Radical Discipleship – Part 2

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Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Hi, this is Robert Jefferson. I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory, Jesus said, if you're going to be my disciple, you have to voluntarily die. Not physically necessarily, but you have to be willing to die to your own dreams, your own pleasures, your own possessions in order to please God.

And sometimes to do God's will means putting to death the things you want most in life. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffers. Becoming a Christian is easy, but living the Christian life, not so much. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr.

Robert Jeffers teaches from Luke chapter 14, where Jesus clearly outlines the cost and rewards of following him unconditionally. It's a message titled Radical Discipleship.

Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message. Dr. Jeffers. Thanks David and welcome to Pathway to Victory. Whenever we read a gospel account of Jesus' life, we're often startled by some of the surprising things he said.

we're looking at one of those shocking statements today. In Luke chapter 14, Jesus said, If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, he cannot be my disciple. Wow, how do we make sense out of that radical claim?

Well, I'll answer this question in a moment. But first, let me remind you that today is June 16th, and we're midway through our million-dollar salt and light matching challenge. I'm pleased to tell you that we're off to a very strong start. Already, we've heard from loyal friends all across the country who are taking advantage of this opportunity to double the impact of their gift. And now I'm inviting you to join the team as well.

Because of this $1 million matching challenge, we're in a position to double this amount to a staggering $2 million and perhaps even more. Whatever amount God leads you to give, this is an opportunity to become part of a movement of God that's far bigger than any one of us. We're going to use the success of this matching challenge to shine the light of God's truth in the dark corners of our world. To say thank you for your Gift today, I'd like to send you a copy of my brand new book I've written called Shine the Light, and I'll give more details about my book later. But right now, let's pick up our study from Luke chapter 14 and a message we started on Friday's program.

This passage contains one of the many surprising sayings of Jesus. We're talking about radical discipleship. Luke chapter 14. Look at verses 26 and 27. 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. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot. Be my disciple. Verse 33, so therefore no one of you can be my disciple who does not give up all of his own possessions.

Now, some of you may be confused at this point. You may say, No, wait a minute, Pastor. I don't understand this. Just last time, you were talking about the door of salvation and how easy it is to walk through it, and all you must do is receive the gift of forgiveness to become a Christian. And now you're talking about all of this dying stuff and giving up stuff and these hard things.

Is it easy or is it hard to become a Christian? Becoming a Christian is easy. Becoming a disciple is difficult. Becoming a Christian is free. It costs you nothing.

Becoming a disciple is costly. It costs you everything. And the passage we're talking about today is about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Now, today, in the few minutes that we have left, we're going to do four things. First of all, we're going to talk about a definition of discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple? Secondly, we're going to look at the two demands of discipleship. Third, we're going to look at two descriptions Jesus uses to explain what discipleship is.

And finally, we're going to look at a demonstration of discipleship.

Now, first of all, let's talk about a definition of disciple. What does it mean when Jesus says, you are to be my disciple? It means you not only study his teachings, you try to duplicate his life in your life as well.

Now, the Bible says there are four marks of a disciple I want you to write down. First of all, and most foundational, a discipleship is a Christian. You can't follow Jesus Christ unless you are in Christ, unless you are a believer in Christ. A second mark of a disciple is a disciple has a growing relationship with Christ. It means we know more about Christ and His Word today than we knew a year ago.

Thirdly, A disciple is one who obeys Christ in every area of his life. All things about your moral life. All things about your relationships. All things regarding how you handle your money. That's the test of whether or not you are a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

To be a disciple means for you to live your life. as Jesus would live your life if he were you. And then finally, a disciple makes new disciples. A disciple takes seriously Jesus' final marching orders to go into all the world and make disciples. That is a disciple's priority, to lead people to faith in Christ and then help them to grow in every area of their life as they seek to obey Christ.

Now, we've talked about the definition of a disciple. Let's look at the two demands of discipleship. First of all, discipleship demands Unconditional allegiance, Jesus said. Look at verse twenty-six. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, his wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Some of you may say, Well, I'm a disciple. I hate my husband. No. That's not what he's talking about. That's not what he's talking about.

It does sound strange, doesn't it? Be a disciple and hate your family? Doesn't the Bible say to love your family? What Jesus is saying is, if there ever comes a choice, between pleasing your family and pleasing God. Then it really is no choice for a disciple.

We choose to follow Jesus even over our own family. The fact is, God has called every one of us to that kind of unconditional allegiance. Secondly, discipleship demands a willingness to die. It demands a willingness to die. Look at verse 27.

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. We've talked about this before. The cross, if you saw somebody carrying a cross through the streets of Jerusalem, you knew that person was on the way to his own execution. The cross was not some sentimental ornament, it was a cruel instrument of execution. And Jesus said, if you're going to be my disciple, You have to voluntarily die.

