How To Be A Fully Committed Disciple Of Jesus Christ

What can we expect when we agree with you today? To gain more followers. Jesus is not looking for easy followers. He wants fully committed disciples.

Is that you today? If you have your Bible, turn to Luke chapter 14. We'll begin in verse 25, as Adrian Rogers reveals how to be a fully committed disciple of Jesus Christ. Luke chapter 14 and then look in verse 25. And there went great multitudes with him, and he turned and said unto them, If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Now think about this. The crowds were following Jesus. Jesus had great multitudes.

He was at the zenith of his ministry, his popularity, and all these people were clamoring after him. Now what does he do? He thins out the crowd. He doesn't do some sensational miracle to get more followers. He doesn't water down his teaching with user-friendly evangelism.

What he does is turns to them, and in the sternest terms possible, he talks to them about something that seems almost shocking. If any man come after me and hate not his father and his mother, his wife and his children and his brethren, he can't be my disciple. Well, one thing you have to say about the Lord Jesus Christ is there's no fine print in the contract. Amen?

He's not mislabeling. There's no bait and switch. He's not looking for easy followers. I know that many times today in our churches we have watered down the gospel in an attempt to gain more followers. Jesus never did that, nor will I, nor should we. When you follow Jesus, he's not inviting you to share in his popularity, but his unpopularity. Are you willing to do that? Does that make sense to you?

Well, I trust that it will. Let me tell you four things that a true disciple of Jesus Christ is, then I hope you'll say, I want to pay the price because it's worth it. Before you make up your mind, may I tell you this? The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price has been forgotten. That's true about anything. If you buy something because it's on sale and it's not any good, you don't want it. And you don't remember that you got it for cheap. You just remember you don't like it. You don't like it. The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of cheap price has been forgotten.

Is that not true? But if you pay a price for something, you work for it, you earn it, you pay a price for it, and it is something that you value and you treasure, you soon forget the price because you say it was worth it. There's no cheap discipleship. It costs to serve Jesus.

It costs every day. But friend, it is worth it. Four things that discipleship means, and I want you to see them here in this passage of scripture. Jesus wants disciples that will worship at any cost. Go back, if you will, to verse 26. Jesus said, if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, in his own life also, he cannot be my disciple and whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Again, there's no fine print here in the context here in the contract. Jesus Christ must come before personal relationships. You're called upon to hate father, mother, wife, children, and brethren.

Now, wait a minute, pastor. I thought Jesus taught us to love. Well, he does teach us to love. As a matter of fact, Jesus here is not breaking the commandment that tells us to honor father and mother. Jesus is not telling us to love children. If you love Jesus, you're going to love your father and mother more. If you love Jesus, you're going to love your wife more. If you love Jesus, you're going to love your children more. The word hate here is used in the Bible sense in comparison. Jesus said, no man can serve two masters.

He will love one and hate the other. What he is saying is that Jesus Christ must come before any other personal relationship. Joyce knows that she's number two in my life, not number one. She doesn't mind being number two because she knows that I love her more making her number two than I ever could making her number one. My children know that I love them with all of my heart, but they know they're not number one. You see what our Lord is saying is that if you're going to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you're going to be his disciple, he must be number one in your life. Is Jesus Christ number one in your life?

Joyce and I put a child on a shiny airplane to fly overseas with our grandchild and his lovely wife to go to be missionaries in Spain. I know that David loves us. I know that Kelly loves her parents. I know that. And my own personal flesh would be to have my children, my grandchildren here with me. But I know that my children love Jesus Christ more than they love me. That doesn't bother me.

That thrills me to know that. Do you love Jesus Christ more than personal relationships? You must if you would be his disciple.

And not only personal relationships, but personal reputation and his own life also. You're not even to love you more than you love the Lord Jesus Christ. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have to take yourself off the throne and enthrone Jesus Christ. In many modern churches today, the theme is what? Fulfill yourself. Self-realization. Self-fulfillment. And our churches have become sort of a cafeteria line where we just go by and pick up things that are going to make us feel better about ourselves. And I hope that you have a good self-image, a healthy self-image. But if it comes between Adrian and Jesus, I must say no to Adrian and yes to Jesus Christ.

Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to say, Lord Jesus, I put you first in spite of my own reputation, my own fulfillment, what people think of me? You see, a cross. Jesus is going to talk a little bit about picking up a cross. Now, many people have a cross, a gold ornament around their neck, and there's nothing wrong with that that I can see. But, friend, a cross is not a thing of beauty. A cross is a thing ultimately of shame and reproach. That's what it meant in Jesus' day when he said, pick up your cross.

