Count the Cost | A Sermon on Luke 14:25–33

Introduction
On Ash Wednesday, we read how Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem to fulfill His purpose to die on a cross to atone for our sin.  During the Sundays in Lent, we’ll study the stories of Christ’s ministry as He made His way to Jerusalem.  Today, we see that following Jesus is costly.  And we are invited to decide if it is worth it.

Luke 14:25-33
²⁵ A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ²⁶ “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? ²⁹ Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

³¹ “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? ³² And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. ³³ So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.

Hate is a Strong Word
Jesus said, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life.”

Hate is a strong word.  In fact, it’s a word our culture often condemns outright.  So, when Jesus uses that word, it stops us in our tracks.  But Jesus isn’t calling for hostility.  He is using strong language to make one thing clear: our allegiance to Him must be supreme.

Driving through Jackson, I often see signs that say, “Love is stronger than hate.”  I appreciate the sentiment.  We need more love and kindness in our world.  And love is powerful—especially if we mean the kind of love Jesus offered. 

But the love Jesus gave—the kind of love His followers are commanded to give—demands that Christ takes first place in our hearts.  Everything and everyone else must come in second.  And if we must choose between Christ or anything else, we must choose Christ.

Furthermore, if we love Jesus, we will hate sin, because we see what sin does.  Sin destroys people and rips our world apart.  Sin required the Savior we love to die on the cross.  He died so that we may live.  He died to destroy sin.  Therefore, let us hate sin.

The sacrificial love of Christ is more powerful than hate.  But His love requires everyone to decide if they will follow Him or follow someone or something else.

Count the Cost
When I answered call to ministry, I knew I would have to go back to seminary to get my master's degree (it was the requirement at the time for my denomination).  I called Candler School of Theology at Emory University (the closet approved seminary for me) and asked how much it would cost.  They said, "$7,000".  Now, my entire 4-year undergraduate bachelors degree in the 1990s cost $7,000.  So I asked, I asked, "Is that for the whole degree or per year?"  They said, "$7,000 per semester."  Understand, it was a minimum of 6 semesters to get my seminary degree.  

After I hung up the phone, I prayed, "Lord, there's no way I can afford to do this--especially if I'm about to quite my job as an engineer.  But I'm determined to follow Your call to ministry.  But if I'm going to do this, You're going to have to make a way."  And He did.  Over the next few years, God made a way through scholarships, grants, and generous churches to help pay my way through seminary.  I had almost no debt from seminary after I finished.  

When large crowds were traveling with Jesus, He didn’t say, ‘What can we offer to keep them interested?’  He didn’t redesign His message to be more appealing.  He raised the bar.  He said, “Don’t follow until you count the cost.”

In our time, the church has often tried to attract people by offering programs, events, activities—and many of those things are good. They serve real needs. They build community. They open doors.

But if what ultimately draws someone to church is comfort, entertainment, or convenience, there will always be something more comfortable, more entertaining, and more convenient somewhere else.  This is why attendance at many churches in America today has declined (or shifted to mega churches where they can offer a more entertaining, attractive experience.)

If we build disciples on attraction alone, we shouldn’t be surprised if people become consumers—shopping for the best experience.

But Jesus did not call consumers.  He called disciples.  He did not say, ‘Compare your options.’  He said, ‘Carry your cross.’  Jesus words today remind us what we are invited into.

We follow a crucified Christ.  We should invite others to decide if that’s who they want to follow too.

Jesus says, ‘Count the cost.’  He would rather have fewer genuine followers than crowds who disappear when the road gets rough.

Closing
Today, Jesus wants to protect us from shallow faith.  He says, “Don’t follow Me casually.  Don’t follow Me emotionally.  Don’t follow Me halfway.  Sit down.  Count the cost.  Decide if I am worth it.”

The truth is:  Jesus counted the cost first.  He knew what Jerusalem would cost Him.  He knew what the cross would require.  He knew what obedience would demand.  And He did not turn back.  He believed you are worth it all.

Discipleship is costly.  But it’s worth it.

An Invitation to the Altar
I want to invite you to do something physical today, because sometimes your body needs to move in the direction your heart is choosing.

If you need to count the cost…
If you need to recommit…
If you have been following casually…
If you have been consuming instead of surrendering…
If you have been near Jesus but not fully His…

Come to the altar.  Come kneel.  Come pray.  Come sit and count the cost.

Maybe your prayer is:
“Lord, I have been distracted.”
“Lord, I have been divided.”
“Lord, I have been delaying.”

Or maybe your prayer is simply:  “Jesus, You are worthy of it all.”

This altar is open and you are invited to come.

 

 

Come | A Sermon on Matthew 4:19

Introduction
It’s been a tough week in a lot of ways. First of all, we had the remembrance of 9/11, which was a dark day in the history of our country, and we were already thinking about that. And then, with the violence we’ve seen this week—the murder of Charlie Kirk—it just breaks your heart. To see these things happening, playing out on our screens, on social media, and people bickering back and forth about it, pointing fingers at each other, it just hurts to think this is the world we live in and this is the way people act.

