January 8, 2025 • 39 mins
Have you ever come to Jesus on his terms? It seems that many professing Christians are ok with following Jesus so long as he can be thrown in the mix with other priorities rather than being the priority. In this message from Luke 14:26–35 by David Platt, we are urged to consider what it means to give Christ our supreme love and loyalty, and our very lives. Ultimately, following Christ shouldn’t be motivated by guilt or a desire to earn God’s favor—which we can’t do—but rather from a sincere and superior love for the One who gave his life for sinners like us.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a
weekly podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
If you have a Bible and I hopeyou do then I invite you to open
with me to Luke, chapter 14.
It is good to have you backafter last week.
(00:28):
I want to start by saying acouple of things based on last
week.
One of the questions I've heardis what is David thinking or
(00:51):
what is David going to say?
And I want to remind you fromthe beginning of our time
together this morning that itreally doesn't matter what David
is thinking or what David isgoing to say.
My responsibility before you ona week-by-week basis is not to
expose what I'm thinking andwhat I want to say.
(01:12):
My responsibility is to exposebefore you what God is thinking
and what God is saying to us,and to the extent to which I do
that clearly and accurately,then we've got something to
listen to.
If, at any point, I divert offof this word, then I have no
authority to stand in front ofyou.
(01:33):
So the picture is not aboutwhat David is saying or what
David has to say.
The question is what is Godthinking?
What is God saying to us, andno matter what he says, if he's
saying it we obey because we'rehis people.
I've also heard some folksespecially in light of the
(01:55):
passages we looked at last weekhate your father and mother and
your brother and sister and wifeand your children and go sell
all you have and give it to thepoor.
And people are asking questionslike really, I'm really
supposed to sell everything Ihave and give it to the poor?
(02:15):
And that's a good question toask.
It's a question we need to ask.
It's a question that obviouslyScripture warrants that we ask.
So we need to wrestle withthese questions.
But here's where I want to bereally careful.
As your pastor, I want toshepherd you, walk with you
(02:37):
through those sorts of questions.
But I want to be very carefulin the way I walk with you
through those sorts of questionsfor a couple of different
reasons.
Number one, because I'm askingthe questions myself, heather
and I and our family diving intothe implications of what this
Word says about the lost andwhat this Word says about the
poor, for our lives, wrestlingwith that, and I will not in any
(03:00):
way claim to have those answersfor my family and much less
anyone else's family.
So I'm on a journey that isparallel with you.
At the same time, I knowHebrews 13, 7,.
I know that God has put leadersin his church to show us what
the word looks like in action.
And so I want I want to showyou in my life and in my
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family's life what this wordlooks like in action.
At the same time, I'm notperfect in that, so I invite you
to pray for me as I pray foryou.
And that leads us to really themain picture.
When we ask questions like well,what does this look like in our
lives?
Am I supposed to selleverything I have?
Am I supposed to do this orthat?
And what I want to avoid doingis getting too specific in
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answers.
That I might help you with, andhere's why I want to avoid
getting too specific.
We have created a system ofChristianity that consists in a
bunch of boxes to check off, ina bunch of boxes to check off.
The danger is we hear the Wordand tell me what to do, what am
(04:10):
I supposed to do?
And we crave boxes that if Icould just check these things
off and I'd be okay, and it'snot the point.
It misses the point altogether.
It's a Christianity thatconsists of external regulations
, that bypasses the heart.
I believe the point is for Godto take this Word, to show us
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what His Word says and then todrive us to the Spirit of God,
to drive you and me to hours andI mean hours, hours wrestling
before God in prayer about howthis Word applies to our lives,
hours wrestling before God inprayer about how this Word
applies to our lives.
If all we do is talk with eachother about these things and
come up with checkoff boxes that, hey, this is how it looks,
(04:51):
then we will miss God's designfor us.
In His Word, he desires tobring us alone with Him, with
His Word, with His Spirit, andto transform our hearts and to
change our hearts, to radicallychange us in a way that will
have external ramifications, yes, but that is rooted in internal
change.
We will do everything we can inour Christian culture today to
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bypass spending the timenecessary before God to
experience internal change, andI don't want to rob anyone in
this room of that.
And so I want to challenge you,not just to hear the Word, not
just to hear the Word and talkto each other.
Not just to hear the Word, talkto each other and look for the
practicals.
I want to challenge you to takethis Word and dive into the
prayer closet and be with God,belong with God and ask God,
(05:38):
wrestle with God over how thisWord applies to your life.
Toward that end, let me prayfor us, father.
We are about to read toughwords, difficult words, hard
words from Jesus, words that areextremely foreign to our ears
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and even our understanding ofChristianity.
And so we pray, god, that youwould expose lies and falsehoods
in the way we have approachedChristianity, that you would
bring truth to bear on our livesand on your church, and we pray
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the result would be radicaltransformation of our lives for
the glory of your name here inBirmingham and in all nations.
We need your spirit to do thiswork in us.
I need your spirit to evenbegin to proclaim it.
All of us need your Spirit tobegin to hear it, and we
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certainly all need your Spiritto obey it, and so I pray that
you would pour out your Spiriton us as we study, as we live,
and that you would transform usinto the image of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
One primary question I want toask you this morning Are you
(07:17):
willing to come to Jesus on histerms?
Are you willing to come toJesus on his terms?
I ask this question that waybecause the brand of
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Christianity we have adoptedoperates on coming to Jesus on
our own terms.
You look at how we describeChristianity, how we encourage
people to come to Christ, andyou will find terms that are
foreign to the New Testament.
We've talked about some ofthese things.
You follow the Roman road toJesus.
You believe these fourspiritual laws?
You answer these questionsright?
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You pray this prayer?
You sign this card?
You raise your hand and declareyour love for Jesus?
Jesus told his followers to donone of these things.
None of them.
I want you to hear what Jesussaid Luke 14, verse 26.
It's what he said to the crowdswho were traveling with him.
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This is what Jesus says fromhis terms.
If anyone comes to me and doesnot hate his father and mother,
his wife and children, hisbrothers and sisters, yes, even
his own life, he cannot be mydisciple, and anyone who does
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not carry his cross and followme cannot be my disciple.
Suppose one of you wants tobuild a tower, will he not first
sit down and estimate the cost,to see if he has enough money
to complete it.
For if he lays the foundationand is not able to finish it,
everyone who sees it willridicule him, saying this fellow
began to build and was not ableto finish.
Or suppose a king is about togo to war against another king?
Will he not first sit down andconsider whether he is able,
(09:12):
with 10,000 men, to oppose theone coming against him with
20,000?
If he is not able, he will senda delegation while the other is
still a long way off, and willask for terms of peace.
In the same way, any of you whodoes not give up everything he
has cannot be my disciple.
(09:34):
Salt is good, but if it losesits saltiness, how can it be
made salty again?
It is fit neither for the soilnor for the manure pile.
It is thrown out.
He who has ears to hear, lethim hear.
Ha, can you imagine standing inthat crowd?
(09:56):
Who does this guy think he is?
I mean, really put yourself intheir shoes.
So I'm supposed to hate my momand dad and brother and sister
and my wife and my children?