Well, the cross, we have made it sort of a piece of jewelry. But when a person comes to Jesus Christ, he is a worshiper who will worship at any cost, personal relationships, personal reputation, to take up your cross is a mark of shame, personal realization. Somebody says, well, my sickness is my cross, not unless you got it by serving Jesus. You say, my mother-in-law is my cross. She may be cross, but she's not your cross. A cross is something that you willingly take up. You don't have to bear it. Jesus said, no man taketh my life from me.

I lay it down of myself. To follow Jesus is a worshiper who worships at any cost, above the cost of personal relationships, above the cost of personal reputation, above the cost of personal reputation, above the cost of personal realization. That's what it means to be a disciple.

Still want to be a disciple? Take up your cross. That's why the Lord Jesus Christ said, when you gave your heart to Jesus Christ and said, I will take up my cross, that's the last legitimate independent decision you ever make. From now on, your life belongs to Jesus Christ. You are not your own. You are bought with a price. Now, what a disciple is, number one, is a worshiper who worships at any cost.

Got it? Okay, now, let's look at number two. Disciples not only must worship at any cost, but they must work at any cost. Take your Bibles now and begin reading in verse 28. Jesus goes on to explain, For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it? Lest happily, after he hath laid the foundation, he is not able to finish it.

In all that behold it began to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Now, why does he mention a tower? Well, back in these days, they had vineyards, and in the middle of the vineyard, they would put a tower. And the tower was there to protect the vineyard, and therefore it was there for fruitfulness. And God says, Our lives are to be like a tower. He speaks, first of all, of a crucifixion, and now he speaks of a construction.

Because it's not all negative, it's also positive. Our Lord has called us to build. Our Lord has a plan for my life, for your life. And my life is to be constructed by his plan. The tower is to be spiritually conceived. Again, I don't have any right to say, Lord, what do you want me to do with my life?

When I started out as a kid, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer or an architect. But I laid those plans aside because God called me to be a minister. God called me to preach. I want my tower to be spiritually conceived. And then I wanted to be sacrificially constructed. Jesus said, if you're going to build a tower, count the cost. You want to be a disciple? Count the cost. If you're looking for a cheap way, an easy way, a lazy way, forget it.

That's what most people want. But not only spiritually conceived, sacrificially constructed, but steadfastly completed. He says, count the cost so you'll be able to finish the tower. What a disciple is, is a worshiper who will worship at any cost. What a disciple is, is a worker who will build at any cost. He will not back away.

He will not stop. Disciples worship at any cost. Disciples work at any cost.

And now disciples war at any cost. Look, if you will, now in verse 31. And he says this, and what king going to make war against another king seteth not down first and consulteth whether he be able with 10,000 to meet him that cometh against him with 20,000, or else while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an embassage and desireth conditions of peace. Now notice what our Lord is doing. First of all, he speaks of a crucifixion.

Then he speaks of a construction. And now he speaks of a conflict, a war. You see, when I follow the Lord Jesus Christ, I follow Jesus into battle. There's a war and it is a fight to the death.

Fight to the death. And you're on one side or the other. You cannot be neutral. And so far as the odds are concerned, we're outnumbered. We're the master's minority in the parable that Jesus gives or the question that Jesus gives is 10,000 against 20,000. That's two to one, except the favor is still on our side because if God be for us, who can be against us? But what we need are warriors who are not cowards.

Are you willing truly to go into the battle? Many of us want to get out unscarred, uncriticized. Many businessmen will not stand up against gambling because they're afraid it'll hurt their business. Many will not witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in their offices because they're afraid it may not be politically correct. That is, they'll crucify Jesus on a cross of gold.

They're cowards. We need warriors, disciples who are not cowards and disciples who are not compromises. Our Lord says if you don't count the cost, when the battle gets thick, what you're going to do is to send out an ambassador to try and make peace with the enemy.

Who is the enemy? He's the devil. Do you think that you can negotiate with the devil? Do you think you can appease him or buy him off or you can come to some sort of a standoff with the devil?

Forget it. General Douglas MacArthur said, in war, there's no substitute for victory. That is so true, ladies and gentlemen. In this life, there is no substitute for victory over the devil. Now, if you try to have a peace treaty with the devil, he's going to beat you. Either you get him or he'll get you, but there's no such thing as neutrality. What our Lord wants is disciples who are not cowards.

10,000 he is 20,000. What our Lord wants is disciples who are not compromises, sending out ambassadors to sit down with the devil. What he wants is disciples who are not cautious.

When you go into battle, you have to go in with all of your heart and soul. Look in this passage of scripture right down in verse 33. Likewise, whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple. You say, well, Lord, I give you something. He doesn't want something. You say, Lord, I give you prominence.

He doesn't want prominence. He deserves in a man's preeminence all that he has. Does Jesus Christ have everything that you have? Is there any part of your life that is out of bounds to the Lord Jesus Christ?

