Luke | The Cost of Discipleship | July 28th

by | Jul 28, 2024 | Digging Deeper

Series: Luke
Sermon Title: The Cost of Discipleship 
Passage: Luke 9:57-62

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Series: Luke
Sermon Title: The Cost of Discipleship 
Passage: Luke 9:57-62

The challenging cost

The profound conflict

The steadfast commitment

The new creation

 

DISCUSSION | PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  • What things have you missed out on or might you miss out on because you choose to follow Jesus?
  • We often have the intention to put God first, eagerly saying, “I will follow you wherever you go,” but then fall short as Jesus’s disciples often did. What challenge did Jesus pose to this statement in Luke 9:57-59? What do you think He was trying to convey? 
  • Did you think that following Jesus life would be easier than it is?
  • When Jesus first called you to follow Him–and when He calls you to follow Him to new and unknown places even now–what is your response? Like the two accounts presented in Luke 9:59 and 9:61, do you respond with “let me first…”? What are your hesitations and why might that be your response?
  • What are the demands on your time and your money that keep you from fully surrendering to and following the Lord?
  • When Jesus says “let the dead bury their dead, you go and preach…”, this is not Jesus being calloused to him, but rather conveying the importance of making a break from our other obligations to serve Him– Is there an old area in your life that He may be calling you to move on from, and what keeps you ‘stuck’ there?
  • What internal conflict have you experienced as a result of following Jesus? 
  • How do you decide between the good things and the best things?
  • How do the people and places of the past draw you off the path that God has for you?
  • ‘Looking back’ is a theme in the scripture, and Lot’s wife in Genesis comes to mind.When you look back on your life, pre-Christ, is it with longing or thanksgiving, and do you feel like that is the real question for us?  If longing, how can you get from there to thankfulness?

 

SCRIPTURES TO MEDITATE ON:

 

QUOTE:

“A nice, middle-class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so that he received all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe our comforts, because after all, he loves us just the way we are.” – David Platt

“It wasn’t until Jesus was at least halfway through his ministry that he clearly explained to his disciples the centrality of the cross to his life and mission. Scripture records Peter’s horrified reaction: Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:22–23) At this point, Peter understands only half the gospel. Like so many of us, he is Christ-centered but not cross-centered. Peter has a high view of Jesus as the Messiah. He is captivated by him as the miracle working, triumphant Savior. Peter truly wants to follow Jesus—in fact, he’s left everything to follow him. But he wants to follow a Jesus who avoids, not embraces, the cross.” Peter Scazzero

 

RESOURCES:

MONTHLY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE TO TRY: Worship

Practically speaking, the Christian’s worship is most profitable when it is centered upon Jesus Christ and goes through him to God. When we worship, we fill our minds and hearts with wonder at him— (Willard, Dallas.) This is a great quote but it invites us to ask the question who does it profit? It profits your soul. As we worship we declare God’s Glory. We shift our focus and attention away from our situations, emotions and physical experiences onto the wonder of the Lord. Somehow spiritually our internal posture begins to shift.

Having a worship moment and worshipping are two different things. The structure of worship verses the posture of worship. For many of us we need structure to move us from our self-centered approach to life into a God-centric focus where we see and glorify him. However the posture of worship, or the worship experience is inward and private, whether by ones self or in a group of thousands of people. True worship is private. Whatever is necessary to usher us into the presence of God are the elements. The response to being in divine presence is our worship.

This week I encourage you to select three days and  carve out two 15 minutes blocks of time during those days. The first 3 minutes I encourage you to sit, and pray and think about God’s glory, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a heart and mind of expectancy to meet with God. Then, select two songs of your favorite worship playlist on Apple music, or Spotify or whatever music platform you use, and sing out loud. Declare the goodness of God, shift your attention onto God’s glory and worship Him. He is looking forward to meeting you in that moment.

 

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

Discipleship is such a interesting thing. You can talk to a 100  people and ask them to explain it and you will get 100 different answers. So what is it and why does it matter. Simply put, it is the process of becoming less of myself and more like Jesus. This never ends, and it costs you more than you ever can imagine because we piece by piece set down you perspectives, habits, behaviors and rights and pick up Jesus’s. “Too many people have been “babied” in their discipleship, to the point that they have become nearly disabled spiritually. As a result, they accept without question a faith that promises freedom and abundance in Jesus, and yet they never seem to notice how they remain imprisoned, especially in unbiblical ways of relating to themselves and others. They shrug their shoulders as if to say, “It’s useless. I can’t do anything about that. It’s just the way I am.”(Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Discipleship)

This sounds easy but it is complicated. It can never be accomplished without the power and authority of the Holy Spirit in your life. God’s will is for transformation in your life but Godly transformation is not humanly possible, it is only available through the power that comes from God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit. Sure there are habits you can stop, attitudes you can change however work based transformation never leads to true transformation that leads to Godly nature and character like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control. In fact Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we are being transformed into the image of God himself through the work of the Spirit in our lives.

Scazzero goes on to summarize four fundamental failures disciples often live with thus stunting or stalling their discipleship and Godly life.
1. We tolerate emotional immaturity.
2. We emphasize doing for God over being with God.
3. We ignore the treasures of church history.
4. We define success wrongly.

If our command is to be the light of Jesus on a hill, acting as a beacon to those who need his abundant life, then we must do the internal hard work to give access to the Holy Spirit and allow the light of our lives to become Jesus-like. If Jesus commands us to make disciples, we must know and understand the process, for you can not lead someone to a place where you have not gone or experienced yourself.