(10:16):
I'm supposed to pick up aninstrument of torture and give
up everything.
I have to follow you.
For most of us, jesus lost us athello in this passage.
It's almost scary for me tothink of how I would have
responded in the first centuryto these words, and some might
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think that such words are toohard for us to look into.
Today, some might say we don'tneed to look at passages like
this.
Are we really ready to hearwords like these?
Are we mature enough to hearwords like these?
And this is just it.
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This is how Jesus introducedpeople to himself.
This wasn't Jesus speaking to amature crowd that was needing to
go deeper.
This was Jesus speaking topeople who were initially
interested in following him, andthis was his initial invitation
to them Hate your father andmother, pick up a cross and give
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up everything you've got.
This is what he said.
It is a stinging indictment onour brand of Christianity today
to think that these words wouldsound so radical to us because
they seem so foreign to us.
This was how Jesus said.
This is the elementary basictruth Jesus said of what it
means to follow him.
They're so foreign today.
What does that say to us, nomatter how far we've strayed
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from what it means to be adisciple of Jesus Christ?
We would even ask the questiontoday well, can you be a
believer and not a disciple?
As if there are levels ofChristianity one, a thin level,
where it really doesn't cost youthat much and those who are
really interested can go deeperinto a higher, deeper, greater
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level of Christianity.
The New Testament knows nothingof this, not saying that all of
us are in the same place in ourspiritual maturity, or that when
we initially come to Christ weknow everything that we know 20
years later.
But the picture is clear.
Jesus says three times if youdon't do these things, you can't
even be my disciple.
These are requirements, basicrequirements for discipleship
(12:34):
here.
And I wonder, as we look at apassage where Jesus is speaking
to a crowd that has beenflirting with him on their terms
, I can't help but think that Istand before a crowd of people
today in our culture who hasbeen flirting with Jesus on our
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terms, and for some, maybe many,if not most, of us need to ask
the question have we ever reallycome to Jesus on his terms?
That's an important question toask.
Have you ever come to Jesus onhis terms?
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This is an evangelistic text.
This is Jesus inviting peopleto follow him for the first time
, really, so I want us to lookat the terms and you see three
different times Jesus uses thisphrase.
If anyone does not do this, hecannot be my disciple.
If anyone does not do this, hecannot be my disciple.
These are requirements, so tospeak, sacrifice of Christian,
(13:45):
and I want to invite you to hearthe terms of Jesus this morning
and to consider have you everresponded to Jesus on these
terms?
Even if you've been in churchfor 70 years, have you ever
responded to Jesus on theseterms?
Term number one Jesus requiressuperior love.
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Jesus requires superior love.
Chapter 14, verse 26, is thefirst.
If, then, he cannot be mydisciple.
If anyone comes to me and doesnot hate his father and mother,
his wife and children, hisbrothers and sisters, yes, even
his own life, he cannot be mydisciple.
Talk about strong.
That's an attention grabber.
What does that mean?
What is Jesus saying when hesays hate your father, mother,
(14:27):
brother, sister, wife andchildren?
So when we read this passagelast week, some of you were
grabber.
What does that mean?
What is Jesus saying when hesays hate your father, mother,
brother, sister, wife andchildren?
When we read this passage lastweek, some of you were thinking
I don't get it.
I thought we were supposed tolove people, and we've talked
about honoring your father andmother.
How do you hate them and honorthem at the same time?
That's a good question, isn'tit?
(14:47):
Am I really supposed to hate mywife and my kids?
Question, isn't it?
Am I really supposed to hate mywife and my kids?
What does this mean?
Jesus is saying something here.
Now I want to be very careful,not only here, but in every
passage we study in this series,because there is a dangerous
temptation for us to try tosoften Jesus' words, and what it
turns out is we try to softenJesus' words to justify the way
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we live turns out is we try tosoften Jesus' words to justify
the way we live.
This is a very dangerous way toapproach Christianity.
Oh, he didn't really mean that.
He meant this over here.
We've got to take honest looksat Scripture to see exactly what
Jesus meant to his originalheroes.
So let's hold our place here.
Go back to the left with me, toMatthew, chapter 22.
I want to show you two passagesin Matthew that shed light on
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what Jesus is saying here inLuke, chapter 14.
Superior love Matthew, chapter22, is a conversation between
Jesus and an expert teacher inthe law.
It's a passage that some of youmany of you maybe are familiar
with Matthew 22, verse 36.
A teacher in the law asks Jesusthis question Teacher, which is
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the greatest commandment in thelaw?
Okay, greatest, primary, firstforemost commandment in the law.
Jesus replied love the Lord,your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, with allyour mind.
This is the first and greatestcommandment.
The second is, like it, loveyour neighbor as yourself.
(16:20):
All the law and the prophetshang on these two commandments.
First, primary commandment inour lives is to love God with
some of our hearts.
No, all your heart, all yoursoul, all your mind, all your
strength.
This debunks the idea thatthere are priorities in our
affections God's first, and thenfamily second and this person
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third or fourth.
No, god is everything, allPrimary, supreme, superior.
Love Everything.
All your affections belong toGod, and the testimony of
Scripture flows right from here.
Seconds like it, love yourneighbor as yourself.
We know this in all the NewTestament.
When love for God is supreme inyour life, the result is love
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for who, love for each other.
They go together.
Love for each other springsfrom love for who, for God,
loving Him is supreme, it'ssuperior love.
Now keep turning back to theleft and you'll come to Matthew,
chapter 10.
Matthew, chapter 10.
Clearly, clearly, there is alove that supersedes all other
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loves Loving God, loving Christ,supersedes all other loves.
Loving God, loving Christ.
Then you get to Matthew,chapter 10, and you see a
passage that's very familiar,very similar to what we're
looking at in Luke, chapter 14.
Listen to what Jesus says there, verse 37.
See if this doesn't soundfamiliar.
Anyone who loves his father ormother more than me is not
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worthy of me.
Anyone who loves his son ordaughter more than me is not
worthy of me, and anyone whodoes not take his cross and
follow me is not worthy of me.
See the picture there, here, inMatthew, chapter 10,.
What you've got is a strongcomparison here.
Your love for me is far greaterthan your love for mother or
(18:20):
father, son or daughter.
We bring that context into Luke, chapter 14, and we see Jesus
use this word hate, obviously astrong word, even an offensive
word, and we don't need to tryto soften this picture.
Believe what Jesus iscommunicating is clear.
(18:40):
Love for him is so supreme, isintended to be so supreme among
his disciples, that every otherlove in this world is so far
less that it looks like hatecompared to this kind of love
You've got in your notes there.
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In comparison to Christ, incomparison to love for Christ,
we hate the people we love.
Get the wording there.
It's not that we don't lovethem, the reality is the whole
thing comes full circle.
You've got next in your notes.
This changes our perspectivebecause don't miss it when love
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for God is supreme and love forGod captivates our hearts, then
what kind of love are we showingto mother and father?
The love of who?
Of God, of Christ in us?
Same picture Marriage, wife,children.
How, men, how do you play outEphesians, chapter 5, verse 25?
