Title: Family First?

Date: 23.4.17

Text: Luke 14:25-33

Title: Family First?

Place: Rhema

File: Luke 14:25-33

Preacher: Stephen Taylor

The following are actual responses from comment cards given to the staff members at Bridger Wilderness Area in 1996:

* Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill.
* There were too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness to rid the areas of these pests.
* Please pave the trails…Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to the wonderful views without having to hike to them.
* The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals.
* A McDonald’s would be nice at the end of the trail.
* There were too many rocks in the mountains.
These comments and complaints indicate that the people who made them do not really understand what it means to stay in a "wilderness area." They were looking for something convenient and comfortable, but not truly a wilderness experience.

In a similar way, many people today do not understand what it means to be a genuine Christian. There are multitudes that often follow Jesus or claim to be a Christian but they do so on their own terms and not his. They do not truly comprehend the biblical definition of discipleship. And that is what Jesus wants to talk to you and me about today. Are we willing to count the cost of being a Christian?

For when we come to Luke 14, Jesus was becoming popular, very popular with the common people. People were flocking to him from everywhere. But Jesus was not interested in numbers. His task was not to build the biggest Church of people that he could get. He wanted followers not fans, recruits not spectators, commitment not curiosity. He wanted people to know thatfollowingJesus is not just a hobby. Like stamp collecting. Not just an interest like bushwalking. Not just a club, like the bowls club.

And so Luke says Jesus turns to the crowds and talks to them about being a disciple, about being a Christian, about being his follower. Now I want you to notice that Jesus audience are not antagonistic toward him; they are not uninterested in him; instead they are positive, open to his message. But that is not enough for Jesus. Being a follower involves loving him

1. More than your family (verse 26)

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters – yes even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.” Wow! Did you hear that? Our love for Jesus must be so great that it surpasses our love for our family. So if our love for family might be a 8 out of 10, then our love for Jesus must be a 10 out of 10. Our love for Jesus is to be so great that if we were to compare it to our love for our family; and to our love for our spouse, our kids, it would seem like hatred in comparison.

Now of course there is no room in Jesus teaching for literal hatred. We are called to love our enemies, not to hate them. We are called to honour our father and mother not to hate them. We are called to submit to our husband or to love our wife not to hate them. But the point remains that at the same time we are called to love our enemies, our family and friends, we are called to love Jesus much, much more.

Now this might be the hardest word ever to the people of our generation and to the people within our Churches. Because we do love our wife, our husband, we do love our kids, our brothers and sisters. We know how precious a gift they are. We understand how much it takes to keep a family together, to enable the next generation to grow. We will give up time and effort and energy on their behalf. We will ferry them to music and sport and kids clubs. We will make deep, deep sacrifices for them. And this is all right and good and fitting. But Jesus says you must love me more than that. What you are willing to do for your children and for your spouse you should be willing to do times 10 for Jesus.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.” If you want to be a hanger on, then you can love your family greater than Jesus. If you want to be a good person, then you can continue to put your family first. But if you want to be a disciple, if you want to be a follower of Jesus, if you want to be a Christian, you have to put Jesus first.

Because there will come a time a time when you and I will have to make a choice. A choice between Jesus and your wife, between Jesus and your husband, between Jesus and your kids. And whom are you going to choose then? Who is going to come first? A close family member of mine was once given an ultimatum – choose between your marriage and your faith? Wow, what a terrible position to be put in. But if that happened to you who would you choose?

Today if you are from a Jewish background or from a Muslim background and you become a Christian, then oftenyour family will hold a funeral for you. They will ostracise you, they will disown you, you are as good as dead. If that happened to you, would you still love Jesus?

Abraham was called to place his son, his only son on an altar. To sacrifice him to God. This was crazy talk to Abraham. This was the son of the promise. This was the one that God had miraculously given to the 100 year old Abraham and the 90 year old Sarah. Yet he picked up the knife, he was about to kill him when God says. Stop. Yes you do love me more than your son. And when he sees Abraham’s faith, he gives his son back to him.

That will be often what God does. A situation in our lives brings a conflict of loyalties, a choice between two good things. And God wants to see if you are really willing to go Jesus way. And often when we choose him over our family, he gives us our family back. But not always. I was reading during the week the story of Fang-cheng.

Slide 8

Fang-Cheng lived on Mainland China in the 1950’s. Despite massive persecution he was trying to spread the Christian gospel within that Communist State. He was arrested and interrogated but not broken. Then they brought in his mother.“Your Bible says you must honour your father and mother. If you do not tell us what we want, she will die”. Boy I would hate to be that sort of situation. What would you do? What did Fang-Cheng do? Put Jesus before his very own mother?

He turned to his Mum and said, “Mother what shall I do?” the mother answered, “I have taught you from childhood to love Christ and His holy Church. Don’t mind my suffering. Seek to remain faithful to the Saviour and His little brothers. If you betray me, you are no more my son.” Fang-Cheng remained faithful and never saw his mother again. He was someone who loved God more than his family. But it’s not just your family, it is also yourself.

2. Involves your life (verse 27)

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

You must love God more than your family and love God more than yourself, more than your life itself. Being a follower of Jesus means taking a one way journey, with no chance of turning back, with your cross on your back. You and I must be willing to die for Jesus.

