Now a days we have GPS and navigation systems in our cars to help us find the best way to get to our destination .
But what about in real life , we have the Bible to help us navigate through the twist and turns of our lives , helping us to find the best way and avoid a lot of problems .
What happenes is that people don’t read the directions and even if they do many times they don’t follow them and what ends up happening is they become the lost .
Lost in this world,lost in life , walking through without any direction or purpose
Today we have a great example of how you can stay on the path as you walk with Christ
Luke 14:25Now large crowds were going along with 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 carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 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? 29“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.33“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
34“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35“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.”
All these are designed to lead us on the journey of life.
Just like any journey there are stages that you go through
Just like any trip or journey the first thing you do is say your goodbyes and farewells to your loved ones .
Luke14:26“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
Our love for Christ is second to none .
Your affection for everyone else is like hate compared to your love and devotion for Jesus.
That your relationship with Him is so powerful that consumes every minute of your life without any time for anyone but Christ.
People worry about what others will say and how they will look , spending hours trying to impress and look good for a world that is passing away .
When they spend next to zero time concerned about how they look to Christ
We spend more time preparing ourselves for this world than we spend preparing where we will spend eternity.
The church is the bride of Christ and what type of bride doesn’t spend a lifetime getting ready for her wedding
Just like any other journey you need to pack what is important
The next part Jesus tells you what is essential to bring
Luke 14:27“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple
So many people want to hurry up and run off with Christ ,
But then Jesus says oh you forgot something , your cross , you need to go back and get your cross .
Funny thing is this is where a lot of people get lost and we never see them come back .
Because when they realize that this journey is going to include sacrifice , that it’s going to get rough at times and you will have to deny yourself they never come back .
if you don’t love Jesus with all your heart mind and soul , your aren’t going to make even the smallest sacrifice for Him.
Your sacrifice will always reveal the depth and the power of your love.
These are the building blocks because
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?
So in the spiritual life, the Christian wanna be soon finds out that righteous living is harder than they thought and then they give up
When people crash and burn its can always be traced back to here .
They had no idea of the cost and sacrifice involved in following Christ .
Their behavior and actions reveal their spiritually bankruptcy and their depravity
Luke 14:29“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
This is the definition of a hypocrite , someone who calls out all the other people but is unable to finish themselves .
Then the ridicule and insults start flying around , and my favorite is that and you call yourself a Christian .
When people ridicule you don’t be alarmed because just by that we know what they are made of .
But they have no Idea how deep your passion and for Christ travels and there is nothing that can separate a true born again believer from the love of Christ .
Finally Jesus tells us that on this journey that your are going to encounter conflict .
Luke 14: 31“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
The question is are you ready for a battle? Because Jesus tells us over and over that in this world you will have tribulation ,
So if you don’t have any tribulation you must be just going along with this world.
Afraid of what others might say , God has thousands upon thousands of chariots of ready for battle .
There is no surrender , we don’t run from this world , we don’t surrender to its opposition
The truth is that if you have made it this far on the journey ,
That your love for Christ surpasses all others ,
That you are willing to sacrifice your own life and
That you have built your life on the foundation of Christ ,
Then you’re not just ready for battle , you’re ready for victory .
But sadly if you’re ready to say goodbye to this world , not ready to make all the sacrifices and fight for the Kingdom Jesus give us this warning ,
Luke 14:34“Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35“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.”
If you haven’t prepared yourself to be the bride , if you haven’t always made the commitment there is this one hope , the invitation. Today I want to invite each and every Christian who has ears to hear that Jesus is calling .