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Love your wives just as Christloved the church and gave
himself up for her.
How do you do that if love forChrist is not supreme in your
lives?
You can't, it's impossible.
It's not that these aremutually exclusive.
They flow, one flows from theother, but it starts with a
reservoir of love for thesupremacy of Christ and God, our
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hearts conquered by, captivatedby a superior affection in God.
We know so little of this kindof love.
You hear the way we talk.
Supposed Christians talk.
We say I know I need to be inchurch.
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I know I need to take my kidsto church.
I know I need to pray.
I know I need to study theBible, church.
I know I need to pray, I know Ineed to study the Bible.
This is not Christianity,ladies and gentlemen.
It's not Christianity at all.
Christianity does not consist ofbegrudging obedience to Christ.
We know this on a human level.
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If I come home from work and Igreet Heather at the door, and
when I get there I give her abig kiss on the lips, she steps
back and she says what's thatfor?
Not that I don't normally dothat, but let's just assume.
She steps back and says thatI'll tell you what.
My response does not need to beat that point.
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Well, it says here on page 54of the marriage manual that this
is what I should do when I comehome.
At this point she is taking themarriage manual and stuffing it
down my throat.
That's what's happening.
That's no way to love.
Where did we get the idea thatChristianity is begrudging
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obedience?
That Christianity and this isthe way we think about it?
Well, we let go of all thethings in this world we love and
we do the things that we reallydon't want to do we need to do
them to save our own skin?
Not Christianity, not biblicalChristianity.
Biblical Christianity sees thesupremacy of Christ and is so
infatuated by Him, so drawntoward Him, that our love for
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him drives everything we do.
It's a superior love thatchanges our perspective on
everything in this world.
And so the question before youin light of this verse verse 26
in Luke, chapter 14, is do youlove Christ?
Do you want Christ?
Do you love him with all yourheart, your soul and your mind?
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I'm not asking you to go tochurch.
I'm not asking you if you readyour Bible or if you pray, or if
you teach, or you do this orthat or you're raising your kids
.
Good Rubbish, get through therubbish.
Do you want Christ?
Do you love Christ?
Love Christ, see the reason whyyou live, one for whom your
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heart beats and your affectionsare driven.
This is the picture Superiorlove.
It makes any other love looklike hate.
I want to be careful here, but Iam convinced that in our
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culture today, we idolize ourchildren and our marriages and
sex and relationships, parents,families and friends, to the
point where Jesus Christ getsthe leftovers from our
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affections, and it's unchristian.
You can't even be a disciple ofJesus.
If that's the case, you forsakeall relationships in favor of
an intimate relationship withhim.
This is what it means to be adisciple of Jesus Christ.
You want to know how this lookspractically?
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I would point you to JohnBunyan.
John Bunyan lived in a time whenit was not easy to be a
follower of Christ, especiallynot easier to be a preacher of
the gospel of Christ.
And he preached, and he wastold that if you don't stop
preaching, bunyan, then you willbe imprisoned.
He and his family were not welloff as it was.
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His wife and his children, oneof whom was blind, barely had
enough to eat and live on.
Well, he was free.
He knew that if he wasimprisoned it would bring great
harm upon his family.
So what does he do?
What do you do?
What do you do when faced withthat decision?
(24:29):
Do you keep preaching?
John Bunyan said absolutely,you keep preaching.
And he was imprisoned and hewrote from his jail cell.
The parting with my wife andpoor children has often been to
me in this place as the pullingof flesh from my bones, and that
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not only because I am fond ofthese great mercies talking
about his family's children, butalso because I have often
brought to my mind the manyhardships, miseries and wants
that my poor family is likely tobe meeting with, especially my
poor blind child, who lay nearerto my heart than all I have
besides.
Oh, the thought of the hardshipI have thought my blind one
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might go under would break myheart to pieces.
But yet Bunyan said.
Yet from a prison cell hewrites I must venture all with
God.
Oh, I have seen in thiscondition I am like a man
pulling down his house upon thehead of his wife and children.
Yet, thought I, I must do it.
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I must do it.
Jesus requires superior love.
Does he have it from you?
If not, cannot be his disciple,jesus says.
Second term Jesus outlinesverse 27,.
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Anyone who does not carry hiscross and follow me cannot be my
disciple.
Second term Jesus requiressuperior love and exclusive
loyalty.
Exclusive loyalty Carry hiscross.
This term, this phrase, may beone of the most misunderstood
and misapplied phrases or termsin the New Testament.
(26:25):
People talk today about carryingcrosses and oftentimes they'll
be sharing just kind of theirfaith journey and people will
say, well, I'm going throughthis illness or this disease or
this struggle, I'm in this badrelationship or in this bad
marriage, or in these badcircumstances, and this is just
the cross I bear.
It's not what Jesus is talkingabout here, and this is.
It's not what Jesus is talkingabout here, and this is the
(26:47):
whole point of what Jesus istalking about here.
It's not what the hearers inthe first century heard when
Jesus said this, and it's notwhat we need to hear today.
We need to put ourselves intheir shoes and realize that
Jesus just said anyone who doesnot carry his cross Now a cross.
The only time you would carry across is if you were a convicted
criminal punished to die.
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A cross beam was hoisted ontoyour back to carry through the
town in public humiliation onthe way to your death.
This is repugnant to Jesus'ears.
We've got to feel the weight ofthis.
We wear crosses everywhere.
We see crosses everywhere.
This is repugnant to Jesus'ears.
We've got to feel the weight ofthis.
We wear crosses everywhere.
We see crosses everywhere.
This is the equivalent of tryto bring it into present day.
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This is the equivalent of mysaying to you if you do not pick
up your electric chair, youcannot follow Jesus.
Doesn't that sound repugnant,brash?
Even that, though, would beinsufficient, because the cross
involves so much more crueltyand torture than even an
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electric chair would.
The reality is, if you'recarrying a cross, you're like a
dead man walking.
You have no more dreams, nomore plans for your life, no
more ideas for what you're goingto do in your life.
Everything is over for you.
You have no more pride, no morehonor, nothing.
(28:17):
You're walking through publichumiliation on the way to a
place where that cross you willbe hoisted onto and you will die
there.
You are a dead man walking andthis is the picture that Jesus
gives to describe what it meansto follow him.
Any takers, this is strong.
What Jesus is saying is thatthrough the cross of Christ, we
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die to the life we live.
We die to the life we live.
We die to the life we live.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you area Christian according to
Scripture, not according tocontemporary definitions of
Christian watered down If you'rea Christian according to
Scripture, you are dead.
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You're dead.
You're dead to yourself.
You're dead to your dreams,you're dead to your hopes.
You're dead to your plans, toyour ideas for what is going to
happen in your life.
You're dead.
You've died to all of thosethings.
That's why, right before this,at the end of verse 26, he said
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hate not only these people, yes,hate even his own life.
He cannot be my disciple.
You do not live based on whatyou desire, what you dream, what
you plan, what you hope for,what you want.
Those things are gone.
They're gone.
You're dead to them.
Dead to them, and this isGalatians 2.20.
I've been crucified with Christ,nevertheless I live.
