Are
We Willing to Follow?
Memory
Verse: Matthew 16:24
(NKJV) 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires
to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
TEXT: Luke 14:25-35
INTRODUCTION:
Matthew 5:13–14; Romans 5:1; Philippians
2:12; 1 John 3:2
“When it comes to
morality and lifestyle issues, there is little difference between the behavior
… of Christians and non-Christians.” -- Jim
Putnam, Bobby Harrington, and Robert Coleman, DiscipleShift.
“… the local church which I’ve been the pastor of for more
than three decades was not doing as well as we thought when it came to
spiritual growth.”-- Bill Hybels from REVEAL
“Cheap grace is the
grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness
without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion
without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without
the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” ― Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship
1.
We
must Prioritize our Love
Luke
14:25–26; Matthew 10:37
2.
We
must be Passionate about our Identity with Christ.
Luke
14:27; 9:23
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come
and die.” ― Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, The Cost of
Discipleship
“There is always an “if” in connection with
discipleship, and it implies that we need not [be disciples] unless we like.
There is never any compulsion; Jesus does not coerce us. There is only one way
of being a disciple, and that is by being devoted to Jesus.”—Oswald
Chambers
3.
We
must realize that Discipleship is a Permanent Commitment to Jesus Christ
Luke
14:28–32; 9:62
4.
We
must Give Jesus His Rightful Place in our lives.
Luke
14:33; Matthew 6:24,33
“The first call
which every Christian experiences is the call to abandon the attachments of
this world.” The Cost of
Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
CONCLUSION:
1
Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 2:5;
John 13:15