It’s easy to get swept up in it, to be overwhelmed either by sadness, or by anger, or by fear. But as I think about what’s happening in the world, it helps us see very plainly that our ways of doing things don’t work. They’re broken. They don’t lead to the solutions we hope for and long for.

So the message the Lord laid on my heart today is this: Come and look at a different way. A different way forward. Is there a better way?People are reeling from the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk. Some feel he is a martyr for boldly professing his faith, while others are angry at his rhetoric. Both sides are pointing fingers. Violence, outrage, and accusation swirl in the air.
If we’re not careful, we can get swept into the very cycle of destruction Jesus came to break.

Jesus and His followers faced similar issues in His day. The same troubles that plague the human heart today plagued people’s hearts then. The Jews were oppressed by the Romans, and they hated the Romans. The Romans, in turn, didn’t respect the Jews. It was a constant struggle that continued even after Jesus walked the earth.

Christ, the Son of God—the most perfect person who ever lived—was nailed to a cross. And while on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He warned His followers: “If you follow Me, the world will hate you, because darkness hates the light.”

That’s exactly what happened. The first martyr, Stephen, was murdered simply for speaking the truth about Jesus Christ. Later, James and others were also killed.

But here’s the remarkable thing: how could a group of people teaching about love, refusing to lash out, possibly survive? And yet they did. We are here today in a Christian church because the faith of Christ, the way of Christ, His Kingdom, is the one that lasted.

Israel’s old kingdom is gone. Rome, with all its power, is gone. But the Kingdom built upon love still stands, because love is the most powerful force in the universe.

Matthew 4:19
¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Jesus’ Invitation: Come
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus’ very first word to His disciples was “Come.”  He didn’t start with a lecture on doctrine.  He didn’t demand that they already understand the whole mission.  He simply invited them into His presence: Come and see. Come and learn. Come and walk with Me.

This is where true change begins:

This is where true change begins—not in anger or retaliation. Anger may be a catalyst, but it’s not the answer. The answer is recognizing the world is broken, that our ways don’t work, and that we are utterly helpless to heal it on our own.

Jesus knows it.  We know it.  And so, Jesus invites us to come try His way.  His invitation is wide enough for everyone.  In His day, Jesus invited Jews & Gentiles (whom Jews despised).  He invited tax collectors and the Zealots (who wanted to kill tax collectors).  He invited Romans & people who hated Romans.  All these different groups were broken and needed God’s forgiveness and healing.  If Jesus could bring a Zealot and a tax collector into the same circle, He can bring us together too.

Today, Jesus invites conservatives and progressives, Americans and non-Americans, people of all walks of life. He looks at you—your life, your brokenness, your struggles—and says: “You’ve tried your way. It hasn’t worked. Come, try My way.”

A Different Path Forward
The world says: “Fight fire with fire. Get even. Destroy your enemy.”
Jesus says: “Love your enemy. Pray for those who persecute you.”
The world says: “Do what feels right.  Make yourself happy.  Look out for your own.”
Jesus says: “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.”

On the surface it sounds foolish. How could surrender bring victory? But this is the paradox of the Gospel. In His death, Jesus defeated death. In His forgiveness, He broke sin’s chains. Only His way interrupts the endless cycle of hate, violence, and destruction.

It’s like light shining in the darkness—darkness cannot overcome it. The cycle of hate ends only when one side refuses to pick up the sword and instead picks up the cross. That’s true in personal relationships, in national politics, and in international affairs.

The Real Enemy: Ephesians 6:12
We must remember: people are not the enemy.
Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this dark world.”

The other side is not your enemy. Sin is. Satan is. And the cure is Christ.  That’s why His invitation is so urgent: Come.

Show me one place in the New Testament where Christians took up arms against their enemies.  There is only one place I know of.  Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane…[i]  Jesus told Peter in Matthew 26:52 “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.”

Test His Way
Jesus told His first disciples, in effect: “Come try My way. Walk with Me. Test it out and see.”  What if instead of lashing out, you came to Jesus first?  What if instead of nursing bitterness, you laid your pain at His feet?  What if instead of seeing others as enemies, you saw them as fellow sinners in need of grace?

An Invitation: Come and see.
The word today is simple but profound: Come.
Come as you are.
Come with your anger.
Come with your grief.
Come with your questions.
Come with your sin.

Jesus doesn’t ask you to clean yourself up first. He simply says: “Come, follow Me.”

But come with your whole heart. Don’t do it halfway. When you come fully, you’ll discover His way—unconventional but eternally true—is the only path to peace, healing, and victory.

Closing Prayer
Father, I pray for hurting hearts today. As fears swirl, as doubts plague us, as we see violence around us, as we see our community and country turning into something we don’t want it to be—help us, O Lord. Give us faith to trust in You. Help us follow Your Son with our whole hearts, so that we may find healing and forgiveness and be part of the Kingdom that lasts forever. In the name of Christ we pray, Amen.

[i] Matthew 26:51–52; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49–51; John 18:10–11