Disciple: Count The Cost
The True Cost of Following Christ: Moving from Belief to Discipleship
What does it truly mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? The ancient Greek word mathetes describes a learner, a student, a pupil—someone who not only believes doctrine but rests on Christ's sacrifice, absorbs His spirit, and imitates His example. While the beauty of following Jesus includes incredible gifts like joy, peace, love, freedom, forgiveness, and a transformed identity, there's an aspect of discipleship that often goes unaddressed in modern Christianity: the cost.
The Blessings Are Real
Following Christ brings undeniable blessings. Salvation secures our eternity. The Holy Spirit provides wisdom, discernment, and empowerment. We receive patience, belonging, and a pathway forward when life feels uncertain. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control—becomes evident in our lives. We are chosen, known, and given purpose beyond ourselves.
These are not empty promises but transformative realities that change everything about how we live.
The Radical Teaching at the Dinner Table
In Luke 14, Jesus finds Himself at a Pharisee's home, surrounded by prominent religious leaders watching His every move. After healing a man with dropsy and teaching about humility, Jesus shares a parable about a great banquet. A man prepares a feast and sends invitations, but the guests make excuses: one has bought a field to inspect, another has purchased oxen to try out, and yet another has just married.
The master, furious at their rejection, sends his servant into the streets to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. When there's still room, he sends the servant to the country lanes to compel anyone to come so the house will be full.
This parable illustrates God's invitation of salvation—an offer extended to all, regardless of status or background. But it also reveals a sobering truth: many will make excuses and miss the banquet entirely.
Counting the Cost
As the crowd following Jesus grows, He turns and delivers words that would have shocked His listeners: "If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even your own life."
This isn't a call to literal hatred but a radical prioritization. Jesus must come first—so decisively first that our love for Him makes all other loves pale in comparison. He knows the crowd is following Him for miracles, wise words, and perhaps even popularity. But true discipleship requires more than admiration from a distance.
"If you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple," Jesus declares. In Roman times, criminals carried their own crosses to the place of execution. Jesus uses this brutal image intentionally—following Him means dying to the old self, the old ways, the old patterns of self-rule.
Luke 14:28 warns: "Don't begin until you count the cost."
What Does It Cost?
Counting the cost means recognizing that discipleship may result in lost relationships. Some people won't understand your transformation. Family members might reject your newfound faith. Friends may drift away when you stop participating in destructive behaviors. The communities where you once found belonging may no longer feel like home.
But the cost goes deeper than external relationships. It requires internal transformation.
When you feel misunderstood, overlooked, or unfairly treated, your natural inclination is to defend yourself, assert your righteousness, or attack back. You might tell yourself you'll just endure it, restrain yourself, or prove them wrong eventually. These responses sound reasonable, but they produce stress, bitterness, and delayed outbursts.
Taking up your cross means choosing a different response: "Father, I give You my right to be understood. I give up my right to be right. Holy Spirit, live Your response through me."
This is surrender. This is yielding to God's way instead of insisting on your own.
The Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus Himself experienced this anguish. In the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing what awaited Him, He prayed with such intensity that He sweat blood—a rare medical condition that would have made His nerves extraordinarily sensitive, magnifying His suffering during the beatings and crucifixion.
"Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me," Jesus prayed. He didn't pretend the suffering wasn't real. But then He added the crucial words: "Yet not my will, but Yours be done."
This is the heart of discipleship—acknowledging the difficulty while choosing obedience anyway.
The Pain of Resistance
Much of the suffering we experience as believers comes not from obedience itself but from our resistance to it. We know what God has said, but we want to do it our way. We know His truth, but we think we have a better plan. This "but" creates deep inner conflict because the Holy Spirit within us is already counseling, teaching, and persuading us toward God's way.
When we resist, we suffer. When we surrender, we find rest.
Romans 5:3-5 reminds us that problems and trials develop endurance, which builds character, which strengthens our confident hope of salvation—a hope that will never disappoint because God has given us His Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
The Most Excellent Way
The Apostle Paul writes about spiritual gifts and encourages believers to desire them. But he points to something even greater: love. Without love, even the most impressive spiritual gifts are just noise—clanging cymbals signifying nothing.
First Corinthians 12:31 says, "Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way."
Love is the most excellent way. Not worldly love, but Christ's love—sacrificial, transformative, and unconditional.
Resurrection Life
Carrying the cross is not the goal; resurrection life is. The cross is merely the doorway. Just as Jesus' life didn't end at Calvary, our journey doesn't end with dying to self. Resurrection life means transformation, spiritual rebirth, and the promise of eternal life.
When you embrace this new life in Christ, the old life that once seemed so hard to surrender begins to pale in comparison. The freedom, joy, wisdom, and peace God offers far exceed anything you gave up.
Philippians 3:8-9 declares, "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him."
The Invitation
God isn't asking you to give up things to punish you or deprive you. He's inviting you into freedom from the very things that are destroying you—the patterns killing your relationships, your peace, and your purpose.
If you've received Jesus as Savior but never truly made Him Lord, today can be the day you move from salvation into discipleship. The transformation happens when you stop resisting and start surrendering, when you trade self-rule for Spirit-led living.
Count the cost, yes—but remember that Christ has already paid the ultimate price. He stood in your place, bore your sin, and offers you complete forgiveness and restoration.