Many of the olden day missionaries used to take their belongings to the mission field in a coffin because that was the only way that they knew they were coming back. They were willing to die for Jesus. They were willing to make the supreme sacrifice. Just as the ANZAC’s went to war, knowing that to do so meant they may never return to their loved ones, so we undertake a spiritual battle that might one day claim our life. But unless we are willing to give our own life, we cannot be Jesus disciple. Unless we are carrying our cross right now and following him, we are not his disciple.

Now I have heard people talk about having chronic back pain as the cross they have to bear or dealing with that person who they don’t get on with as their cross. But that is not what Jesus is talking about here. He is talking about our total commitment to Jesus to give him our whole lives. He is talking about going the whole hog.

Farmer Joe was the sort of guy who was always POPULAR with his farmyard animals. They loved him. And always wanted to please him. One day the chicken says to the pig, 'Hey pig, why don't we do something nice for farmer Joe? Why don't we give him BACON AND EGGS for breakfast tomorrow?' The pig thinks about it for a couple of seconds. And then says to the chicken, 'That's going to call for a PRETTY BIG COMMITMENT for me. All you've gotta give is a couple of eggs. I've gotta GIVE UP EVERYTHING to do that!'The whole hog.

Is that something you have done? Is that something you would be willing to do for your Lord and Saviour Jesus? Someone who thought deeply about this question and who ended up dying for his faith was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was a German pastor during WWII. He wrote, in his classic book “the Cost of Discipleship” “The cross is laid on every Christian. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death–we give over our lives to death. The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” (The Cost of Discipleship, p.99).

Being a Christian is all or nothing. But can I say to you, that’s stupid isn't it? To dothat, to give up your life, the most valuable thing you have. It’s silly! Unless following Jesus is actually incrediblysignificant. Unless he really is the Son of God. The forgiver of sins. It's a crazy thing to give up the things of this life for the sake of following Jesus; unless following Jesus is the one thing that's fundamental to eternity.

Salvation is free, it involves a free gift from God but it is far from cheap. To come into the Kingdom will not cost you a thing but if you accept that offer it will cost you everything you own. And Jesus said - it’s going to cost you your entire life. So it is important that we count that cost. And that’s why Jesus tells the potential disciples two stories.

3. So Count the Cost (verses 28-33)

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’” Jesus is saying make sure you count the cost. Make sure you can finish the job before you start it.

Slide 16

Recently I heard about a TV advertisement about a man sitting in the chair at a tattoo parlour expressing his love to Donna by getting her name tattooed on his arm. But halfway through the procedure he asks how much it will cost? $50.00 is the answer. He pulls out his cash, and says, “Oh, I only have $41.” The advertisement cuts to the couple on the footpath where Donna is seen storming off, with the guy yelling after her, "I’ll get it fixed." Zoom into the tattoo which should have read “I love Donna” instead it reads, "I love Don!”

Slide 17

That commercial shows the foolishness of considering the cost of something so irrevocable halfway through. One should consider and make sure one is willing to pay the cost prior to making the commitment. So in our passage Jesus wants us to ask ourselves, "Are you willing to follow me no matter what happens or what you’re required to give up?"

Slide 18

Can you afford to follow Jesus? We all know people that started well but have failed to finish the race of faith. Who said they would follow Jesus anywhere but when the rubber hit the road, they did love their wife, their job, their money or themselves more than they loved Jesus. So can you afford to follow Jesus? He wants to know today. When you started following Jesus you might not have understood the cost, but he has been pretty clear today, so are you willing to go the whole hog? Can you afford to follow Jesus?

Slide 19

But then we hear Jesus’ second parable and it’s all about can you afford not to follow Jesus? “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

The two parables are similar but they are teaching slightly different points. The builder of the tower is free to build or not. It’s his choice if he wants to count the cost and go for it. However, the story of the king being invaded is a situation where he must do something or face incredible consequences. You must calculate what it might cost you to not follow Him.

For one day the most powerful king in the world will invade your empire. God will come and because he is our maker and Lord he will overpower any troops that we put up against him. He is God after all. So can you afford not to surrender your life now? Can you afford to wait to the last day when it will be all too late? Yes there is a cost to becoming a follower of Jesus but if you fail to pay that cost, there is a far greater cost if you don’t follow him.

Yes now you have to put God before your money, but at the end of your life you will lose all your money. Yes you have to put your job and career behind Jesus but there won’t be much of a career in hell. In hell every relationship will be horrendous. For there is no love there, no grace, no forgiveness, no traces of God. If you and your spouse are there, if you and your family are there, it will still be hell, pure and simple. If you don’t follow Jesus the cost is everything. Can you afford not to follow him? Especially when the alternate is spending an eternity without God and without all those who have also given their life to him?

So what has your commitment to Jesus cost you? What have you given up for him? What are you willing to give up for him? Let’s take this week for example? What have you given up for Jesus? How much time – half an hour today, anything more? How much money? $20 given to the Salvos, anything else? Compare that to how much energy have you given your family? What sacrifices have you made for you them? What have you put into your career and compare that to what you have done for Jesus? Do you love him more than anything else? Do you love him more than yourself?

As you consider those questions, remember the words of Martin Luther, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.

Friends, remember the words of Jesus,“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Friends count that cost and decide whether you can afford to follow Jesus. As well as whether you can afford not to follow Jesus with everything you have got!