Estimating The Cost

Luke 14:25-35

In 1917, a barber named Martin Treptow from small Cherokee, Iowa enlisted in the army.  By December 1917, his regiment was sent to France to fight in the trenches of the western front. As a New Year’s resolution, Treptow wrote the following in his diary under the title “My Pledge.”

“America must win this war.  Therefore I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone.”

In July of 1918, a message needed to be delivered during an intense battle against the Germans. Treptow took the message and delivered it to his platoon leader. Exposing himself to enemy fire, he was killed by a German machine gun.  His diary was discovered with his personal belongings.

In light of tomorrow being Memorial Day, the Lord led me to this passage in Luke, where our Lord taught about being a disciple! A person seeking to serve in the military, someone desiring to be a good soldier, will most certainly count the cost before joining.

There are some that didn’t have a choice, I know and some just are not as dedicated as others. But, to those that are and were dedicated to be a faithful, good soldier, would be aware of the cost and with knowledge of the cost, they will be willing to follow through with their pledge, such as Martin Treptow!

I have told of this before, but Bro Bert Clendenenn was a pretty well-known preacher. He enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 18, right after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. He told his mom that he had to get out there. “Our freedom is at stake!” he told his mother.

He felt like the freedom that we have is worth dying for!

His first deployment was to the Island of Pellielu in the South Pacific. As they came ashore, artillery began to rain down on that beech; overhead bombers were dropping death and destruction. For the next 30 months he would live like this. A foxhole became his home and fish heads a normal meal. Out of 11,000 men only 80 of them walked out, the rest were either killed or wounded. The conflicts he was involved in are still considered to have been some of the worst known to man.

He preached a sermon in 1982 entitled “Soldiers” from 2 Timothy 2:3 “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Commitment is what is needed in order to endure the hardness!

Jesus is teaching here about being a disciple (follower of Jesus). Just as being a soldier comes with a great cost to the ones that are faithful, so does the true follower of Jesus! It takes a commitment!

Commitment is a dedication to something or someone that you believe in!

Faithfulness is a commitment to something or someone that is worth dying for!

In this teaching of Christ, we hear Jesus tell us of the cost of that commitment! that if anyone “comes” to Him, then that person has to “hate” their family relationships, themselves!

He also speaks of a cross, our own cross that we have to bear!

Jesus then goes into 2 parables, if you will,...... one about a man building a tower......this man will calculate what it would take to build this tower, to see if it is doable or not! The second is about a king going to war, outnumbered......would he not consult with his soldiers (generals) to see if this is a good idea or would he send an ambassador out to try to get the other to agree to a treaty of peace.

Estimating the cost, that is what Jesus is telling us here! Is Jesus worth the cost to follow Him?

As I was speaking earlier about the brother in WW2 in Japan, let us evaluate first the cost of being a soldier........

At the point of deciding to enlist, you will be stripped of your pride, the goal of the military is to get you to conform to their way of doing things.

The only way of achieving that in the enlistee, is to break them down and build them back up in their way!

Their lives will no longer be mama or daddy’s way!

Bro Clendennen said when he joined the Marines, that he fell in and fell out, marched here and there, got down and got up! He said he ate when they said ate and slept when they said sleep!

He said that before he got there, that he slept when he wanted to and did pretty much what he wanted.

There was no more of that, he said they were automating him! They were bringing him to a place of where he would obey instantly!

For 8 weeks it was constantly telling them what to do! Training them for instance obedience and if you were not sold out to the cause then this was not for you!

When they hit the beach at Pellielu bombs were blasting all around them and machine gun fire was whizzing by! He said that when the 1st sergeant said “hit the deck”, those that didn’t hit the deck or asked “what did you say?” weren’t with them anymore!

In order to become the Marines, you must go the Marine’s way!

In order to be a good soldier, you must be committed to their way!

In order to follow Christ, it is no more following mommy and daddy’s way or your friend’s way, not even your own fleshly way, it is only Christ’s way and you must see Jesus and His Way, worth giving up those relationships!

Matthew Henry put it this way: If we must deny Christ or be banished from our families and relations (as many primitive Christians were), we must rather lose their society than the favor of Christ!

This all we must look within ourselves and ask if we truly love God that much!

We must place God’s plan and way over the ways and plans of our family’s!

We must abandon our fleshly desires and our sins that we hold on to!

Is Jesus worth all of this?? Is Jesus worth this abandonment?

As I spoke earlier, the idea of a free America, was such a grand idea, that men gave their lives for it!

Reminds me of the OT heroes of faith: Hebrews 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

They considered themselves strangers on this earth, left their families, all for the promise of God! They were persuaded by His promise and they embraced His promise!

They estimated the cost and found it worthy to die for, even if they were not going to see it happen!

Those soldiers that gave their lives for this freedom, never got to experience it, but the idea was worthy because they were persuaded by it and they embraced it!

If they were not willing to die for that idea, we would not be free today! It was worth any cost!

Is Jesus worth any cost???? Whoever of us that is not willing to forsake all that he has for Jesus, cannot be His disciple or His follower!

One writer wrote: “Only those willing to carefully assess the cost and invest all they had in His Kingdom were worthy to enter. This speaks of something far more than mere abandonment of one’s material possessions; it is an absolute, unconditional surrender! His followers were to safeguard no cherished sins; treasure no earthly possessions; and cling to no secret self-indulgences. Their commitment to Him must be without reservation!”

I skipped bearing our own cross because I wanted to read what Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 20:20-23.........

James and John’s mother come and asked Jesus about her sons sitting on the right Hand and left of Jesus.....This will eventually get to a lesson on serving, but I want us to see what Jesus says to them....

Do you know what you ask? You see, Jesus had just told them what was about to happen to Him!!

He will be betrayed

He will be condemned to die

He will be mocked and scourged

He will die a criminal’s death on the cross

He will rise to life on the third day

I kind if think, He was asking them in this question: “Are you listening?” Do you know what is about to happen?

Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink? Is following Jesus worth going through what Jesus went through?

Being immersed in extreme torture and pain for Christ’s Name sake???? Is it worth it???

Jesus knew they were willing and He also knew that they would drink from the cup of Christ and be baptized into what Christ was immersed in.

James was beheaded! (Acts 12:2) and John was cast into a large kettle of boiling oil and escaped without injury and then was banished to the Isle of Patmos.

Many others was willing to drink that cup and to be baptized into bearing their crosses!

Is following Jesus Christ, worth it! Is what Jesus tells us in Luke 14, to hate and forsake, worth losing for Christ’s Name sake?

On last Scripture 2 Corinthians 5:14-15........

It is worth it because of the love of Christ! the love of Christ caused Paul to continue!

Christ and Him crucified caused Paul to see the love of Christ....

That Jesus died for all and that Jesus died so the dead can live, we must live our lives, not unto ourselves, but unto the One Who gave Himself for us and rose again!

Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”