"The Cost of Being a Disciple"

Hi there, this is long Solomon about like to welcome you to our program today. You know it's a tremendous honor the God's given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truths of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward and I'm so glad you tuned in to listen and be part of that. Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio and now let's get to the word of God and are mapped into this morning Jesus is going to ask people to follow him and they're going to give them three different excuses.

I want us to see how he responds to those excuses because in seeing that word and I learned a lot about what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. So let's look together. Here we are. Luke chapter 9.

Now let me say that as we begin, I want you to remember, we find here three applicants for discipleship for the position of disciple. Now this is different than the issue of salvation.

I want you to remember that there were not talking here about salvation about how to get eternal life. That's a different issue with a different answer. The Philippian jailer said in acts chapter 16 what must I do to be saying and the answer to that is very simple believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be say.

That's how you join the kingdom of God. But here were going to step farther. Here were not talking about being simply a citizen of the kingdom of God were talking about being a disciple you can be a citizen of the United States and not be a Marine if you want to be a Marine. There's extra cost involved, and if you want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. There's extra cost involved in that to a cause.

God want you to pay a cause that in your Christian God the Holy Spirit is trying to convince you that you should pay because of the rewards it's involved, but it's gotta be your decision, and in our passages morning were talking about what it means, what the cost is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And what's interesting is these people give Jesus three excuses why they can't be, and the excuses they use.

Interestingly enough of the very same ones we use today.

Let's look at man number one verse 57 as they were walking along the road. A man said to Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go.

Now Matthew chapter 8 tells us that this man was described a scribe in Israel was a religious interpreter of the law and the scribes were used to the good life. They were revered by the people that were well compensated at every imaginable amenity in here this guy is volunteering to follow Jesus wherever Jesus goes now, the issue with this guy. The Jesus is going to confront is the issue of creature comforts.

This guy was used a lot the creature comforts what he says, Lord willing to follow you wherever you go. The problem is. Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die on the cross to be rejected. To be arrested, to be vilified to be treated with contempt and to be killed. He had no fancy meals had no fancy place to stay. He had no fancy position of power in the human sense for which to operate. None of those things and what Jesus turns and says to this man is hey listen all of those creature comforts you know that your use to. If you want to follow me wherever I go. You better count the calls. Look what he says. Foxes have holes where they can rest and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man Jesus. I don't even have a place to lay my head with Jesus translating is trying to say lapel before you tell me you're going to follow me anywhere you better count the cost. You know all those creature comforts you like so much with you throwing with me, you would have to lay them on the altar and you would have to be prepared to say goodbye to them. If the will of God ask you to give them up, and it probably will. The issue with this guy was creature comfort. Now the second man a different problem. Look first 59 and Jesus said to another man, follow me. But the man said more. First let me go and bury my father is a reasonable request on the every man should bury his father.

These dead yet, but his dad wasn't there. So how do you know that because in Jewish society. When a person by you marry them. That same day. It's highly unlikely the sky would've been walking out the field somewhere with Jesus. Miles and miles away from home in Jerusalem and saying let me go bury my daddy just died this morning. No, no, no, this guys dad is completely a lot in this guys not asking to go conduct his dad's funeral. What he saying is a Jesus, you know I'm real supportive of you, Jesus, you know doing the Jesus Army were like this but in the rest of my family. They think your little rat and frankly anything, not following you and every time I talk about you and hope we end up in a big argument and now you're asking me to come be your disciple to leave the family farm income volume and will be the last robot that will disown the I won't get any inheritance to the problem with this guy was family opposition. So he says Jesus is my proposal, going back home, lived there for a while and I will keep the peace. And maybe I'll talk a little bit about you here and there will be by God here and there, but then when my dad's there and I buried my dad and I got my inheritance and all my brothers and sisters are fanning out all over the world to go do their thing.

I'll be back. Will Jesus have a response to that inference. He didn't mince a whole lot of words and responding that look what he said. Verse 60 Jesus said to him let the dead bury their own dead. Would you go and proclaim the kingdom of God is to let the dead bury their own. Then I can dead people bury that people want will Jesus one talking about physically dead people bury physically dead people he was talking about.

Spiritually dead people bury physically dead people. What Jesus is saying this man is hey listen if your family objects.

To me the way you just said that your family is spiritually dead. They're not alive. They don't understand why am they have an interdental life in the kingdom of God and you're gonna let spiritually dead people keep you away from serving the living God keep you away from doing his will and you gotta count the cost to gotta decide who's number one in your life, your family, your father keeping the peace at home following the gotta make a choice.

