Monday, June 4, 2012

The Cost of Discipleship

Yesterday's sermon was really strong.  We're talking REALLY strong.  At least it was for my case.  It comes from Luke 14:  25-35.  That's a lot of verses, but I'm going to put it on here anyway.

"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.”

My pastor came up with a first point that at first confused me.


I.  It Is Possible To Follow Christ Superficially.


Let me describe this meaning.  (At first, I did not get it at all).  This comes in verse 25.  'Now Great Crowds accompanied Him, and he turned and said to them.'  If you think about it for a minute, you notice that there's a lot following Him.  But Jesus turns and says some shocking things.  So you kind of get the sense by 'superficially' that it's not 'truthfully'.  There were lots in that group that just wanted to see signs.

From the past teaching, we learned that His Gospel was Free.  Yes, Salvation is free, all you have to do is Believe (and follow) Jesus.  As you follow Christ, you sacrifice all else.  He bought you with His own precious Blood, and since He gave it all for you, wouldn't it make sense to give all to Him?

Another thing is that some were following just to have better lives.  But Jesus denounces that theory.  We don't follow just for our own good or the sake of following, we must follow Him as one would follow his master and do all that his Master has commanded of him.  You cannot see Him as just the Savior, without seeing Him as the Lord of your very life.  He is the Master, and calls you how to live.  That brings us to the second point.


II.  To Follow, We MUST 'Sit Down' and Consider the Cost.


We need to consider the phrases:  "Sit down and count the cost" and "sit down first and deliberate".

We must consider and count the cost of every single activity we do.  (Not literally, necessarily, but pretty closely).  Sure, the Holy Spirit does move in you on a quick moment, but for the most part, we need to stop and consider things.  It's not that we consider the cost of following Him as what we lose, but how He asks us to follow Him.

And then Jesus starts to say some 'shocking' things, and these things that He says have been vastly misunderstood by some people.  What He says in verse 26 needs some careful, and special attention.  It seems like a contradiction to the rest of the Bible, but it's not.  He's saying that you must hate your family in comparison with your love for Jesus.  At the moment, that doesn't hold very much credibility with us.

But maybe I can help you understand that with this description:  Think of the Twelve.  They left their families to follow Him.  That makes me think that this means, if you want to follow Jesus, and your family doesn't...it's better for you to choose to follow Him rather then stay with your family.

The next one is something that I struggle with.  We must hate our own life.  Now, see, in that literal sense, I'm completely fine with it.  Of course, I don't really hate my life anymore...but back in 2011, I did.  But here's the point:  He means that if you're under persecution, you must not renounce Him on account of your life.  In other words, be willing to get killed for your views on Christianity.  In America, at the moment, that's not really something we have to worry about.  But, what if you wish to be a Missionary to China or a similar country that is very violent towards Christian thoughts?  That will definitely come into play.  So the issue with me, is that I do think I would be able to hand my life over to another, since I almost took it myself on more then one occasion.

We must carry our own Cross.  This one has been viewed differently at nearly every turn.  My mom pointed out that it meant something different in older Baptist teaching.  It seemed to lean more towards a 'works' thing.  As if somehow, we try to make our own way after Christ has already done it.  'Carrying Our Cross' is a very interesting picture.  Back in those days, criminals were forced to pick up their cross and carry it to their execution site.  Don't misunderstand me:  Not all of us will be martyred for our faith, as I've already said.  But this is what it represents:  Finality.  When we pick up our cross, there's no turning back.  It's a really hard thing to grasp.

We are also to give up all our possessions for Him.  I'm not saying we go and sell everything we have and give the money to a charity.  What I AM saying, is this:  If an item in our possession becomes too central in our aim that it blocks Christ, we need to toss it away.  Or, He may call us at some point to give it away for a cause that He's moving.  It's hard to discern what that may be, but it's probably more of a 'feeling' thing.  Going along this command, He is to be higher then anything else in life.


For me personally, there are some things that greatly affected me.  It went along the lines of hating your life, as I went through above.  Along those lines, I got to thinking about how low I hold myself.  As I said, I don't really actually 'hate' my life anymore.  But I hold myself in low places.  In practicality, I don't hold myself as being a better person then anyone else, however, I hold that I'm in a better spot because of what God has done for me.

On Saturday night, I went to a dance party after a Graduation ceremony.  I got really sick...but even still, I really wanted not to dance, because it's 'not my thing.'.  But...WHY is it not my thing?  Everyone seems to enjoy it.  I take joy in other ways, but it's not really 'joyful' circumstances.  I never really liked dancing or parties because it was too close to what the world enjoys.  But in reality, it's not quite so.  Man took partying to another level that in Heaven, isn't intended.  However, God does call us to 'sing and dance'.  And I realize that in my low spot, I don't want anything to do with something that to me feels almost worldly (even if it's not quite).  And I look down on those who do it with a judging eye.

