“Nothing Great Happens Without It”
Lk.14:25-35
Greatness:passion-want it……mission-know it…………
see it-vision……sacrifice-do it………Jesus gives
an explanation……illustration……makes an applic-
ation of sacrifice…………v.25-thinning out the
ranks……not looking for a crowd-commitment……………
not decisions-disciples………what Jesus teaches
about being a disciple is exactly the same
lessons we must learn if we are going to
achieve greatness………nothing ever happens without
sacrifice……..involves 4 key actions…………
I-There is a Decision that must be Determined
(V.26)
-same Jesus who tells us to love our enemies would
not turn around and tell us to hate our families
-“hate”:to love less - - -Mt. 10:37
-2000 years ago:give your life to Jesus………have to
give up your family,especially if you were Jewish
-***Muslim converts***
-dealing with the question of priority
-Jesus must be your first love!
-will not take second place to anything or anybody!
-anything you put above the Lord Jesus becomes your
Lord
-He must come first:ahead of family,friends,finances
II-There is a Price that must be Paid (v.27)
-salvation is free but it is not cheap
-Jesus paid a price in order to save you and you
must pay a price in order to serve Him
-not only pays to serve Jesus………it costs
-many people do not come to Christ because they
are not willing to pay the price
-a cross represented death:a symbol of death
-v.26b
-cross always comes before commitment
- “ “ “ “ the crown
-to be His disciple you must die to yourself,your
ambitions,goals,desires……surrender your life
-***George Mueller:”What is the secret of your
great life?”…..”There was a day when George
MUELLER died.”
-greatness involves paying a price and making a
sacrifice
-***founding fathers made a great sacrifice
-***church is here because of sacrifice
-11 disciples obeyed the command to go into all the
world and make disciples……..***Ill.#1***
III-There is a Cost that must be Counted
(v.28-30)
-the way to heaven is easy because the way to
heaven is Jesus………Jesus is no easy way to
heaven……a demand to discipleship
-count the cost:big difference between price and
cost
-***100,000 dollar Mercedes:price is the same for
everybody:cost would be far less to Donald
Trump than it would be to Donald Chump
-v.28 Christian life is like a strong tower:a
tower of work,of worship,witness,warfare
-many fall beside the wayside because they do not
count the cost*****v.29(the world laughs)***
-***”I don’t want to be a half-finished tower!”
-not how fast you start, but how strong you
finish!!!
-***use to Christians………is a used up Christian!
-v.31-33-God plus one is a majority!
-can’t be a coward or a compromiser
-we try to be godly enough to be accepted by the
Lord,and wordly enough to be accepted by the
World
-***wrist watch***
IV-There is a Reward that will be Reaped
(Mark 10:29-30)
-sacrifice is not a negative……a positive
-football team that sacrifices on the pratice
field and in the weight room wins the champion-
ship………athlete that sacrifices wins the gold
medal
-no sacrifice you could ever make for Jesus could
possibly compare to the reward you will get for
making that sacrifice
-when we die:die……Lord Jesus greet us……”Well done,
thy good and faithful servant.”
-nothing great is ever done without sacrifice………but
any sacrifice for Jesus is always great!!!!
Close:count the cost
Freedom:4-7-02 s.m.