of the religious elites of his day, and when he made the decision to become a Christian he had to know that it was going to cause some problems with some of the relationships he had.

I would be willing to bet that some of Paul’s friends became his persecutors.

When I became a Christian some of my relationships changed.

Some of my old friends didn’t want to be my friends any more; even my family distanced themselves from me and expressed their disapproval for my new way of life.

They didn’t like my beliefs.

They were much more comfortable with me when I lived like them and believed like them.

They didn’t want to be my friends because I no longer encouraged their sin and no longer participated in it.

They didn’t realize that I was a new creation.

We no longer had anything in common.

Being a disciple of Jesus cost me some relationships and I assume that if I remain faithful it will continue to cost me more.

Perhaps I will never find the acceptance from masses of people that part of me longs to have.

Perhaps I will never enjoy great popularity.

Perhaps my beliefs and my lifestyle will create enemies, but nevertheless I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

My goal isn’t to create enemies or sever relationships I have, but I do understand that some people simply will never understand me, just like they never understood Jesus and it got him killed.

There are certain things that it is okay to believe.

There are certain things, which are okay and acceptable to do.

It is perfectly acceptable in today’s society to call yourself a Christian.

In fact, I would say that it is almost the popular thing to do.

However, it is a different story when you start living and thinking like one.

It is okay to wear a cross around your neck, but when you start carrying one that is a different story.

It is okay to believe in Jesus and even acknowledge Jesus publicly the way our athletes often do, but if you start saying he is the only way to Heaven than that is no longer okay.

I am telling you that Christianity lived in its purest form will cause you to gain enemies.

I hope that no one will ever be able to say of me that everyone thought highly of me.

I say that because I do believe that by standing for the truth and by living the truth you will make some enemies.

If it was ever said of me that everyone thought highly of me, then perhaps I was not bold enough and perhaps I was not living a righteous enough life.

I am not living my life to find and gain acceptance from others, but rather am seeking to be pleasing to God.

If following Jesus and being a true disciple of His means I will loose relationships that that is more than okay with me.

I will willingly forfeit power, popularity and prestige in this life to follow Jesus and gain acceptance from the only one who really matters.

\\ \\ II.

Discipleship Will Cost You Time and Energy

Russian-American comic, Yakov Smirnoff’s initial response to the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores was great.

He said, “On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk – you just add water, and you get milk.

Then I saw powdered orange juice – you just add water, and you get orange juice.

And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, what a country!”

Wouldn’t it be nice if our spiritual development were like that?

Wouldn’t it be great if it was instant, and the second you came out of the baptistery you were a mature disciple of Jesus’.

However, it is not that easy!

Becoming like Jesus doesn’t happen over night.