What I have failed to realize as well, is that...Low and Broken is its own source of arrogance and pride.  I take too much pride in the fact of what God has done for me, and feel that He has placed me higher then others.  But it's really odd, see, because I'm not wrong in what I'm looking at.  I'm half-wrong in how I look at it, and half-right.  I have the right intentions and thoughts, but yet end up at the wrong way of how it is.  So odd, is everything.  The main point, however, is I'm prideful and arrogant, and desperately need to change.










12 comments:

Karyn Payne said...

I definitely agree with you, Ben. This is powerful. All of these points really speak to me. It just reminds me of the depth of His love for us... And how deep ours should be for Him. Sometimes I wonder how I could ever even find it hard to keep my eyes on Him. Sometimes I want to laugh in the face of pride, temptation, worldly things... Yet I still fall VERY FAR from what I wish I was.

But then I just realized-- HE should be all I am! He should define me. When people see me, they should be able to point and say, "I need what that girl has."

Honestly, I find it useless to hate my life. Or myself. I've been there, but I have realized by now that everything that I have or even hate is for a purpose. Whether or not I know what it is yet, it is all because of Him, and I should use it all to glorify Him. Because He is all I've got.

Have you ever heard the song "In Christ Alone" by Brian Littrel? I think that song really illistrates the point that true victory (whether it is recognized by the world or not) comes from the Lord only.

B.L.S. said...

:) Mhm. I was just a little saddened that they didn't have a time afterward to come forward and 'respond'. But yes, I do agree with you. :)

I understand where you're coming from, of course. I just walked a different path of life last year, one that your older sister knows well. NOW is a different story, and I can see what He did for me through that time of unending pain and agony, but it came to pass, and a stronger boy came out of it. Now of course, I don't hate my life, but think it very precious and valuable, and agree with what you said there.

YES YES YES :) It's one of my favorites, actually. And that's another I'm going to try to play on the piano at some point! :)

Karyn Payne said...

Yes. It is definitely amazing how our trials shape us. I think in the end, they also give us precise compassion for other groups of people who have gone through the same thing. So in a way, trials can be blessings to others.

Oh wow!! You are going to try the piano? Then-- (yes, I actually would do this)-- I will be praying for you to not give it up!

Wait, have you ever tried before? My dad is actually thinking about learning the piano too. I love it. :)

Karyn Payne said...

By the way, what song are you learning?

Hannah banjo said...

I very,much like this blogpost.
I noticed a lot of what I got out of it was this:
the first thing that caught my attention themos was when you said: " As you follow Christ, you sacrifice all else."
and this: "If an item in our possession becomes too central in our aim that it blocks Christ, we need to toss it away."
Like you said,we need to focus on the Lord,and,of course, keep Him our only focus. I believe that this song goes with it. Here is the link if you would like to listen to it,I recommend it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub56L5AYyEM


By the way...Do you truly get paid for having adds on your blog?

from,Hannah banjo



http://akustnbluegrass7alisonkraussusfan.blogspot.com/

B.L.S. said...

I agree with you completely, and I like that: Our trials can help others, too. Mine have already seemed to prove that. :)

Anyway, yes, I'm starting to take lessons from a gentleman who practically plays EVERYTHING. So hopefully, he can do something with my instrumental issues. And yes, I've tried several times. Once when I was really little, and I got basics of notes down. Then, about a year ago, I tried to learn all the chords. I figured them out, but I wasn't really ever able to play them in succession as in a song on right timing, which is actually unfortunate. :(


Hannah...Thanks. :) And I agree. :) I don't think you get paid to have adds on your blogs...people just do them. :D

Karyn Payne said...

Well, if you know all the chords then you are already a step ahead of me. :) I have to figure out the chords as I go because I never memorized them all.

Hannah banjo said...

Well then Ben,...I am not trying to be rood,but...why must you have them on your blog then?..(The adds that is.) Did you listen to the song? and if you did , Did you like it?

Karyn Payne said...

Hannah, you are hilarious sometimes.

B.L.S. said...

I never MEMORIZED the Chords, but I did find and write all of them down. :D Haha. But...that was a year ago. Now, I can't remember ANY of them, at all. ANY.

And Hannah...I didn't actually listen to it, I started to, but then I had to do something. However, I know Be Thou My Vision. :) Good song. :)

Karyn Payne said...

Hmn. Well, the true secret about piano is that it's pretty easy. There are other instruments that sound horrible if you are mediocre. But if you are mediocre on the piano, you can still sound talented.
I achieved mediocre when I was about 8 years old, and I haven't progressed much. But you never know. Some people never stop getting better. Maybe that'll be you. :)

Hannah banjo said...

Ben,sorry about my horrid spelling errors! I really like that particular version of "Be Thou My Vision".
I also like traditional coir version as well.