It Will Cost You Everything

You need to weigh in on the cost factor and count the costs of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

It will cost you popularity. It will cost you promotion. Perhaps at times it will cost you an easy life. You will have to discipline yourself. You will have to buffed your body. You will have to say "NO" to temptation. You will have to say "NO" to this world. You will have to break with a crowd. You will have to be willing to stand alone for Christ. You will have to be willing to walk to the beat of a different drummer and to step out of the crowd, even if no one follows after Jesus Christ. You would be willing to stand if you were the only person in the world for Jesus Christ. That's the cost factor. 

You will have to be willing to suffer persecution for Christ and let me tell you, it will come. It might even cost you your life.

He is not coming to play games. He is not coming to bedazzle. 

He is coming to dominate. He is coming to slaughter. 

He is the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords and at the end of this age, He will bolt out of Heaven on a white steed and His garments are dripped in blood; the blood of His own enemies and He is coming back to conquer and to damn. 

You need to make terms of peace with this coming King or you will be subjected in damnation forever and Jesus Christ has made terms of peace. 

You need to settle out of court with Him. You do not want to go into that final day of conflict with Christ. 

For He will be ruthless in the execution of His justice, but He offers you mercy today. For He will agree to terms of surrender. He will agree to terms of peace, but they are His terms of peace, not ours and His terms of peace are very simply this: You must hate your own father and mother and brother and sister and even your own life more than Me or you cannot be My disciple. And you must take up a cross and follow Me or you cannot be My disciple. And if you do not, you will meet Me in the final judgement and it will glorify God in your destruction.

He is pressing you for a decision. He will not be put off. You cannot hit the mute button any longer in your heart. You must answer Him. 

Verse 33, "so then", conclusion, "none of you can be My disciple"

"So then, non of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." -Luke 14:33

He is saying none of you can be a true Christian. None of you can be in My Kingdom. None of you can be in right relationship with Me or the Father. None of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

What is our Lord saying? He is not backing off. 

He is increasing the commitment that He is calling for with every line of this section. Well, He is not saying that you have to buy your way into the Kingdom of Heaven for none of us have enough gold and none of us have enough silver to ever remove the stain of sin that has defiled our inner soul. 

What is He saying? Who does give up ALL of his possessions. 

Well, this must be taken in context with other texts of Scripture and let me just cut to the bottom line of the bottom line. You must transfer the ownership of all that you are and all that you have to all that He is. That's what He is saying. 

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." And He is calling out to you today "Come unto Me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will take you in and receive you unto Myself, take My yoke upon you and learn of Me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls. For My burden is easy and My yoke is light." 

It is. 

You will have the weight of sin lifted off of you and you will now have the yoke of Christ upon you and He gets into that yoke with you and He pulls with you, but it will require the total commitment of your life to Him. 

Oh, how we ought to search our hearts here today. Have I come to this place of total commitment in my life? Have I yielded my life to the sovereign lordship of Him who dies upon the cross for me? I want you to know that the gates of Paradise have been swung open to you. The narrow gate is open and if you will take a step of faith and come through this narrow gate, and commit your life to Him - despite the strength of His words. He also says, "him who comes unto Me I will in no wise cast out."

He is calling to you today to come, to come to Him; to take a step of faith and to come to Him, but if you come to Him, don't play games. You must surrender to Christ. 

Excerpt taken from "It Will Cost You Everything" 

Sermon by Steven Lawson

Source: Sermon Jam Transcripts

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