First Baptist Church of Westwood Lake
These are sermon notes for our morning service on Sunday, September 16.
Luke 14:25-35 KJV
In our passage, Jesus is somewhere in the region of Galilee teaching in the various cities. As Jesus is going along with this large group following, He decides to take advantage of the situation and challenge the people about the sacrifices they would have to make in following Him. He wanted them to carefully consider the cost of being His disciples.
- The main job Jesus left us to do was to make disciples.
- At the time of our Lord there were no shortage of illustrations about discipleship.
- A disciple is someone who believes in Jesus and seeks to follow him throughout his or her daily life.
- In Jesus' day, a disciple was someone who literally knew Jesus and followed him, but after he was taken up into heaven, anyone who accepted Jesus was called His disciple.
Five Marks of a True Disciple
I. A Family
Loves Jesus Supremely
Luke 14:26 KJV
- Your love for Jesus should be so powerful that in comparison, it seems as if you hate everyone else.
- God doesn’t want 75%, He wants 100% of our hearts. This is the least we can do!
II. A Cross
Live Like a Dead Person
Luke 14:27 KJV
- The image Jesus used is a cross. A real disciple is someone who carries his cross.
- Today, the image of the cross has lost its horror. Back then, everybody understood what it meant to carry a cross. The Cross was a one way ticket.
III. A Tower
Consider the Value of a Good Finish
Luke 14:28 KJV
- When we become a Christian, we are like a man that undertakes to build a tower, and for that reason must consider what it is going to cost.
- Are you going to finish well? Billy Sunday once said: “Stopping at third adds no more to the score than striking out. It doesn’t matter how well you start if you fail to finish.”
IV. A War
Surrender to the Stronger King
- In this image, the parable is a comparison to a battle: Jesus describes two kings. One is outnumbered, so he wisely approaches the stronger king and makes peace before the battle ever begins. You and I are one of the kings and God is the other.
- We can never win against God; we must surrender to Him.
- You cannot be a disciple unless you are willing to give up control of your life to Jesus.
V. Salt
Stay Pure to Preserve Goodness
- Salt is good. Roman soldiers were paid with salt rations.
- Salt makes people thirsty. Our walk and our conduct should be making others thirsty for Christ. He must be real in us.
- As salt, our job is to preserve the goodness that still exists in our culture. We must be the ones who speak up against moral evil; we’ve lost our saltiness.
Conclusion
Salvation is absolutely free and yet it costs you your very life. You receive it freely at no expense to you, but once you receive it you have just committed everything you are and have to Jesus Christ. You may protest, “That’s a contradiction! How can something be both free and costly at the same time?”