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You say David, we're not dead,we're breathing in here.
So how do we live?
We live in Christ.
I'm crucified with Christ,nevertheless I live.
Yet, not I, but Christ lives inme.
This is the picture we're deadto ourself and we're alive to
Christ.
We are dead to self-esteemthinking.
We are dead to self-saturateddesiring.
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We are dead to self-centeredplanning for our lives.
We are dead to self-comfortinglife, dead to it all.
We are alive to Christ-esteemthinking and Christ-honoring and
Christ honoring and Christdesiring, planning and
Christ-centered living.
Dead to ourselves and alive toChrist, and our entire identity
(30:34):
is wrapped up in who he is.
We are dead to all of thesethings and alive to him.
Now.
This changes not just ourperspective.
This changes our priorities,because now the life of Christ
(30:55):
determines everything about us.
You do not determine where youlive.
Christ determines where youlive.
You don't determine what kindof house you have.
That is Christ's call.
You do not determine the kindof car you drive.
That is Christ's decision.
You do not determine theclothes you wear.
(31:17):
You do not determine the thingsyou buy.
You do not determine the plansyou make.
You do not determine anything.
Christ now determineseverything.
You've died to the life youmake.
You do not determine anything.
Christ now determineseverything.
You've died to the life youlive.
You don't determine anythingabout your life anymore.
(31:40):
Christ determines it all.
This is a huge claim toauthority over your life, my
life.
And he uses two illustrations,starting in verse 28 down to
verse 30.
Illustration number one and 31and 32.
Illustration number two he saysfirst he says we are workers
constructing a building.
Don't miss this.
Jesus says estimate the cost.
A builder will estimate thecost to see if he has enough
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money to complete it.
Jesus is warning here againstmaking hasty emotional decisions
to follow him.
He said you better realize thecost.
This is so radically different.
We talked about this a littlebit last week.
You take an evangelist todaywho has a sinner Somebody's just
lost.
Evangelist says do you knowyou're a sinner?
(32:24):
Do you believe that Jesus diedon the cross?
You answer yes to thosequestions.
Well then, welcome to thekingdom.
Only problem is, the devil cananswer yes to both of those
questions and Jesus, meanwhile,is pleading.
Count the cost, count the cost.
Count the cost.
Before you do anything, countthe cost.
There's a cost here that needsto be considered before you take
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one step forward.
So what does it cost you?
Does it cost you everything?
John Stott, one of my favoriteauthors, preachers, wrote.
He said the Christian landscapeis strewn with the wreckage of
derelict, half-built towers, theruins of those who began to
build and were unable to finish.
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For thousands of people stillignore Christ's warning and
undertake to follow Him withoutfirst pausing to reflect on the
cost of doing so.
The result is the great scandalof Christendom, today so-called
nominal Christianity.
In countries to which Christiancivilization has spread, large
numbers of people have coveredthemselves with a decent but
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thin veneer of Christianity.
They have allowed themselves tobecome somewhat involved,
enough to be respectable, butnot enough to be uncomfortable.
Their religion is a great softcushion.
It protects them from the hard,unpleasantness of life while
changing its place and shape tosuit their convenience.
No wonder the cynics speak ofhypocrites in the church and
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dismiss religion as escapism.
This is contemporaryChristianity, isn't it?
Half-built towers I didn'trealize them in everything.
Consider the cost.
Jesus says we're workersconstructing a building.
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And then he uses a secondillustration we are warriors
fighting a battle.
Talks about going to war as aking.
There's this picture that wesee all throughout the New
Testament fighting a good fight,spiritual battle going on.
Now I want to be careful here.
I want to be very careful.
This is not, nor is anywhere inthe New Testament, talking about
a holy war, like we often hearon the news associated with
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radical Islam.
This is not in any way talkingabout a war on terror.
This is not a war that isfought with guns and bombs.
It's a war that's fought withthe gospel, with prayer, with
sacrificial love.
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The New Testament is clear thatthere is a spiritual battle
that encompasses the Christianlife.
There's a spiritual battle forholiness in our lives and
there's a spiritual battlewaging for the souls of men,
women and children all acrossthis planet, who will go to
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either an eternal heaven or aneternal hell.
The stakes are much higher inthis war than any earthly war
has ever had.
Jesus says you consider, beforeyou go into battle, what's at
stake and what's involved.
You know, I was looking overthis imagery as I was studying
(35:42):
this passage this week and Icouldn't help but to think Our
version of Christianity todayreally doesn't look at the
Christian life as a wartimefaith.
We have more of a peacetimefaith, don't we?
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There's a stark differencebetween the two.
In wartime, I'm always askingthe question how can I sacrifice
to advance the cause?
How can I spend every resourceI have?
How can I best contribute toaccomplishing the mission?
We're making sacrifices.
We're not indulging inpleasantries.
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We're trying to figure out howbest to accomplish the mission.
Sacrifice're making sacrifices.
We're not indulging inpleasantries.
We're trying to figure out howbest to accomplish the mission.
Sacrifice everything towardthat.
Peacetime pleasantries is thename of the game.
We ask questions like how canwe be more comfortable and how
can we have more fun and how canwe try new pleasures that we
never have experienced before?
There's a wartime and apeacetime way to approach life
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and Christianity.
See the difference between thetwo.
And this ship?
It's now docked in the harborof Long Beach, california,
called the Queen Mary.
It was built earlier in the20th century as a luxury liner
with a whole array ofindulgences designed to entice
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wealthy patrons Could fit up to3,000 wealthy patrons on it at
one time Larger, more massivethan even the Titanic.
What's interesting is, though,for six years, during World War
II, when the country was in astate of national emergency,
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they took this same ship andthey called upon the ship to
help with transporting troops,and all of a sudden, the ship
was transformed from a luxuryliner into a source of transport
for troops.
Whereas 3,000 people could geton it before, now, it could
transport 15,000 soldiers.
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At one time.
The whole ship was completelyturned upside down to
accommodate for accomplishing amission, instead of
accommodating pleasures forwealthy patrons.
You go today to this ship it'snow a museum, basically to its
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history and what you can see isin some places they have it
designed for troop transport andthey see eight bunks high where
people would sleep.
Everything, every detail, wasused to accomplish mission.
And then you can look inanother room and you can see it
designed as a luxury liner forpeople to enjoy the pleasures of
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the ship.
I would ask you which imagebetter describes Christianity in
our context today, in our lives, in our families, in and our
homes and in this church and Iwould put before us.
Let's consider the cost.
Ladies and gentlemen, whatwould happen if we looked square
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in the face of 4.5 billion pluspeople on this planet who are
headed to a crisis eternity?
And we looked square in theface of 30,000 children today
who are dying from either hungeror preventable diseases and we
said we're not going to use thisship anymore.
Our lives, our families, thischurch.
We're not going to use it toindulge our pleasures and sit by
the pool and ask for more horsd'oeuvres to be delivered to us.
(39:18):
Instead, we're going totransform everything to say how
can we give our lives for thesake of accomplishing this
mission?
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's episode of Radical with
David Platt.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a
weekly podcast with sermons andmessages from pastor, author and
teacher David Platt.
