1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Ga 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Lu 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Mt 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

• Let me first has no business being in the language of the disciple of Jesus Christ.

Gal 6.14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

A LIFE OF DISCIPLESHIP

This morning we will observe The Lord’s Supper. This covenant meal reminds us of the gracious sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. Salvation is a gift from God that costs you nothing; but becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ will cost you everything. Regeneration is that work of the Spirit of God that occurs in a moment. Salvation is something that God gives to you by grace alone, through faith alone, in His Son Jesus Christ alone. Discipleship is something you do with God. Sadly, much of today’s evangelism is focused only on making a  decision for Christ, instead of becoming a disciple of Christ.   

In our passages this morning, Jesus does not mince words when He speaks about what it would cost a person to follow Him. He is not a deranged cult leader that is hard up for a following. In Luke 14:25–35, Jesus is talking about the cost of discipleship, and in these passages, Jesus uses some of the clearest and strongest language found in the New Testament. He is being brutally honest with us about what is means to follow Him. And as we hear what He says to the multitude, Jesus is going to continue to pound the same nail over and over and over and over, and that nail is this: If you and I are going to lay claim to being a disciple of The Lord Jesus Christ…..once you start, do not quit.

We are living in a world of quitters, and the quitters mantra goes something like this. If anything in life gets hard and demanding, quit. If the ministry that God calls me into gets hard and demanding, quit.  If my marriage gets hard and demanding, quit.  If school gets hard and demanding, quit.  If work gets hard and demanding, quit.  And the reasoning behind this kind of thinking comes from a shallow theology that says that once something gets hard and demanding, it certainly cannot be God’s will, because Jesus said that His yoke was easy and His burden was light. Those words of Jesus, His yoke is easy and His burden is light, are to be understood in the context of getting saved, not in the context of living a life of a disciple. KF family, the spirit of quitting that has become the norm and acceptable in today’s society, has crept inside of the church.

How sad to see people quit on God; they quit praying when the going gets tough. They quit believing when the going gets tough. They quit serving when the going gets tough. They quit giving when the going gets tough. They quit on their marriage vows, they quit on their children. Beloved, when you choose to quit on God, the consequences are horrifying!!

Many people have erroneously been told that following Jesus will put your life on the path of least resistance. That is a bona fide lie. Following Jesus is the path of most resistance. Living right in a wrong world is the path of most resistance. Living holy with a flesh filled world is the path of most resistance. The world system is constantly bombarding those who choose to live for Jesus with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. The enemy of our souls is going about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Following Christ is likened to a war, a race, a wrestling match. Beloved anything that really matters in life does not come easy. Everything that matters in life is costly And so to prepare our hearts for The Lord’s Supper this morning, I am going to pick up where I left off last week with these 3 words.  “Do not quit.”