Is there anything that you would say now, Lord Jesus, take your hands off that. If there is, you cannot be his disciple. Didn't I tell you that discipleship cost? It cost to serve Jesus. It cost every day.

It cost every step of the way. You see, there must be worshipers who worship at any cost. Take up your cross.

There must be workers who work at any cost. Take up your tools. There must be warriors who war at any cost.

Take up your sword. He cannot use cowards. He cannot use compromises.

He cannot use cautious people. We need a reckless, burning, blazing, emotional, passionate love for Jesus Christ. We do. I want to be that kind of disciple. Then, last of all, disciples must witness at any cost. Luke 14, beginning in verse 34, salt is good, but if the salt has lost its savor, that is, its tang, its zest, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dung hill, but men cast it out, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Our Lord knew that some people would not listen to this, but notice what our Lord does.

Our Lord speaks, first of all, about a crucifixion, then a construction, then a conflict, and now a commission. We're like salt. We are the salt of the earth, and that means we're to witness. That's what salt does. Salt speaks of witness, and testimony. Now, think about what salt does. Salt preserves. Jesus called fishermen to follow him to be his disciples. They didn't refrigerate their fish.

They couldn't. They salted their fish down. It is salt that preserves.

It is salt that flavors. Is there something about your life that's different? Is there zest about your life? Can your neighbor see something different about you, or are you just bland and tasteless and just a person with no zest in your life? Why would anybody want to have my faith?

Why would anybody want to be like me if he cannot see a change in me? Paul said in Colossians 4, verse 6, let your speech be always with grace. Let your speech be always with grace. Season with salt. Salt seasons. Salt heals, and our world is sick. I've seen the salt of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ heal broken hearts and broken hopes and broken homes.

We have Christians just like you wonderful folks today, and we come to church and we hear sermons. And you know what we do? We salt the salt. We're salting one another. You don't salt salt. Jesus didn't say you're the salt of the church.

He said you're the salt of the earth. Now should we live separate lives? Should we be separated?

Yes. Separate from sinners, but not isolated from sinners. Do you know why they crucified Jesus? Because he's a friend of sinners.

That's why they nailed him up on the cross. Do you know what this church needs to do? Friend, we need to get out of the salt shaker.

We need to get out in our community as genuine disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You know, Jesus said if salt loses its saltiness, he said this in the Sermon on the Mount, if salt loses its saltiness, it's good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men. They got their salt in this day from the Dead Sea. And sometimes the salt lying out on the ground would get the rain and the elements would fall on it. And the ting, the zest, the bite would leach out and poisonous chemicals would be left. You couldn't put it on the food. It was poisonous. If you put it in the fields, it would kill the crops.

If you put it down the well, it would contaminate the water. But they found one good thing for that kind of salt, salt that was no longer salty. You know what they did with it? They put it on the roads. Why? Because it would pack down, it would absorb moisture, and the weeds would not grow in it.

And so they put it on the roads. It was good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men. I don't want to be just drawing my breath and drawing my salary, fighting to live while I live to fight. I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Somebody said in order for a person to be happy, they have to have something to believe in, someone to love, and a cause to serve.

Something to believe in, someone to love, and a cause to serve. That's Jesus. I believe Him.

I love Him. I want to be a fully committed disciple of Jesus Christ. And if right now there is a conviction on your heart, don't push that down. Surrender your life to Jesus right now.

You can pray something like this from your heart. Oh God in heaven, I know that I have chosen my own way. I know that I have chosen my own way. I'm a sinner and I cannot earn my salvation. Only through Jesus Christ can I be made whole and completely righteous because of what He did for me.

And right now I abandon all of my good works that I've done. And I claim to what Jesus did on the cross for me. I claim Him as my savior and I claim Him as my Lord today. Work inside me, change me, make me a new creation, I pray. I surrender all right now in Jesus' name.

Amen. If you prayed a prayer of commitment like that, let us celebrate with you. We'd love to invite you to our Discover Jesus page on the website. You'll find answers that you may need about your newfound faith.

There's a response section. You can share your decision with us right there at lwf.org slash radio. Click the tab at the top that says Discover Jesus, and let us know what has happened in your life today. Again, go to lwf.org slash radio and click Discover Jesus.

We can't wait to hear from you. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, you can call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD. You'll receive the entire message titled How to be a Fully Committed Disciple of Jesus Christ. This message is also part of the Insightful Sharing the Good News series.

For the complete collection, all six powerful messages, call that number 1-877-LOVEGOD or go to lwf.org slash radio, or you can write us to order at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Is that you today? Are you fully committed to Jesus? Are you willing to pay the price, the cost of your worship, your work, war, and witness? Thanks for studying God's word, and be sure to tune in next time for more right here on Love Worth Finding. with Love Worth Finding, to run with all the strength the Lord gives us, and to extend the gospel together as far as we can reach.

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