If you have a Bible and I hopeyou do then I invite you to open
with me to Luke, chapter 14.
It is good to have you backafter last week.
(00:28):
I want to start by saying acouple of things based on last
week.
One of the questions I've heardis what is David thinking or
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what is David going to say?
And I want to remind you fromthe beginning of our time
together this morning that itreally doesn't matter what David
is thinking or what David isgoing to say.
My responsibility before you ona week-by-week basis is not to
expose what I'm thinking andwhat I want to say.
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My responsibility is to exposebefore you what God is thinking
and what God is saying to us,and to the extent to which I do
that clearly and accurately,then we've got something to
listen to.
If, at any point, I divert offof this word, then I have no
authority to stand in front ofyou.
(01:33):
So the picture is not aboutwhat David is saying or what
David has to say.
The question is what is Godthinking?
What is God saying to us, andno matter what he says, if he's
saying it we obey because we'rehis people.
I've also heard some folksespecially in light of the
(01:55):
passages we looked at last weekhate your father and mother and
your brother and sister and wifeand your children and go sell
all you have and give it to thepoor.
And people are asking questionslike really, I'm really
supposed to sell everything Ihave and give it to the poor?
(02:15):
And that's a good question toask.
It's a question we need to ask.
It's a question that obviouslyScripture warrants that we ask.
So we need to wrestle withthese questions.
But here's where I want to bereally careful.
As your pastor, I want toshepherd you, walk with you
(02:37):
through those sorts of questions.
But I want to be very carefulin the way I walk with you
through those sorts of questionsfor a couple of different
reasons.
Number one, because I'm askingthe questions myself, heather
and I and our family diving intothe implications of what this
Word says about the lost andwhat this Word says about the
poor, for our lives, wrestlingwith that, and I will not in any
(03:00):
way claim to have those answersfor my family and much less
anyone else's family.
So I'm on a journey that isparallel with you.
At the same time, I knowHebrews 13, 7,.
I know that God has put leadersin his church to show us what
the word looks like in action.
And so I want I want to showyou in my life and in my
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family's life what this wordlooks like in action.
At the same time, I'm notperfect in that, so I invite you
to pray for me as I pray foryou.
And that leads us to really themain picture.
When we ask questions like well,what does this look like in our
lives?
Am I supposed to selleverything I have?
Am I supposed to do this orthat?
And what I want to avoid doingis getting too specific in
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answers.
That I might help you with, andhere's why I want to avoid
getting too specific.
We have created a system ofChristianity that consists in a
bunch of boxes to check off, ina bunch of boxes to check off.
The danger is we hear the Wordand tell me what to do, what am
(04:10):
I supposed to do?
And we crave boxes that if Icould just check these things
off and I'd be okay, and it'snot the point.
It misses the point altogether.
It's a Christianity thatconsists of external regulations
, that bypasses the heart.
I believe the point is for Godto take this Word, to show us
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what His Word says and then todrive us to the Spirit of God,
to drive you and me to hours andI mean hours, hours wrestling
before God in prayer about howthis Word applies to our lives,
hours wrestling before God inprayer about how this Word
applies to our lives.
If all we do is talk with eachother about these things and
come up with checkoff boxes that, hey, this is how it looks,
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then we will miss God's designfor us.
In His Word, he desires tobring us alone with Him, with
His Word, with His Spirit, andto transform our hearts and to
change our hearts, to radicallychange us in a way that will
have external ramifications, yes, but that is rooted in internal
change.
We will do everything we can inour Christian culture today to
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bypass spending the timenecessary before God to
experience internal change, andI don't want to rob anyone in
this room of that.
And so I want to challenge you,not just to hear the Word, not
just to hear the Word and talkto each other.
Not just to hear the Word, talkto each other and look for the
practicals.
I want to challenge you to takethis Word and dive into the
prayer closet and be with God,belong with God and ask God,
(05:38):
wrestle with God over how thisWord applies to your life.
Toward that end, let me prayfor us, father.
We are about to read toughwords, difficult words, hard
words from Jesus, words that areextremely foreign to our ears
(06:04):
and even our understanding ofChristianity.
And so we pray, god, that youwould expose lies and falsehoods
in the way we have approachedChristianity, that you would
bring truth to bear on our livesand on your church, and we pray
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the result would be radicaltransformation of our lives for
the glory of your name here inBirmingham and in all nations.
We need your spirit to do thiswork in us.
I need your spirit to evenbegin to proclaim it.
All of us need your Spirit tobegin to hear it, and we
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certainly all need your Spiritto obey it, and so I pray that
you would pour out your Spiriton us as we study, as we live,
and that you would transform usinto the image of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
One primary question I want toask you this morning Are you
(07:17):
willing to come to Jesus on histerms?
Are you willing to come toJesus on his terms?
I ask this question that waybecause the brand of
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Christianity we have adoptedoperates on coming to Jesus on
our own terms.
You look at how we describeChristianity, how we encourage
people to come to Christ, andyou will find terms that are
foreign to the New Testament.
We've talked about some ofthese things.
You follow the Roman road toJesus.
You believe these fourspiritual laws?
You answer these questionsright?
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You pray this prayer?
You sign this card?
You raise your hand and declareyour love for Jesus?
Jesus told his followers to donone of these things.
None of them.
I want you to hear what Jesussaid Luke 14, verse 26.
It's what he said to the crowdswho were traveling with him.
(08:29):
This is what Jesus says fromhis terms.
If anyone comes to me and doesnot hate his father and mother,
his wife and children, hisbrothers and sisters, yes, even
his own life, he cannot be mydisciple, and anyone who does
(08:50):
not carry his cross and followme cannot be my disciple.
Suppose one of you wants tobuild a tower, will he not first
sit down and estimate the cost,to see if he has enough money
to complete it.
For if he lays the foundationand is not able to finish it,
everyone who sees it willridicule him, saying this fellow
began to build and was not ableto finish.
Or suppose a king is about togo to war against another king?
Will he not first sit down andconsider whether he is able,
(09:12):
with 10,000 men, to oppose theone coming against him with
20,000?
If he is not able, he will senda delegation while the other is
still a long way off, and willask for terms of peace.
In the same way, any of you whodoes not give up everything he
has cannot be my disciple.
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Salt is good, but if it losesits saltiness, how can it be
made salty again?
It is fit neither for the soilnor for the manure pile.
It is thrown out.
He who has ears to hear, lethim hear.
Ha, can you imagine standing inthat crowd?
(09:56):
Who does this guy think he is?
I mean, really put yourself intheir shoes.
So I'm supposed to hate my momand dad and brother and sister
and my wife and my children?
(10:16):
I'm supposed to pick up aninstrument of torture and give
up everything.
I have to follow you.
For most of us, jesus lost us athello in this passage.
It's almost scary for me tothink of how I would have
responded in the first centuryto these words, and some might
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think that such words are toohard for us to look into.
Today, some might say we don'tneed to look at passages like
this.
Are we really ready to hearwords like these?
Are we mature enough to hearwords like these?
And this is just it.
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This is how Jesus introducedpeople to himself.