Lu 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

• No one teaches about love as much and as well as Jesus. No one demonstrates love like Jesus. And here Jesus tells us that being devoted to Him means that we must hate our spouse, our mother, our father, our brothers, our sisters, our own children, and our own life. In light of Who He is, only Jesus Christ Jesus can make this claim full allegiance and devotion.
• Now let’s not misunderstand the meaning of the word hate that Jesus uses here. The call to hate means to love less. Following Jesus is to be the disciple’s first love. This pursuit of loving Jesus and living for Him is to have priority over family members and one’s own life, which means that other concerns are to take second place to following Jesus.
• Matthew puts is a bit clearer when he writes: Mt 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
• What is Jesus saying to us this morning beloved?  He’s saying that our relationship with Him needs to be in an altogether different category that is far above and beyond every other relational commitment we have.
• Jesus is here using the language of the Bible, where in the Old Testament, there were two brothers, Jacob and Esau. In Romans 9, God reveal s to us that “Jacob I loved and Esau I hated.” God was good to both, but he chose to work through the family line of Jacob and put him in first position of priority. That’s exactly what Jesus is talking about here.
• The Bible does tell us to honor our mother and father. It’s one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Ephesians 5 says that husbands must love their wives. Titus 2 says that wives should love their husbands. But Jesus says that our devotion to him is to be placed into an altogether different category.
• Did you know that in certain countries and cultures’, coming to Jesus Christ is actually a death sentence? If you decide to be a disciple of Jesus, you are committing social and familial suicide. In certain hardcore Muslim countries, as well as certain other cultures, as soon as someone in the family raises their hand to be a fully devoted disciple of Jesus, the family has a funeral and considers them dead, though they remain alive. And sometimes they will even kill them. They’ call it an honor kiling. And Jesus is saying if you’re really going to follow him, expect opposition, expect ostracism. Not everyone will approve of a life that is devoted to him.
• Committing yourself to Jesus includes committing yourself to the kind of opposition that He endured. You can’t say, “I’ll follow Jesus until I start getting treated like Him.” To be a disciple is to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. And this includes all the way to your own death. Jesus says, “If need be, you have to pick up your cross and follow me.”
• And let me tell you beloved that it bothers me to hear some people interpret taking up the cross as meaning some minor inconvenience.  My ungodly boss at work is my cross. My small apartment is my cross. Beloved, those are not crosses! The cross was an instrument of crucifixion, not an inconvenience! When a person was seen carrying a cross, he was a dead man walking to his death. You would carry it to your place of crucifixion, they would strip you naked or nearly naked, they would nail you to the cross. They would hang you up and you would die. This is what Jesus is saying here, and this is what the people hearing these words understood Him to be meaning.  
• In this day of easy believism, we hear preachers declare that if you want a wonderful life and to go to heaven, raise your hand for Jesus. Yes, living for Jesus is a privilege and wonderful beyond measure, but His purpose in dying for you was not to give your lives wonderful and problem free, but to make us disciples whose lives are now useful to Him and His mission

• So this morning beloved, my exhortation to you is to make your life count for Jesus Christ. Don’t waste your life and don’t quit! Don’t quit on Jesus. I cannot help but think of all the people in my 25+ years of ministry who just decided to quit. They quit reading their Bibles, they quit praying, they quit forgiving others, they quit resisting their fleshly lusts, they quit coming to prayer meetings, they quit going to home studies, they quit witnessing to the lost, and they quit serving at church. Eventually, they quit Christ, they quit their marriage, they quit their kids. And I’ll tell you, not one of ‘them is happy.

Jesus’ second point: do not quit! You’ll see a theme develop here very quickly.

Lu 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

• Towers were commonly built either on a home site or in a vineyard for the purposes of defense and observation, and would be designed to be as tall as possible in order to give the best vantage point. As Jesus teaches, it would be foolhardy to begin building a tower without first stopping to make sure at the beginning that one has the resources to finish it; otherwise the unfinished tower will remain on the site forever as a source of ridicule to anyone who sees it.
• In other words, do not start what you are not willing to follow through with to the end. When we as the bride of Christ for whatever reason just decide to up and quit living as a Christian, it is like a woman who is really into the fun and excitement of planning a wedding, but is not really into the daily sacrifice that it takes to make a marriage last for 50.
• Using it as an illustration of us being the bride of Christ, imagine this scenario. You say your vows, and then on the way down the aisle, you begin to think about the commitment that you made, and before you leave the sanctuary, you tell your husband that you want a divorce. The groom is bewildered. “What do you mean?” Well, I really enjoy all of the attention and the fancy hairdo, and people staring at me. And I really enjoy getting my pictures taken, and I really enjoy cake and dancing and all of that, but I am not really into a lifetime of commitment. I realize that I love myself more than I love you…so, I quit!
• Does not the Lord’s Supper remind us that we are married to Jesus Christ our Bridegroom beloved? Too many believers have a wedding day reception mentality of following Jesus instead of an investment in the marriage mentality.
• Jesus is clear beloved. Jesus didn’t save you invite you to follow Him in order that He would be a part of your life, He saved you to be your life. We cannot serve The Lord half way. We cannot do anything that He calls us to do halfway. We cannot be married half way or serve in the church half way. We cannot do our jobs halfway. Don’t make excuses. Do not quit.