The question isn't whether following Jesus is worth it. The question is: are you ready to truly follow?
To Watch Full Sermon "Disciple: Count The Cost" Click Here
The Blessings Are Real
Following Christ brings undeniable blessings. Salvation secures our eternity. The Holy Spirit provides wisdom, discernment, and empowerment. We receive patience, belonging, and a pathway forward when life feels uncertain. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control—becomes evident in our lives. We are chosen, known, and given purpose beyond ourselves.
These are not empty promises but transformative realities that change everything about how we live.
The Radical Teaching at the Dinner Table
In Luke 14, Jesus finds Himself at a Pharisee's home, surrounded by prominent religious leaders watching His every move. After healing a man with dropsy and teaching about humility, Jesus shares a parable about a great banquet. A man prepares a feast and sends invitations, but the guests make excuses: one has bought a field to inspect, another has purchased oxen to try out, and yet another has just married.
The master, furious at their rejection, sends his servant into the streets to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. When there's still room, he sends the servant to the country lanes to compel anyone to come so the house will be full.
This parable illustrates God's invitation of salvation—an offer extended to all, regardless of status or background. But it also reveals a sobering truth: many will make excuses and miss the banquet entirely.
Counting the Cost
As the crowd following Jesus grows, He turns and delivers words that would have shocked His listeners: "If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even your own life."
This isn't a call to literal hatred but a radical prioritization. Jesus must come first—so decisively first that our love for Him makes all other loves pale in comparison. He knows the crowd is following Him for miracles, wise words, and perhaps even popularity. But true discipleship requires more than admiration from a distance.
"If you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple," Jesus declares. In Roman times, criminals carried their own crosses to the place of execution. Jesus uses this brutal image intentionally—following Him means dying to the old self, the old ways, the old patterns of self-rule.
Luke 14:28 warns: "Don't begin until you count the cost."
What Does It Cost?
Counting the cost means recognizing that discipleship may result in lost relationships. Some people won't understand your transformation. Family members might reject your newfound faith. Friends may drift away when you stop participating in destructive behaviors. The communities where you once found belonging may no longer feel like home.
But the cost goes deeper than external relationships. It requires internal transformation.
When you feel misunderstood, overlooked, or unfairly treated, your natural inclination is to defend yourself, assert your righteousness, or attack back. You might tell yourself you'll just endure it, restrain yourself, or prove them wrong eventually. These responses sound reasonable, but they produce stress, bitterness, and delayed outbursts.
Taking up your cross means choosing a different response: "Father, I give You my right to be understood. I give up my right to be right. Holy Spirit, live Your response through me."
This is surrender. This is yielding to God's way instead of insisting on your own.
The Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus Himself experienced this anguish. In the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing what awaited Him, He prayed with such intensity that He sweat blood—a rare medical condition that would have made His nerves extraordinarily sensitive, magnifying His suffering during the beatings and crucifixion.
"Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me," Jesus prayed. He didn't pretend the suffering wasn't real. But then He added the crucial words: "Yet not my will, but Yours be done."
This is the heart of discipleship—acknowledging the difficulty while choosing obedience anyway.
The Pain of Resistance
Much of the suffering we experience as believers comes not from obedience itself but from our resistance to it. We know what God has said, but we want to do it our way. We know His truth, but we think we have a better plan. This "but" creates deep inner conflict because the Holy Spirit within us is already counseling, teaching, and persuading us toward God's way.
When we resist, we suffer. When we surrender, we find rest.
Romans 5:3-5 reminds us that problems and trials develop endurance, which builds character, which strengthens our confident hope of salvation—a hope that will never disappoint because God has given us His Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.
The Most Excellent Way
The Apostle Paul writes about spiritual gifts and encourages believers to desire them. But he points to something even greater: love. Without love, even the most impressive spiritual gifts are just noise—clanging cymbals signifying nothing.
First Corinthians 12:31 says, "Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way."
Love is the most excellent way. Not worldly love, but Christ's love—sacrificial, transformative, and unconditional.
Resurrection Life
Carrying the cross is not the goal; resurrection life is. The cross is merely the doorway. Just as Jesus' life didn't end at Calvary, our journey doesn't end with dying to self. Resurrection life means transformation, spiritual rebirth, and the promise of eternal life.
When you embrace this new life in Christ, the old life that once seemed so hard to surrender begins to pale in comparison. The freedom, joy, wisdom, and peace God offers far exceed anything you gave up.
Philippians 3:8-9 declares, "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him."
The Invitation
God isn't asking you to give up things to punish you or deprive you. He's inviting you into freedom from the very things that are destroying you—the patterns killing your relationships, your peace, and your purpose.
If you've received Jesus as Savior but never truly made Him Lord, today can be the day you move from salvation into discipleship. The transformation happens when you stop resisting and start surrendering, when you trade self-rule for Spirit-led living.
Count the cost, yes—but remember that Christ has already paid the ultimate price. He stood in your place, bore your sin, and offers you complete forgiveness and restoration.
The question isn't whether following Jesus is worth it. The question is: are you ready to truly follow?
To Watch Full Sermon "Disciple: Count The Cost" Click Here
Posted in Discipleship
Posted in Discipleship, Follow christ, Belief, radical, resistance, resurrection life, Following Jesus
Posted in Discipleship, Follow christ, Belief, radical, resistance, resurrection life, Following Jesus
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