This wasn't Jesus speaking to amature crowd that was needing to
go deeper.
This was Jesus speaking topeople who were initially
interested in following him, andthis was his initial invitation
to them Hate your father andmother, pick up a cross and give
(11:26):
up everything you've got.
This is what he said.
It is a stinging indictment onour brand of Christianity today
to think that these words wouldsound so radical to us because
they seem so foreign to us.
This was how Jesus said.
This is the elementary basictruth Jesus said of what it
means to follow him.
They're so foreign today.
What does that say to us, nomatter how far we've strayed
(11:51):
from what it means to be adisciple of Jesus Christ?
We would even ask the questiontoday well, can you be a
believer and not a disciple?
As if there are levels ofChristianity one, a thin level,
where it really doesn't cost youthat much and those who are
really interested can go deeperinto a higher, deeper, greater
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level of Christianity.
The New Testament knows nothingof this, not saying that all of
us are in the same place in ourspiritual maturity, or that when
we initially come to Christ weknow everything that we know 20
years later.
But the picture is clear.
Jesus says three times if youdon't do these things, you can't
even be my disciple.
These are requirements, basicrequirements for discipleship
(12:34):
here.
And I wonder, as we look at apassage where Jesus is speaking
to a crowd that has beenflirting with him on their terms
, I can't help but think that Istand before a crowd of people
today in our culture who hasbeen flirting with Jesus on our
(12:58):
terms, and for some, maybe many,if not most, of us need to ask
the question have we ever reallycome to Jesus on his terms?
That's an important question toask.
Have you ever come to Jesus onhis terms?
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This is an evangelistic text.
This is Jesus inviting peopleto follow him for the first time
, really, so I want us to lookat the terms and you see three
different times Jesus uses thisphrase.
If anyone does not do this, hecannot be my disciple.
If anyone does not do this, hecannot be my disciple.
These are requirements, so tospeak, sacrifice of Christian,
(13:45):
and I want to invite you to hearthe terms of Jesus this morning
and to consider have you everresponded to Jesus on these
terms?
Even if you've been in churchfor 70 years, have you ever
responded to Jesus on theseterms?
Term number one Jesus requiressuperior love.
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Jesus requires superior love.
Chapter 14, verse 26, is thefirst.
If, then, he cannot be mydisciple.
If anyone comes to me and doesnot hate his father and mother,
his wife and children, hisbrothers and sisters, yes, even
his own life, he cannot be mydisciple.
Talk about strong.
That's an attention grabber.
What does that mean?
What is Jesus saying when hesays hate your father, mother,
(14:27):
brother, sister, wife andchildren?
So when we read this passagelast week, some of you were
grabber.
What does that mean?
What is Jesus saying when hesays hate your father, mother,
brother, sister, wife andchildren?
When we read this passage lastweek, some of you were thinking
I don't get it.
I thought we were supposed tolove people, and we've talked
about honoring your father andmother.
How do you hate them and honorthem at the same time?
That's a good question, isn'tit?
(14:47):
Am I really supposed to hate mywife and my kids?
Question, isn't it?
Am I really supposed to hate mywife and my kids?
What does this mean?
Jesus is saying something here.
Now I want to be very careful,not only here, but in every
passage we study in this series,because there is a dangerous
temptation for us to try tosoften Jesus' words, and what it
turns out is we try to softenJesus' words to justify the way
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we live turns out is we try tosoften Jesus' words to justify
the way we live.
This is a very dangerous way toapproach Christianity.
Oh, he didn't really mean that.
He meant this over here.
We've got to take honest looksat Scripture to see exactly what
Jesus meant to his originalheroes.
So let's hold our place here.
Go back to the left with me, toMatthew, chapter 22.
I want to show you two passagesin Matthew that shed light on
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what Jesus is saying here inLuke, chapter 14.
Superior love Matthew, chapter22, is a conversation between
Jesus and an expert teacher inthe law.
It's a passage that some of youmany of you maybe are familiar
with Matthew 22, verse 36.
A teacher in the law asks Jesusthis question Teacher, which is
(15:58):
the greatest commandment in thelaw?
Okay, greatest, primary, firstforemost commandment in the law.
Jesus replied love the Lord,your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, with allyour mind.
This is the first and greatestcommandment.
The second is, like it, loveyour neighbor as yourself.
(16:20):
All the law and the prophetshang on these two commandments.
First, primary commandment inour lives is to love God with
some of our hearts.
No, all your heart, all yoursoul, all your mind, all your
strength.
This debunks the idea thatthere are priorities in our
affections God's first, and thenfamily second and this person
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third or fourth.
No, god is everything, allPrimary, supreme, superior.
Love Everything.
All your affections belong toGod, and the testimony of
Scripture flows right from here.
Seconds like it, love yourneighbor as yourself.
We know this in all the NewTestament.
When love for God is supreme inyour life, the result is love
(17:04):
for who, love for each other.
They go together.
Love for each other springsfrom love for who, for God,
loving Him is supreme, it'ssuperior love.
Now keep turning back to theleft and you'll come to Matthew,
chapter 10.
Matthew, chapter 10.
Clearly, clearly, there is alove that supersedes all other
(17:28):
loves Loving God, loving Christ,supersedes all other loves.
Loving God, loving Christ.
Then you get to Matthew,chapter 10, and you see a
passage that's very familiar,very similar to what we're
looking at in Luke, chapter 14.
Listen to what Jesus says there, verse 37.
See if this doesn't soundfamiliar.
Anyone who loves his father ormother more than me is not
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worthy of me.
Anyone who loves his son ordaughter more than me is not
worthy of me, and anyone whodoes not take his cross and
follow me is not worthy of me.
See the picture there, here, inMatthew, chapter 10,.
What you've got is a strongcomparison here.
Your love for me is far greaterthan your love for mother or
(18:20):
father, son or daughter.
We bring that context into Luke, chapter 14, and we see Jesus
use this word hate, obviously astrong word, even an offensive
word, and we don't need to tryto soften this picture.
Believe what Jesus iscommunicating is clear.
(18:40):
Love for him is so supreme, isintended to be so supreme among
his disciples, that every otherlove in this world is so far
less that it looks like hatecompared to this kind of love
You've got in your notes there.
(19:01):
In comparison to Christ, incomparison to love for Christ,
we hate the people we love.
Get the wording there.
It's not that we don't lovethem, the reality is the whole
thing comes full circle.
You've got next in your notes.
This changes our perspectivebecause don't miss it when love
(19:22):
for God is supreme and love forGod captivates our hearts, then
what kind of love are we showingto mother and father?
The love of who?
Of God, of Christ in us?
Same picture Marriage, wife,children.
How, men, how do you play outEphesians, chapter 5, verse 25?
(19:43):
Love your wives just as Christloved the church and gave
himself up for her.
How do you do that if love forChrist is not supreme in your
lives?
You can't, it's impossible.
It's not that these aremutually exclusive.
They flow, one flows from theother, but it starts with a
reservoir of love for thesupremacy of Christ and God, our
(20:06):
hearts conquered by, captivatedby a superior affection in God.
We know so little of this kindof love.
You hear the way we talk.