Third, God's problem was not his family and his problem was not as creature comforts 1/3 guy's problem was that he had a divided heart he had divided loyalty between Jesus Christ and his old life.

Look what he says is still another set. I'll follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say goodbye to my family and my friends. Now you might not immediately recognize this, but what he's actually doing is trying to get real spiritual.

Jesus he's thinking about in the Old Testament, a passage were something like this actually happened in the Old Testament the prophet Elijah one day walk by a man named Elisha. Elisha was just a farmer and he invited Elisha to come and be a prophet because God called and Elisha said in response. I'm going to go back first and tell my family, my friends goodbye and then I'll be right behind you.

Elijah and that's with this man is conjuring up in his comment to Jesus.

I want to look back and see that people finger here in Luke nine were coming back.

I want you returning to the Old Testament. The first Kings chapter 19 and here we pick up with Elijah inviting Elisha to come be a prophet member Elisha's a farm. Let's read it chapter 19 verse 19. So Elijah went from there he found Elisha what was Elisha doing well. He was plowing polo on the back of the figure, just a minute what Jesus says he was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen, and he himself was with the 12 pair what to tell you. This law tells us, is a very wealthy man.

Yet 11 yoke of oxen being run by servants, and he was with the 12 very wealthy man and Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around them and by doing that he was symbolizing to Elisha that God called them now to follow Elijah to be a prophet to replace Elijah and Elisha left his oxen and he ran after Elijah, and what he said to them was hey Elijah, then he kissed my father, my mother goodbye and then I'll come after you. Elijah said go back. I don't care what you do, Elijah. What have a great day anyway.

Elisha left and went back and he took his yoke of oxen and slaughter them and he burned his plowing equipment to cook the meat and he gave it to all his friends and they ate and then you sent out to follow Elijah and become his attendant. What I want you to see here is by going back and having this little time with his family. He was trying to deliver a message to his friends and his family and the message was God's called me and I'm going to obey and there is no turning back, and to show you that there's no turning back.

Friends, I'm going to earn my plow up and I'm in a kill boxing and burn them on top of the fire let you eat my oxen so that even if I wanted to come back.

There's nothing to come back to understand the statement he was trying to make to those people and this is what this bird man said more let me go back and see my friends and have a party with them and then I'll come follow you, but you know the difference is that this man was not going back to deliver the same kind of a message for the same reason that Elisha did salon I can you be so sure because Jesus knew this man's real motive.

Look what Jesus said to verse 62 Luke chapter 9 no one who puts his hand to the plow. Isn't it interesting he draws on that same analogy. Remember what Elisha was doing was plowing nobody sitter puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God is this how you're not going back because you want to deliver a message that you're following Christ.

You going back because in your heart you're looking back that's problem he had made a clean break and Jesus says you can't plow for the kingdom of God and be looking back at your old lifestyle.

At the same time it won't work. Jesus said you can't be my disciple. With your hearts divided half of it, wanting to follow me another half of it yearning to go back to your BC life you know your BC life you before Christ life. This man's request sounded harmless. The purchasing. Jesus knew what was in his heart and he knew the real problem is this guy had not made a break with his old life. That's the end of our passage we seen three men three excuses one says what I can follow your cousin coffee too much creature come the elements of Laura can follow you because it would make too much havoc in my family and the furnace of Laura can follow you right now because I'm really still too connected up with some of that old stuff in Mola. That's the end of our passage but you know the question don't you so what, that's right. I want to talk to about that little bit of time we have left. Don't you hate it when somebody lures in the Sultan and all of a sudden you find out there's all this hidden cost that you didn't know about the hate that you know one thing I like about Jesus Christ is that he never did, not Jesus Christ never Lord. People in the following him and then suddenly drop them onto hidden cost. Jesus was really upfront about what it cost to be a disciple and he's on. He says to be a disciple it's gonna cost you a lot, but at the same token you getting a lot of award for two with him?

You want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. God want you, but this costs God want to know what the terms are before you redo one of the terms, there are three number one. A disciple has to have a heavenly focus number were Jesus said the pilot is a pilot, my kingdom is not of this world, and folks every disciple has to make that same priority decision that there are more interested in heavenly reward up there than they are creature comfort down here drive people all the time save me when I long to follow Jesus Christ. What am I not have to give up and I was saving them. I'm sorry I can't make you because you see the answer is what I have to give up is this everything's gotta go on the old. It's all gotta go on the altar.

