As I Follow Christ | Come, Follow Me
As I Follow Christ: (Part I)
COME, FOLLOW ME
Luke 14:25-33 (ESV)
25 Now great crowds accompanied 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 bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Have you ever enjoyed being a student? Or, if you are still a student, are you enjoying your studies today? It has been said that generally speaking, most people during their younger days were not as serious with their studies. But when they got older, especially when they started thinking about having a greater future career, they become more serious in their studies.
Of course, during this Pandemic time, studying has really been a big challenge. My heart goes to all the students and their parents, who are navigating through online education. Let me just say that we need to be praying for them because all the major surveys on online education are showing that the biggest set back for our students is how they can stay disciplined and motivated in their studies.
Spiritually speaking, how many of you have realized that the Christian life has also been designed to be a life of studying? This design is quite obvious when you go back to the Great Commission that centers on – “making disciples of all nation” (Matthew 28:19-20). Evidently, in the New Testament, to be a disciple basically means to be a learner or a student. On the part of Jesus Christ, in the Gospels, He is not only introduced as Savior, Lord, Miracle Worker, or Forgiver of sins, He is also known the “Rabbi” or Teacher. Unfortunately, this concept has not been highlighted enough, and as a result, many believers today are continually struggling with the idea of discipleship. For these believers, often, Christianity is simply a one-day event every week where they try their best to go to church on a Sunday, hear a forty-five-minute sermon, give to the church, and then go home.
However, with this kind of Christianity, many believers have suffered and missed out on the far more blessed life that God intended them to enjoy. Jesus Himself promised His disciples that if they stay close to Him and keep obeying Him, then and only then, would their joy be complete:
John 15:9-11 (ESV) 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
I trust we all acknowledge this truth on the front end as we talk about discipleship, that our lives would be truly blessed if we choose to become His faithful disciples.
Well, beginning this month of October, we will be talking about discipleship. Our over-all theme would be – “As I Follow Christ.” Looking at our theme, the main emphasis is not only that we follow Christ; we must also be conscious of how we are leading others to follow Him. The apostle Paul was quite confident to say these words:
1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV) 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
How are you following Christ today? Can you confidently tell your loved ones and friends to follow the way you are living your life, because you know for certain that it would be as good as following Jesus Christ? This morning, as we begin our sermon series, I chose a passage where Jesus defines clearly for us what it means to follow Him and be His disciple. I believe that we need to first and foremost determine that we are following Him before we invite others to follow us. Here are three very specific conditions for discipleship:
I THE SUPREMACY IN FOLLOWING CHRIST
As we begin to read our main text, we see in verse 25 that at this point in time, the Lord Jesus Christ has gained more popularity and began attracting “great crowds” in His public ministries. Such fame and recognition would have thrilled other leaders, but not our Savior. Evidently, for Him, the quality of followers was more important than the quantity of followers. He seemed more interested in a few, who are following faithfully than in many following flippantly or casually.
How do we know this important preference in His discipleship? Well, beginning in verse 26, the Lord began stating plainly His conditions if ever one decides to follow Him. And the very first condition centers on the supremacy of Christ in the life of the disciple. This is how Jesus said it - “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.”
I believe the most difficult word here that is worth understanding is the word “hate.” How can Jesus ask His followers to hate their family and their own selves? I find the explanation of this word in The Bible Knowledge Commentary most helpful:
Literally hating one's family would have been a violation of the Law. Since Jesus on several occasions admonished others to fulfill the Law, He must not have meant here that one should literally hate his family. The stress here is on the priority of love. One's loyalty to Jesus must come before his loyalty to his family or even to life itself. Indeed, those who did follow Jesus against their families' desires were probably thought of as hating their families.
In other words, the idea of “hate” is all about the priority of love. Jesus literally demands that our loyalty to Him becomes supreme over our loyalty to loved ones (parents, spouse, siblings, and children) and even to our own selves. Considering these words, I believe the latter part is much harder. I’m thinking of those in a society that is quite independent and isolated from others. Perhaps, many won’t be as affected by the expectation that Christ is placed before family and friends. But how about the latter demand—would you be comfortable with putting Christ first than your self?
Of course, this explicitly means that our loyalty to Jesus Christ must come before the following:
Our Dreams and Ambitions
Our Comforts and Conveniences
Our Amusements and Pleasures
To help us better understand this truth, let me share the words of Dr. William MacDonald explains:
“Instead of living self-centered lives, we must live Christ-centered lives. Instead of asking how every action will affect ourselves, we must assess how it will affect Christ and His glory.”
Now, these demands from Jesus Christ are quite clear and absolute. Let me also jump to verse 33 because the words are directly related to this truth – “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” This statement of being willing to renounce everything for Him reinforces not loving our own lives more than loving Jesus Christ. Evidently, He plainly said that if we don’t love Him supremely, then, we could not be His disciples.
Have you already settled this utmost priority in your own heart? Is Jesus the supreme recipient of your love and loyalty? If you consider the life of the apostle Peter, his real productivity in life only came after Jesus in John 21 asked him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15 -17). I’m sure this matter is very true for us as well - Our greatest potential and productivity in our Christian life will never come not until we have supremely placed our love and loyalty to Christ.
