Jesus Uncensored: You Must Hate Everything Else

Luke 14:25-35 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” I recently discovered that a woman I know is attending seminary.  I was thrilled to hear she is in seminary where a friend of mine is a professor, so I excitedly told him, “I hear ‘so-and-so’ is one of your students!”  He appallingly replied, “She may attend my lectures, but she is not one of my students.”  His reply reminded me of the difference between being a follower of Jesus and being a disciple of Jesus.  Being a follower means attending a few lectures, hanging out with other followers, being close enough to hear what the teacher says but not really living his instructions.  But being a disciple is something totally different.  Being a disciple of Jesus means being willing to be disowned by your family and willfully taking on persecution because of your faith.    As we continue our series entitled “Jesus Uncensored” we will be examining a teaching of Jesus’ that is often ignored or misunderstood.  This Sunday we will be exploring what it means to “hate” your family and to carry your own cross.  We will see how this radical call to discipleship is the same radical call Jesus has for us today.  We will be challenged to renew our commitment to be devoted disciples of Jesus Christ.  I hope to see each of you in worship this Sunday at 10:45 a.m. at First Church OKC.    Remember if you are out of town and want to still join us for worship we livestream our worship services on our First Church Facebook page.  You can tune in live or join at a later time.   Pastor Lesly