Now God may not ask you to give everything up, but whatever God asks you to give up in order to follow him for disciple. The decisions already made. The answer is yes, because I've Artie made the decision that my creature comfort is not my highest priority in life serving Jesus Christ the disciple knows that he's not really giving anything up. She's not really giving anything up as God's will give it all back to his possible a disciple always chooses the eternal over the earth and a disciple holds on the things very loosely down here because of disciple knows that it's very possible. God may ask you to walk number two. A disciple not only needs to have a heavenly focus.

What a disciple needs to have an absolute loyalty to Jesus Christ even above family in Matthew chapter 10 Jesus said he loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

He loves brother or sister more than me is not worthy of me and you know there's a lot of prospective disciples would drop out like this when I became a Christian. It's 20 almost 23 years ago now.

I was a college student, and as many of you know I was born and raised Jewish. Well when I became a Christian. That was a problem but I got baptized. That was a bit of a problem in mind for my family. I became a big problem I've had family trouble ever since I made the decision to follow Jesus Christ. I had a grandfather didn't speak to me for five years. I mean why not talking about only grown at me. I'm talking wouldn't even talk to. I had an uncle wouldn't speak to me for over 10 years and his wife, my aunt wouldn't even let me come to her house last year when they bury my mother down in that area. I was told I wasn't welcome at our house you I could solve all the family problems on God with one simple thing. All I have to do is say I was wrong about Jesus Christ.

I'm back in the synagogue I could solve all those them, but I can't do that. I made a decision.

I thought about when I was very young is a Christian and I said I got the family over here and they want me to go that way and I got Jesus Christ and he wants me to go this way.

And you know I gotta make a decision. My family can give me eternal life. My family can forgive my sins. My family can provide the piece in my heart that I so desperately needed. As a college student, Jesus Christ, can I gotta stick this is just limited to Jewish Gentiles have to face this kind of stuff to.

There's many a young person who senses the call of God on your life to go do something to be a missionary to be a pastor to be involved in full-time Christian service to work on campus crusader in a varsity spare and their parents are against it. Their parents say to them will want you to do that why you're wasting your life. We didn't pay $50,000 for you to go to college to grow up beyond missionary were against it to disinherit your don't come home if you do so would be good if you know God's call there. Some of us were married to people who want Christians who don't want any spiritual influence in the home. They don't want to go to church and don't want us going to church. They don't want our children involved. If you have children and anything that's Christian there against all other and yet you know God's called you to serve him and love him and worship him and raise your children to know Christ. When you go to do whose will be first and you know there are people in our church to leave places like the Jehovah's Witnesses of like the Church of Christ, and other very ingrown groups and had parents say to them I had a girl in my office last month like this was parents said you do this you leave her sister said, and will disown you were not even talk to you today or program she left and she said I had to follow Christ that was more important. I don't get me wrong, please listen Jesus Christ want you to love your parents. Jesus Christ want you to honor and respect and stick with your spouse. Jesus Christ wants you to care about your relative but he want you to do that, as unto the Lord, not instead of, and stand sometimes saying yes to Jesus Christ means that you have to say no to your phone and a disciple accepts the cost if it has to be third and finally, not only to be a disciple DNA data heavenly focus and absolute loyalty, even above family with third and finally, you need to have an undivided heart, undivided heart. If you hold on to things the world in Christ and be it's like you know I would say that a very interesting couple became senior, my office a few months ago was a guy and gal in heat. Ask her to marry.

And she was excited about Mary, but there was only one problem and the problem is that even though he was telling her that he loved her.

He was still seeing his old girlfriend and not only was he seeing his old girlfriend and calling rep on the phone but they just got back from a trip where he taken his old girlfriend away for a weekend because she was discouraged and depressed as I want to cheer up and he said nothing happened. So here they are in my office and he said to me why he said I'm just trying not to lose a good friend that's always been good friends for years and she said hey I got a problem with this.

She said when he gets me. He gets rid of every other love reads ever had.

That's the deal.

The way I see, and they turned to me and salon what you think. Now I want to take a poll okay. How many of you think the guy was stupid. Raise your hand. I agree with you Paul Simon said there 50 ways to leave your lover and friend. When you decide to get married, you better use one of those 50 ways on every lover you've ever had, but the one your plan American right. And if you're not ready to do that you are not ready to what did Mayor do not ready to give their know it's interesting is when you look in the Bible.