Not physically necessarily. But you have to be willing to die. to your own dreams, your own goals, your own pleasures, your own possessions. In order to please God. Your one desire above all others is that of Jesus, who said in John 4:34, My food, my sustenance is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

And sometimes to do God's will means putting to death. the things you want most in life. Alexander McLaren, the preacher of yesteryear, said, The road to spiritual progress. is marked with the bloody footprints. of wounded self-love.

Paul said it this way in Galatians 2.20. I have been crucified with Christ. And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives within me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me.

Now let me say here, many times if you're a Christian, God leads you through the desires He places in your heart. That's one way we've seen before that he gives us direction. But nevertheless, to be a disciple means. If it ever comes down to a choice between what I want and what God wants, I'm going to choose God. Every time, not just 90% of the time, it is always your will, not mine, be done.

We've talked about the definition of a disciple. We've looked at the two demands of discipleship.

Now let's look at two descriptions Jesus gave us of discipleship. First of all, he compared being a disciple to that of being a builder. Look at verse 28. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?

Now, the tower he's talking about here is not a 50-foot skyscraper, it's a watchtower.

Some of you went with us to Israel and we saw one of these watchtowers in a vineyard. It was only a few feet high. But a person would sit in that watchtower to guard the vineyard against animals that might come and destroy it, or others who would come and steal the fruit. Jesus said, If you're going to build a tower, you better make sure you've got the money to complete it. Why?

Look, verse 29. Otherwise, when the builder has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it will begin to ridicule him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Jesus said it's the very same way for somebody who declares, I am a Christian, I am building a life for God, but never follows through on it. They are an eyesore for all of Christianity. John Scott describes it this way.

The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict. half-built towers. The ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people still ignore Christ's warning and undertake to follow him. Without first pausing to reflect on the high cost of doing so.

The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called nominal Christianity. Large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent. but thin veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved. Enough to be respectable.

but not enough to become uncomfortable. Their religion is a great soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life. while changing its place and shape to suit their convenience. No wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the church.

and dismiss religion as escapism. Another comparison Jesus uses, in addition to the builder, is one of the warrior. Look at verses 31 and 32. Or, what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is strong enough with 10,000 men to to encounter the one coming against him with 20,000. Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

If you're getting ready to go into war, And the guy who you're going to battle against has twice the army you do. You better determine whether or not you can defeat him. If not, it's better to settle the matter through a negotiation. The only thing worse than entering a war without the necessary firepower to win. is entering a war without the willpower to win.

Remember what happened in Vietnam? We weren't really determined to win that war, and we got bogged down there because we didn't have the determination to win that war. It's the same way with the Christian life. Before you say, I'm going to be a follower of Jesus Christ. You better determine whether or not you've got the ability to follow through on that commitment, whether you even have the willpower to fulfill that commitment you've made to Christ.

Otherwise, you're an embarrassment to yourself and to Jesus as well. Jesus summarizes all of this with a demonstration of discipleship. Here's a great test of discipleship. Verse thirty-three.

So, therefore, No one of you can be my disciple. Who does not give up? all of his own possessions. That's a demonstration of whether or not you're a disciple. Are you willing to give up all of your possessions?

Now Notice he didn't say Give away all your possessions. There's a difference between giving up and giving away. Later, when we get to Luke 18, we'll see that Jesus told the rich young ruler, Oh, you think you're so holy and you're getting to heaven on your own? Then go ahead and give away everything you have to the poor. That's not a problem for you, is it, since you claim to be so holy.

And that's why he told that particular man to give away everything he had. But to all of us, he doesn't say give away everything you have. One reason is you can only do that one time in your life. You only can give away everything one time. He doesn't say give away.

He says give up. Surrender your right to everything you have that is important to you. I read this week about Christian businessman who had become so focused on his business. He would lay awake at night worrying about meeting the payroll and Complying with the increasing government regulations and wondering where sales would be enough to be able to pay his employees. He became so focused on that, he lost his focus on God.

One afternoon in his office, he said, I'm tired of living this way. And he got down, knelt beside his chair, and he said, God, today I'm giving you my business. It all belongs to you. He felt such a relief, he said. That night, he said he slept for the first time in months.

He was sound asleep. until he was awakened by the ringing of the telephone in the middle of the night. A frantic voice on the other end of the phone said, Your business is going up in flames. The businessman dressed, he went down to his business, and sure enough, everything he had poured his life into. was surrounded by flames.

Somebody came up to him and said, How can you be so calm when everything you've poured your life into is being destroyed? The businessman said, well, This afternoon. I gave my business to God. It belongs to him, and if he wants to burn it up, that's his business. You know, that's what Jesus is talking about here.

