05.Nov.2008 Beyond Following

Luke 14:25-30 (NLT): A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. 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? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

It is easy to follow Jesus. He was an awesome guy: healing and teaching and being kind to everyone he met. Following him is easy! You pray, you go to church, you tithe, and life is easy, right? What happens when Jesus turns around and says something to you? When He does that, things begin to change.

God will speak something into your life. The relationship changes from followership to discipleship. This is where people tend to back track. People are not comfortable with Jesus speaking back. They prefer to simply follow where nothing is required. However, when Jesus turns around and says, “Come on, let’s go deeper!” Things get complicated.

Jesus will ask you to give some things up. Are you willing to give up your most trusted relationships to follow him? If you are not, you cannot be a disciple of Jesus. Are you willing to love Him more than anything else in your life? If not, you are not ready to be His disciple.

A disciple is someone who learns, a student or pupil; someone who is willing to go beyond following someone. They allow this person to teach them how to live. Being a disciple of Christ means we never reach perfection, but we continue to learn. We apply His teachings into our lives, and slowly but surely, our lives begin to reflect Him. We are always constantly learning.

He takes you deeper than that! He asks you to carry your own cross. Now, dying on a cross is a humiliating way to die. You are placed in front of the whole city where everyone can see your shame as you suffer through the most vulnerable moment in your life. Jesus asks if you are willing to carry your own cross. Are you willing to die everyday? Everyday, will you die to yourself? Jesus is talking about suppressing our humanity every day. Carrying the cross is a reminder of our daily laying down of our life before God for His will and for the servitude of others. God, others, and then yourself; that is what following Jesus is all about.

It’s easy to become a follower. A commitment of faith is the easy part. The commitment is the first step on a journey into discipleship. That requires us to continually lay down our lives. And there is a cost! Jesus warns you not to begin until you have counted the cost. Are you willing to pay the price? What is the price? Everything. God wants everything: dreams, desires, money, future, family, etc…God wants everything. That is the cost of becoming a disciple and of going deeper into God.

A foundation in God is easy. You build a foundation through prayer, spending time with God, reading the Word–the best way to grow is to eat, so feed your spirit with God’s Word–, and going to church. You can’t grow alone, so you come to church and connect, but most people don’t even get to that! Some people don’t like church. Either way, a foundation is laid. But that is simply a foundation. The building is built only when you go deeper.

Matthew 16, Jesus said, “I will build my church!” He builds His church through us. Building the church means coming into the House of God and discovering how to live a better life. Jesus wants to know if you are willing to allow Him to plant a seed in your heart that, if you let Him tend it, will grow into a life-giving tree that will be used to build the church. The seed is faith, and faith goes into a soft heart. Our primary role is to soften people’s hearts by treating them like Jesus would treat them: with love. And then the seed of the Kingdom drops into their lives, and their journey begins.

That is why Jesus turns back and says, “Come on.” He has seen something in you before you were born. He wants to know if you are willing to let Him take you there. Are you willing to go beyond following? To go from selfish (where it’s all about you) to selfless (where the needs of others outweigh yours)? While you are living for yourself, you miss out. You get some of God, but you don’t get all of God. But when you come to the realization that this is not about you, you enter a whole new level. You move beyond followership into discipleship. You pick up your cross; you start to carry it; and life takes on a new perspective.

So, are you ready?