The Bible says when you and I became Christians accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior that we and Jesus Christ got married do know that in the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the husband and the matter which sex you are, you brought in those when you arrive on the bride were part of the bride of Christ, and as a husband. I'll tell you what is a husband I would find it pretty intolerable. If my wife kept the line open every other boyfriend she never had before we were married I would like that I would find that pretty unacceptable.

I gotta tell you, you know what folks as our spiritual husband. Jesus Christ expects fidelity for months. He expects us to jettison every other lover we've never had whether that other lover that other thing or person that was number one in our heart. Whether it was a personal weather was a possession or passion or pleasure or career or whatever was it has to go into number two and number three and number four can't be number one Jesus said nobody can serve two masters. And you know what, if you really want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ you can't be constantly looking over your shoulder wistfully and longingly warning some of your BC life. Some of your before Christ like you can't do that if you're serious about being a disciple. You gotta burn the plow and slaughter the oxen of your before Christ light and there's no turning back. And there's no looking, you know, when I was a brand-new Christian. One of the best things ever happened to me was had to leave Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

I've been there five years on school and the reason I left Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was a couple reasons but the main reason is because the police were looking for. That was the reason we found there was a worn out for my arrest for drug charges. They actually came to my house to arrest me on federal drug charges.

When I was a brand-new Christian and I dove all over the house and they knocked on the front door and had arrest warrant for me with my name on it, but it had the wrong address on it and that's the only reason I was arrested and taken to jail and I told friends I said you know the air around me is so hot when I walked the air crinkles when I walk through town and I left town, you say when a how could God let that happen to you. How could God let these people come chasing them put you in jail. This is the best thing ever happened to get out of that town is in that town were all my old drinking buddies all my old girlfriends all my old fraternity party friends everything I've ever done that was anti-my walk with Christ was an attempt best thing ever happened to me was a God use the police to run me out of that town because I have fresh stone. Maybe we need to get the police out enough that some of us are willing to say you know God's promise and message me. That is my wife's gotta go.

One of the three biggest hurdles to being a disciple of Jesus Christ number one prosperity will cost me too much number two family. Gotta keep the peace at home. You know a lot of all cost along lose adhered number three infidelity want to hold onto the Lord with one hand one hold onto my whole life without and you know what friends Jesus Christ is looking for people who love them enough that they're willing to jump those three hurdles for him and never look the missing closing that you're here and you never trusted Christ in a real and personal way as your Savior.

It's interesting to me that these are the same three reasons people give a little more trust Christ as her Savior is a number one and I want to give up all my creature comforts is not worth giving it all up number two. I don't want to cause the stress it's going to cause my family were number three.

I don't want to put them ahead of the lifestyle and presently live in prayer limitation your creature comforts your family and your lifestyle are not worth the price you're going to have to pay for rejecting Jesus Christ is not worth how much is your lifestyle worth to you how much is your family worth to you is it worth being separated from God for all eternity. That was the decision.

I did make 23 years ago and I said it's not worth friend. It is God wants to come in your life if you don't know Christ and give you a rich and fulfilling life like you never dreamed what you're holding onto his worth. Think about is really worth what you're going to have to pay to hold on what you if you reject our heads. Dear heavenly father, thank you for speaking to our hearts this morning.

Thank you for the word of God. I want to pray first of all, for those of us here who may never have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.

I pray that you would cause them to really think this morning by whether or not there creature comforts and their family and their present lifestyle worth the cost of rejecting Jesus Christ eternal calls. I don't believe it is Lord, but I've already made my decision, they need to make dinner tonight. Pray that you would work in their hearts. Each one of those stupid bring them to the place where they would be willing to give those other things, a exchange for personal walk with Jesus Christ and also want to pray for the many, many of us here have already made that decision I want to pray that you would challenge us about what it really means to be a disciple in the kingdom of God that there's a cost father I pray that you would bring us to the place that we would love you enough. It would be willing to pay the costs be willing to put our family on the altar and say Lord I love my family but my family tells me to go in the direction the Jesus Christ says don't go on going with Jesus Christ Lord cost of being willing to put our old lifestyle. In the long make a break from in our hearts and in our actions, father I pray that you would bring this audience this morning to the place that walking out of here. Many more of us are serious about being a disciple of Christ walking then I pray you would take our lives, and uses not only to be a blessing to other people, but to advance the kingdom of God more. May you find us to be those kind of people. Jesus had been listening to their wetland nonchalantly found in Atlantis in our arrangement of lines found in ministering to listen to today's message, or for more information visit our website. Solomon ministries.org.

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