Giving up everything we have to Him. Listen to me. As somebody said, the Christian life is not about a makeover. It's about a takeover. It's allowing Jesus Christ to take over everything important to you.

Your business. your relationships. Your money. Your dreams. It's all under his management to do whatever he wants you with.

He very well may let you keep your dreams, your goals, your possessions, but it's always under his control. That's what he's talking about here, a great demonstration of discipleship. And then he says in verse 34, look at this: Therefore, salt is good, but even salt, if salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless, either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown out.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Now, first plants, this seems strange. Salt. Jesus, you were on a roll there. Why did you get. sidetrack talking about salt.

And manure.

Well, remember what Jesus said? He used this description to describe the reason He's left us in this world. In Matthew 5:13, He said, You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

The reason Jesus has left you and us in this world, instead of taking us to heaven when we were saved, is to be salt.

Now, in Jesus' day, salt was a preservative. There was no refrigeration. Salt was used to not prevent decay, but to delay the decay of meat. Salt gave the meat a longer shelf life. And Jesus left us here to be a preservative in this culture, to keep this world from completely collapsing.

Before God's time, so that people can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are a preservative in this world.

Now, Salt does something else besides preserve. It makes you thirsty, doesn't it? Salt creates thirst. And Jesus is saying, I'm leaving you here not only to be a preservative in society. but to cause people to thirst for God.

As they look at you and the way you live, to make them want to know about. More about the God that you serve. That's why I'm leaving you here, Jesus said, to be that distinctive, tasting, thirst-creating salt.

Now, in Jesus' day, salt was very expensive. Very, very expensive. In fact, Roman soldiers many times would have their wages paid not in. money but in salt. That's where we get the word salary from.

It comes from salt. It was the way people were paid. In salt, it was a very priceless commodity. Most people couldn't afford pure salt, so they would buy a mixture of salt and sand. But once the salt had broken down and completely been dissipated, this mixture of salt and sand was worthless and it would be thrown out.

Now, here's what Jesus is saying. He says, He who has ears, let him hear. That is, hear this and apply it to your life. A half-committed Christian is like salt that has lost its distinctive edge. When you try to live with one foot in the world and one foot in heaven, You're of no good to those on earth or those in heaven either.

God hates lukewarm Christianity. Nobody is ever going to want to know more about God by looking at a half-committed Christian. You have become worthless in the sight of God. Don't become worthless in the sight of God. The kind of commitment that God demands from every follower.

is a total unconditional commitment. One person has expressed that commitment this way. I'm a part. of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast.

I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth needs, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by Presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift up by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set. My gait is fast.

My goal is heaven. My road is narrow. My way is rough. My companions few. My guide is reliable.

And my mission is clear. I cannot be bought. compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice. Hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy.

Ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in a maze of mediocrity. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until he comes. And when he comes to get his own. He will have no problem recognizing me.

for my colors will be clear. That's the kind of radical commitment. that Jesus demands from all. who would follow him. Jesus set the benchmark for discipleship incredibly high.

Those who follow him must relinquish their personal plans and fully submit to his ways. Gratefully, our Pathway to Victory listeners have shown their willingness to take this narrow and difficult path. Let me read a comment I recently received from James. James wrote, Pastor Jeffers, God has used Pathway to Victory as one of the many tools to change my life. As a police officer, I can see now why God chose this profession for me.

I used to be afraid to share my Christian faith, but through your teaching, I've been equipped to do so. By following the Lord's leading, I've led three people to say a prayer to accept Jesus in the back of my patrol car before going to jail. And if he can use a person like me, He can use anyone.

Well, James, your story, your journey is an encouragement to all of us. And let me add, when you give generously the pathway to victory, your personal investment is truly making a difference in people like James and millions of others like him. Bear in mind that because of the Million Dollar Matching Challenge that's active right now, any amount you choose to give between now and July 6th will be automatically matched and doubled in size. Plus, when you give, I'm going to send you a copy of my brand new book called Shine the Light. In my book, I'll show you how your acts of kindness and compassion will be used by God to renew Christian values in your family, your community, and even your nation.

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Now, here's David to repeat these details. Thanks, Dr. Jeffers. You're invited to request the brand new book by Dr. Jeffers, Shine the Light, when you give a generous gift to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory.

Simply call 866-999-2965 or visit our website at ptv.org. And when you give an especially generous gift of $100 or more, we'll also include the complete Shine the Light teaching series on audio and video discs. Remember, your gift right now will have twice the impact because of our salt and light matching challenge.

So be sure to get in touch with us today. Call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could send your request by mail if you'd like. Write to PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. One more time, that's P.O.

Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. I'm David J. Mullins. Join us again next time when Dr. Jeffers encourages all Christians to answer their calling to shake and shine.

That's Tuesday here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible.

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