Good morning everyone. Welcome to Church. I trust that you had a wonderful Christmas celebration with your families, friends, and loved ones. I also hope that you took that time to have a meaningful conversation with them about the essence of Jesus’ birth, his peace, his joy, his love, his forgiveness, and everything that we represent as children of God. Aside from very hot weather this week, the whole nation went into another frenzy with Boxing Day sale happening across the country and still is in most shopping centers. I had a workmate in Medicare before, as a tradition, she would go to Boxing Day sale in the city year after year. She used to tell us what she got and how much she saved, or how much it cost her shopping spree. She said she would queue very early on 26th of Dec and the quest is to get as much sale items as possible. And that’s fair enough coz, not many want to pay full price for anything these days. In a way, the majority of us, if not all are sale fanatics. Like my former workmate, we wait for the right time to buy. We see this trend in real estate, airfares, holiday trips and packages. We set a Price DROP alert of our favorite airline websites, travel agencies, and so on.
You may or may not agree IF I SAY THAT COST IS ONE OF THE MAJOR DECIDING FACTOR in buying stuff and in making decisions in almost all matters of life. The idea is to get the most with less. SOMETIMES, we apply the same concept of more with less EVEN IN Matters of the Spirit.
We will discover in our text this morning that Jesus thinks otherwise; that he was not a supporter of such mindset and attitude that we can observe in these days and age. Luke’s account of Jesus’ teaching and position on the cost of following Him is in C14:25-31. Parallel in Matt 10:37-38. Let us turn our Bible and read these passages before we pray.
We are confronted here with a scenario where it is hard to recognize the Jesus that we are familiar with. This is not the Jesus that is gentle, and meek, and loving. This Jesus sounds demanding and self-centered. This Jesus wants to turn us into religious fanatics.
v25 set the background for us. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, and a large crowd was following him. Going by heaven’s timeline, the time had come for Jesus to go to Jerusalem. If we go back to Luke 9:51, Luke wrote, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Luke indicates that Jesus was choosing to go to the place where he would give his life for the world that He loved. HE HAD COUNTED THE COST FOR HIS MISSION, AND HE WAS DETERMINED TO MOVE FORWARD AND MOVE AHEAD WITH IT. And the crowd had no clue that things were going to turn out ugly and messy for Him. And Jesus wanted to GIVE them time to reconsider their position and possibly, their motives. We can assume that their motivation to follow Jesus at that point could be anything from wanting his attention, or his healing touch, or his next miracle, or that he could save them from their Roman extortionists. We read in Luke 9:57-62 that on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus had three separate conversations with three different people.
Luke 9:57-62
V57 -58 A VERY EAGER MAN - “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied - “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” If you realize that I have nothing from this world, do you still want to follow me? (Mine added)
V59-60 A HESITANT MAN - Jesus said to another man, “follow me” but then the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
V61-62 another HESITANT man - Lord “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God, Jesus replied.
When Jesus heard these responses, Jesus knew it was necessary for him to clarify this important point. So he faced the large crowds who were following him. “Let me help you get it right, it seems you want to be my disciples/students/followers, but do you realize how much it would cost you?
Luke 14:26 - Hate your Mother/wife/children/brothers/sisters
Hate even life itself. And only then will you be ready to take up your cross and follow Jesus.
Does Jesus want us to hate our families? No, that’s not what Jesus is saying in v26! Jesus was not calling us to hate our families because He too was committed to his family. And v26 is hyperbole, a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to emphasize, or to awaken a strong feeling and to create a strong impression. And as a figure of speech, v26-27 is not meant to be taken literally. Jesus set up an exaggerated contrast to make a point. And the point that Jesus was trying to make is that our passion for him should not be less than our affection to our families, and by way of contrast, our commitment to Him can be considered hatred (Matthew 10:37-39).
In short, v26 describes the total commitment required of his disciples. Do you want to follow me that you become like me both in glory and in suffering? My followers are predestined, called, justified, and glorified, but it will cost total commitment.