II THE SURRENDER IN FOLLOWING CHRIST
The second condition that Jesus sets before us is found in verse 27, saying, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
The apparent question we would be asking from these words would be: What does it mean to carry our own cross? Well, during the time of Jesus, the cross was used by the Roman Empire to openly shame and violently execute criminals. I’m sure almost all of us have seen depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The common sight would be that He went through the city carrying the cross while the crowds watching Him were laughing and throwing insults at Him. Then, when he reached Golgotha, He was brutally nailed to the cross and hanged there for hours. With all these visuals, it is safe to conclude that cross bearing literally means surrendering to a life of suffering and shame.
Now, for us who live in this country where Christianity is not really considered a crime and one of the recognized religions, how do we translate the idea that following Christ would lead to surrendering to a life suffering and shame? Here are some possible applications:
A. Satanic Oppositions
If we determine to be all out for Jesus Christ, it is very much expected that Satan will increase your spiritual oppositions. He will use different people or circumstances to discourage you or weaken your resolve to stand up or serve Jesus Christ. He may even increase your temptations, so that you live in sin.
Ephesians 6:10-12 (ESV) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
From these verses, the apostle Paul is reminding us that Satan and his demons are waging a spiritual war against all believers. I want to especially highlight this phrase in verse 11, “you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Clearly, we need to recognize that the Devil is a schemer, which simply means that he has lots of deceptive ways to get or manipulate us. So, we need to be more alert with his schemes in order for us to remain standing up for the Lord, Jesus Christ.
B. Open Persecutions
Another application could be the open ridicule or criticisms of believers who publicly identify themselves as Christians. This concern is even more hurtful when they are coming from their own loved ones and closest friends. But Jesus anticipated this spiritual oppression when He said to His followers:
Matthew 5:11-12 (ESV) 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In a way, Jesus is telling us in these verses that we should never resent being criticized or shamed for our faith. Instead, we should be willing to welcome them, knowing that we will receive great rewards in heaven for having suffered for our faith.
C. Hostile Discrimination
Since we live in a post-Christian society, taking Biblical positions can be perceived as being antiquated or old-fashioned. And people who do not share those positions can isolate and discriminate you. Let me give you Chick-fil-A or Hobby Lobby as perfect examples. Both companies have taken the stand to close on Sundays for business because it’s part of their Christian conviction. Both have taken an unpopular business approach because they believe that Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and they didn’t want their employees to choose between working and worshipping. Both companies, I believe, had been tremendously blessed by the Lord and have continued to be successful. However, because of their open Christian positions, both companies have also been subjected to many boycotts and lawsuits. If this could happen to these business organizations, it can happen to individual believers as well. But, again, we have enough words of warning from the Scriptures:
2 Timothy 3:12-13 (ESV) 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Beloved, once you decide to follow Christ, the Bible is quite clear that you will have to be prepared to suffer. As Jesus has said, “bear your own cross and come after me.” I trust that we will all know that despite the possibility of suffering because of Jesus Christ, it is still a life worth having. Why? Listen to the words of Peter when he wrote the persecuted believers saying:
1 Peter 4:14 (ESV) 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
This verse simply means that believers who suffer for Christ are far more blessed because the Holy Spirit delivers greater “glory” (power) and “rest” (joy and peace) in their lives.
III THE STABILITY IN FOLLOWING CHRIST
The last condition that Jesus conveyed can be taken from two scenarios found in verses 28-32. When you examine these two examples, both emphasize counting the cost right before you start.
A. The Man Intending to Build a Tower
The point of the Lord Jesus is that if you are going to construct a building, you want to make sure that you know exactly how much the entire project will cost you even before you start. It would be tragic to run out of money, materials, and manpower in the middle of the construction.
B. The King Going to Make War
The second example of Jesus is a king starting a war. Jesus is clearly emphasizing that it would be foolish for any king to start a war without carefully considering whether he has an army strong enough to defeat their enemies.
Taking both of these examples, it is quite clear that Jesus wanted to stress that there is a cost to being a disciple of Jesus, and we would do well to count the cost before we commit to anything. I believe that this is so significant in relation to stability in following Jesus. If you know exactly what you are going into, then, you won’t get blind-sided. I’m sure we are all familiar with people who started following Christ and then, they suddenly stopped and gave up. Often, it is much harder to return to Christ once you stopped because Satan often uses pride to get in the way.
How is your Christian life today? Are you still actively following Jesus Christ? With the large crowd of people following Him, He is not interested with those who are half-hearted or who are double-minded. Let’s take the time to examine our hearts this morning and make sure we respond positively to these conditions that Jesus set before us. I know that if we follow Jesus, it would not be a waste of our lives. Let me close with what Pastor Rick Warren said:
You have three options for what you can do with your life. You can waste it on pursuits that don’t matter. You can spend it on making a name for yourself. Or you can invest your life in ways that will bring God glory for future generations.
I trust we would recognize that following Christ is not wasting, but investing our lives in Christ.
-Dr. Jeremiah Lepasana