Supposed Christians talk.
We say I know I need to be inchurch.
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I know I need to take my kidsto church.
I know I need to pray.
I know I need to study theBible, church.
I know I need to pray, I know Ineed to study the Bible.
This is not Christianity,ladies and gentlemen.
It's not Christianity at all.
Christianity does not consist ofbegrudging obedience to Christ.
We know this on a human level.
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If I come home from work and Igreet Heather at the door, and
when I get there I give her abig kiss on the lips, she steps
back and she says what's thatfor?
Not that I don't normally dothat, but let's just assume.
She steps back and says thatI'll tell you what.
My response does not need to beat that point.
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Well, it says here on page 54of the marriage manual that this
is what I should do when I comehome.
At this point she is taking themarriage manual and stuffing it
down my throat.
That's what's happening.
That's no way to love.
Where did we get the idea thatChristianity is begrudging
(21:30):
obedience?
That Christianity and this isthe way we think about it?
Well, we let go of all thethings in this world we love and
we do the things that we reallydon't want to do we need to do
them to save our own skin?
Not Christianity, not biblicalChristianity.
Biblical Christianity sees thesupremacy of Christ and is so
infatuated by Him, so drawntoward Him, that our love for
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him drives everything we do.
It's a superior love thatchanges our perspective on
everything in this world.
And so the question before youin light of this verse verse 26
in Luke, chapter 14, is do youlove Christ?
Do you want Christ?
Do you love him with all yourheart, your soul and your mind?
(22:14):
I'm not asking you to go tochurch.
I'm not asking you if you readyour Bible or if you pray, or if
you teach, or you do this orthat or you're raising your kids
.
Good Rubbish, get through therubbish.
Do you want Christ?
Do you love Christ?
Love Christ, see the reason whyyou live, one for whom your
(22:37):
heart beats and your affectionsare driven.
This is the picture Superiorlove.
It makes any other love looklike hate.
I want to be careful here, but Iam convinced that in our
(22:58):
culture today, we idolize ourchildren and our marriages and
sex and relationships, parents,families and friends, to the
point where Jesus Christ getsthe leftovers from our
(23:23):
affections, and it's unchristian.
You can't even be a disciple ofJesus.
If that's the case, you forsakeall relationships in favor of
an intimate relationship withhim.
This is what it means to be adisciple of Jesus Christ.
You want to know how this lookspractically?
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I would point you to JohnBunyan.
John Bunyan lived in a time whenit was not easy to be a
follower of Christ, especiallynot easier to be a preacher of
the gospel of Christ.
And he preached, and he wastold that if you don't stop
preaching, bunyan, then you willbe imprisoned.
He and his family were not welloff as it was.
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His wife and his children, oneof whom was blind, barely had
enough to eat and live on.
Well, he was free.
He knew that if he wasimprisoned it would bring great
harm upon his family.
So what does he do?
What do you do?
What do you do when faced withthat decision?
(24:29):
Do you keep preaching?
John Bunyan said absolutely,you keep preaching.
And he was imprisoned and hewrote from his jail cell.
The parting with my wife andpoor children has often been to
me in this place as the pullingof flesh from my bones, and that
(24:55):
not only because I am fond ofthese great mercies talking
about his family's children, butalso because I have often
brought to my mind the manyhardships, miseries and wants
that my poor family is likely tobe meeting with, especially my
poor blind child, who lay nearerto my heart than all I have
besides.
Oh, the thought of the hardshipI have thought my blind one
(25:17):
might go under would break myheart to pieces.
But yet Bunyan said.
Yet from a prison cell hewrites I must venture all with
God.
Oh, I have seen in thiscondition I am like a man
pulling down his house upon thehead of his wife and children.
Yet, thought I, I must do it.
(25:37):
I must do it.
Jesus requires superior love.
Does he have it from you?
If not, cannot be his disciple,jesus says.
Second term Jesus outlinesverse 27,.
(26:01):
Anyone who does not carry hiscross and follow me cannot be my
disciple.
Second term Jesus requiressuperior love and exclusive
loyalty.
Exclusive loyalty Carry hiscross.
This term, this phrase, may beone of the most misunderstood
and misapplied phrases or termsin the New Testament.
(26:25):
People talk today about carryingcrosses and oftentimes they'll
be sharing just kind of theirfaith journey and people will
say, well, I'm going throughthis illness or this disease or
this struggle, I'm in this badrelationship or in this bad
marriage, or in these badcircumstances, and this is just
the cross I bear.
It's not what Jesus is talkingabout here, and this is.
It's not what Jesus is talkingabout here, and this is the
(26:47):
whole point of what Jesus istalking about here.
It's not what the hearers inthe first century heard when
Jesus said this, and it's notwhat we need to hear today.
We need to put ourselves intheir shoes and realize that
Jesus just said anyone who doesnot carry his cross Now a cross.
The only time you would carry across is if you were a convicted
criminal punished to die.
(27:09):
A cross beam was hoisted ontoyour back to carry through the
town in public humiliation onthe way to your death.
This is repugnant to Jesus'ears.
We've got to feel the weight ofthis.
We wear crosses everywhere.
We see crosses everywhere.
This is repugnant to Jesus'ears.
We've got to feel the weight ofthis.
We wear crosses everywhere.
We see crosses everywhere.
This is the equivalent of tryto bring it into present day.
(27:30):
This is the equivalent of mysaying to you if you do not pick
up your electric chair, youcannot follow Jesus.
Doesn't that sound repugnant,brash?
Even that, though, would beinsufficient, because the cross
involves so much more crueltyand torture than even an
(27:53):
electric chair would.
The reality is, if you'recarrying a cross, you're like a
dead man walking.
You have no more dreams, nomore plans for your life, no
more ideas for what you're goingto do in your life.
Everything is over for you.
You have no more pride, no morehonor, nothing.
(28:17):
You're walking through publichumiliation on the way to a
place where that cross you willbe hoisted onto and you will die
there.
You are a dead man walking andthis is the picture that Jesus
gives to describe what it meansto follow him.
Any takers, this is strong.
What Jesus is saying is thatthrough the cross of Christ, we
(28:41):
die to the life we live.
We die to the life we live.
We die to the life we live.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you area Christian according to
Scripture, not according tocontemporary definitions of
Christian watered down If you'rea Christian according to
Scripture, you are dead.
(29:03):
You're dead.
You're dead to yourself.
You're dead to your dreams,you're dead to your hopes.
You're dead to your plans, toyour ideas for what is going to
happen in your life.
You're dead.
You've died to all of thosethings.
That's why, right before this,at the end of verse 26, he said
(29:25):
hate not only these people, yes,hate even his own life.
He cannot be my disciple.
You do not live based on whatyou desire, what you dream, what
you plan, what you hope for,what you want.
Those things are gone.
They're gone.
You're dead to them.
Dead to them, and this isGalatians 2.20.
I've been crucified with Christ,nevertheless I live.
(29:48):
You say David, we're not dead,we're breathing in here.
So how do we live?
We live in Christ.
I'm crucified with Christ,nevertheless I live.
Yet, not I, but Christ lives inme.