Jesus laid down his life voluntarily, and he asks us to do the same – to commit our lives wholeheartedly to him, accepting any hardship this choice may bring. We see this in life and ministry of Elisha. Like him, it is necessary that we burn bridges that connect us to the old, the familiar, and the comfortable. 1 Kings 19:19-21
So, what Jesus wants his followers to do? Let us go back to vs. 28-33
1. Calculate the cost to finish and to finish strong. Jesus used the analogy of building a house to emphasize this point. How sold out you are for this? What price tag are you willing to pay to achieve your commitment for such a task? Like a builder, sit down to examine and evaluate your commitment to finish it all the way to the end. No one wants to build only to abandon half-way! The goal is to finish and to finish well.
2. V31-33 examine and evaluate your readiness to surrender if the strength of your forces is weaker than your opponent. You may have to give up everything, including some degree of your authority (your crown as a head of state/army), your status, (carries pride, glory, fame, authority) in favor of another so you can pursue fruitfulness and not stagnation in your personal life and ministry. Weigh the consequences including collateral damages to those who will be affected largely by your decision or indecision. Delayed obedience is disobedience.
These are crucial principles that we as individuals must think about as we prepare to cross over the New Year! How do you foresee the New Year? How committed are you to see it come to pass? You must count the cost to move forward, to uproot you from that place that got you stuck for long.
3. What price are you willing and ready to lay it out?
Are you willing to lay down the unnecessary weight that pulls you down? Are you ready to sacrifice your place of comfort now for you to be the best student, worker, manager, business owner, father, mother, etc?
Place your trust in God. He who called you would not put you to shame (Psalm 25:3/Romans 10:11). The God who provided a sacrifice to Abraham in Mount Moriah is the same God who will provide for you in your place of sacrifice. The God who answered Elijah by fire is the same God who will answer you by fire. The God who impregnate Mary by the Holy Spirit is the same God who will fill you with Spirit’s dreams and visions!
4. What have you got in your hands and what would you need from other people to help you out? Will you be ready to give up your pride to another if it's required just like an underdog king? Are you willing to give up to go up?
As a church, we have decided and planned that we are continuing to pursue our God-given dreams and vision. We are pursuing the greater heights that the Lord destined for us. Like Jesus’ requirement, we commit to it as we believed God is! (2 Kings 19:31).
As we prepare to bid 2018 goodbye, I am sure, we have but thanksgiving to God. In like manner, as we prepare to welcome the New Year, let us ponder on some of the spiritual things that are crucial to us moving forward to what God intended for you and me, and to the whole CLG family. No doubt, God is always in the business of BRINGING NEW THINGS! HE IS THE OWNER AND AUTHOR OF NEW THINGS, NEW LIFE, NEW YEAR, new EXPLOITS, NEW JOBS, NEW CHALLENGES, NEW HOUSES, NEW CARS, NEW BUSINESS ENDEAVOURS, NEW HEALTH, divine connections, and so on. He CREATED ALL THINGS FROM NOTHING, AND HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW IN EACH TIME AND SEASON. What else can He not do to someone as totally committed to Christ as you?
As a CHURCH of Jesus Christ, 2019 is going to be a year of transition and assimilation and growing up by us individuals. The New Year is going to be a year of cross over to a more stable direction. We are a church that is obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ! And because of that, it requires that we cross over to a new Church structure that will allow us to move fast and to reach a 10% growth next year.
What you see on the screen is our current structure that worked for us for many years. But CLG had outgrown this structure and needed a new one that is more in partnership with the direction and momentum that God is bringing us in 2019 and the year ahead. We have considered the cost of doing these with you. We anticipate the high price we all have to pay: Time, comfort, and energy. WE CREATED A TEAM DEDICATED TO HELP US ALL ACHIEVE THIS. WE CALL THEM THE “GROWTH TEAM.” THEIR MAIN FOCUS IS TO EQUIP YOU AS DISCIPLES OF JESUS. Beginning 2019, we will commit to three things: WIN, BUILD, SEND. These are concepts that we borrowed from Campus Crusade for Christ which I got involved and trained when I was in college.
Win – Evangelism focus - services / get people to church on time with families and friends - there’ll be an opportunity to give their lives to Christ. BRING ONE AT A TIME!
Build - focus on equipping to train and develop/ disciple/duplicate/discharge our duties within and without; Growth Track Journey; Adult Sunday School, special training gears toward discipleship and ministry and mission and outreach
Send – mission focus - now and future; you’ll be sent out into your places of work as workers on a mission of winning, building, and sending. MAY THE LORD HELP US? ARE YOU IN?