Let’s move on to Jesus next point:

Lu 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

• Jesus point number 3 is what? Don’t quit! Men or women who go out to war cannot afford to quit. Disciples cannot afford to quit. One of the root words for “disciple” is the same root for discipline, or disciplined one. Jesus says that being a disciple of His is a lot like going into a battle.
• 2Ti 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
• In the Christian life we have a real enemy, there’s a real war, there’s real conflict, there are real battles in life and the casualties in this warfare are the ones who quit.
• When you stop putting on the new man, when you indulge in those fleshly lusts that war against the soul, when you start cutting back on your prayer time and reading time and fellowship time with other believers, it is just a matter of time before you are either AWOL or dead. Don’t quit.

Jesus’ next point: do not quit!

Lu 14:34 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

• Salt was used to enhance flavor or to preserve food before the days of refrigeration. It was even used is some cases for medicinal purposes. But if the salt lost its flavor, it was useless. Jesus says we’re supposed to be like salt. We’re supposed to be persevering for his kingdom. We’re supposed to enhance life for others. But if we quit, we have lost saltiness and in the process, we have lost our purpose in life and are useless.
• Worthwhile, salty living is something you have to commit yourself to. Jesus has redeemed us in order that our lives can make a difference in this world for His Names sake.
• So how’s it going this morning KF? Is your life making a difference for Jesus Christ? If you call KF your home church, are you putting your talents and gifts to use to edify others and bring glory to Christ? Are you looking for ways to minister to others, or do you eat and leave until next Sunday morning? So many Christians do so little for The One who gave so much. Are you investing yourself in your marriage for the glory of God? What kind of legacy will you leave behind when you die?
• The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the incredible sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us and the words of Jesus in our study this morning reveals that it really does matter how you and I live our lives. The gospel is not say the sinners prayer, accept Jesus and off you go to heaven. It’s about dying to self in order that I may be a disciple of Jesus Christ. That’s really important.

Call the worship team up to the platform.

• Beloved, Jesus tells us not to quit because Jesus Himself did not quit. Jesus accepted the opposition, ostracism, criticism, and in the end He shed His blood on the cross for our salvation.  He counted the cost and he paid it.
• There in the garden of  Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that prayer of surrender to The Father, knowing the price that He would pay. And knowing full well what lie ahead of Him, He goes to the cross nonetheless. For the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• Beloved here is a news flash for you and me. We are going to die. Resist the temptation to quit and decide to make your life count for Jesus Christ. May we all do our part to make the ministry of KF count for Jesus Christ and the glory of The Father.
• I hope we are not just another generation of Sunday morning church attending Christian consumers who sing a few Christian songs, listen to a message, only to walk out of that door and live and refuse to live a life that is devoted to Christ. It’s Christian consumers that hinder revival and kill the effectiveness of a church from operating at full potential.
• In light of these elements that we hold in front of us and the words of Jesus we heard this morning, each one of you has to make a decision….will I finish what God has called me to do or will I quit? Will I serve The Lord with gladness or will I quit? Will I be faithful in my marriage or will I quit? Will I continue to resist the pull of the flesh or will I quit? Will I choose to walk in forgiveness I have been forgiven, or will I quit.  As I said earlier, the consequences of quitting are horrifying!
• What is the alternative to forgiveness? What is the alternative to walking in purity? What is the alternative to The Lordship of Jesus Christ? What is the alternative to creation? What is the alternative to love and mercy?
• It is not my intention to get a spur of the moment, emotional hoo-rah from you right now. You and I will answer that question by the choices that you make, not by how you feel. You will reveal the decision that you have made by how you choose to live today, tonight, the next day, the next week, the next month and the next year until Christ calls you home. Do not quit!

When a person rejects the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of God, every other religion, philosophy or sinful indulgence becomes fair game….truly the road is narrow.