This is the picture we're deadto ourself and we're alive to
Christ.
We are dead to self-esteemthinking.
We are dead to self-saturateddesiring.
(30:11):
We are dead to self-centeredplanning for our lives.
We are dead to self-comfortinglife, dead to it all.
We are alive to Christ-esteemthinking and Christ-honoring and
Christ honoring and Christdesiring, planning and
Christ-centered living.
Dead to ourselves and alive toChrist, and our entire identity
(30:34):
is wrapped up in who he is.
We are dead to all of thesethings and alive to him.
Now.
This changes not just ourperspective.
This changes our priorities,because now the life of Christ
(30:55):
determines everything about us.
You do not determine where youlive.
Christ determines where youlive.
You don't determine what kindof house you have.
That is Christ's call.
You do not determine the kindof car you drive.
That is Christ's decision.
You do not determine theclothes you wear.
(31:17):
You do not determine the thingsyou buy.
You do not determine the plansyou make.
You do not determine anything.
Christ now determineseverything.
You've died to the life youmake.
You do not determine anything.
Christ now determineseverything.
You've died to the life youlive.
You don't determine anythingabout your life anymore.
(31:40):
Christ determines it all.
This is a huge claim toauthority over your life, my
life.
And he uses two illustrations,starting in verse 28 down to
verse 30.
Illustration number one and 31and 32.
Illustration number two he saysfirst he says we are workers
constructing a building.
Don't miss this.
Jesus says estimate the cost.
A builder will estimate thecost to see if he has enough
(32:02):
money to complete it.
Jesus is warning here againstmaking hasty emotional decisions
to follow him.
He said you better realize thecost.
This is so radically different.
We talked about this a littlebit last week.
You take an evangelist todaywho has a sinner Somebody's just
lost.
Evangelist says do you knowyou're a sinner?
(32:24):
Do you believe that Jesus diedon the cross?
You answer yes to thosequestions.
Well then, welcome to thekingdom.
Only problem is, the devil cananswer yes to both of those
questions and Jesus, meanwhile,is pleading.
Count the cost, count the cost.
Count the cost.
Before you do anything, countthe cost.
There's a cost here that needsto be considered before you take
(32:48):
one step forward.
So what does it cost you?
Does it cost you everything?
John Stott, one of my favoriteauthors, preachers, wrote.
He said the Christian landscapeis strewn with the wreckage of
derelict, half-built towers, theruins of those who began to
build and were unable to finish.
(33:08):
For thousands of people stillignore Christ's warning and
undertake to follow Him withoutfirst pausing to reflect on the
cost of doing so.
The result is the great scandalof Christendom, today so-called
nominal Christianity.
In countries to which Christiancivilization has spread, large
numbers of people have coveredthemselves with a decent but
(33:31):
thin veneer of Christianity.
They have allowed themselves tobecome somewhat involved,
enough to be respectable, butnot enough to be uncomfortable.
Their religion is a great softcushion.
It protects them from the hard,unpleasantness of life while
changing its place and shape tosuit their convenience.
No wonder the cynics speak ofhypocrites in the church and
(33:53):
dismiss religion as escapism.
This is contemporaryChristianity, isn't it?
Half-built towers I didn'trealize them in everything.
Consider the cost.
Jesus says we're workersconstructing a building.
(34:18):
And then he uses a secondillustration we are warriors
fighting a battle.
Talks about going to war as aking.
There's this picture that wesee all throughout the New
Testament fighting a good fight,spiritual battle going on.
Now I want to be careful here.
I want to be very careful.
This is not, nor is anywhere inthe New Testament, talking about
a holy war, like we often hearon the news associated with
(34:40):
radical Islam.
This is not in any way talkingabout a war on terror.
This is not a war that isfought with guns and bombs.
It's a war that's fought withthe gospel, with prayer, with
sacrificial love.
(35:01):
The New Testament is clear thatthere is a spiritual battle
that encompasses the Christianlife.
There's a spiritual battle forholiness in our lives and
there's a spiritual battlewaging for the souls of men,
women and children all acrossthis planet, who will go to
(35:22):
either an eternal heaven or aneternal hell.
The stakes are much higher inthis war than any earthly war
has ever had.
Jesus says you consider, beforeyou go into battle, what's at
stake and what's involved.
You know, I was looking overthis imagery as I was studying
(35:42):
this passage this week and Icouldn't help but to think Our
version of Christianity todayreally doesn't look at the
Christian life as a wartimefaith.
We have more of a peacetimefaith, don't we?
(36:03):
There's a stark differencebetween the two.
In wartime, I'm always askingthe question how can I sacrifice
to advance the cause?
How can I spend every resourceI have?
How can I best contribute toaccomplishing the mission?
We're making sacrifices.
We're not indulging inpleasantries.
(36:24):
We're trying to figure out howbest to accomplish the mission.
Sacrifice're making sacrifices.
We're not indulging inpleasantries.
We're trying to figure out howbest to accomplish the mission.
Sacrifice everything towardthat.
Peacetime pleasantries is thename of the game.
We ask questions like how canwe be more comfortable and how
can we have more fun and how canwe try new pleasures that we
never have experienced before?
There's a wartime and apeacetime way to approach life
(36:46):
and Christianity.
See the difference between thetwo.
And this ship?
It's now docked in the harborof Long Beach, california,
called the Queen Mary.
It was built earlier in the20th century as a luxury liner
with a whole array ofindulgences designed to entice
(37:09):
wealthy patrons Could fit up to3,000 wealthy patrons on it at
one time Larger, more massivethan even the Titanic.
What's interesting is, though,for six years, during World War
II, when the country was in astate of national emergency,
(37:29):
they took this same ship andthey called upon the ship to
help with transporting troops,and all of a sudden, the ship
was transformed from a luxuryliner into a source of transport
for troops.
Whereas 3,000 people could geton it before, now, it could
transport 15,000 soldiers.
(37:50):
At one time.
The whole ship was completelyturned upside down to
accommodate for accomplishing amission, instead of
accommodating pleasures forwealthy patrons.
You go today to this ship it'snow a museum, basically to its
(38:11):
history and what you can see isin some places they have it
designed for troop transport andthey see eight bunks high where
people would sleep.
Everything, every detail, wasused to accomplish mission.
And then you can look inanother room and you can see it
designed as a luxury liner forpeople to enjoy the pleasures of
(38:33):
the ship.
I would ask you which imagebetter describes Christianity in
our context today, in our lives, in our families, in and our
homes and in this church and Iwould put before us.
Let's consider the cost.
Ladies and gentlemen, whatwould happen if we looked square
(38:56):
in the face of 4.5 billion pluspeople on this planet who are
headed to a crisis eternity?
And we looked square in theface of 30,000 children today
who are dying from either hungeror preventable diseases and we
said we're not going to use thisship anymore.
Our lives, our families, thischurch.
We're not going to use it toindulge our pleasures and sit by
the pool and ask for more horsd'oeuvres to be delivered to us.
(39:18):
Instead, we're going totransform everything to say how
can we give our lives for thesake of accomplishing this
mission?
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's episode of Radical with
David Platt.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
radicalnet.
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