The Way of Jesus - Counting the Cost

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”Luke 9:57-62COUNTING THE COSTTHE WAY OF JESUS18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”[b] 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.Matthew 4:18-1935 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).John 1:35-4238 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.Luke 4:38-39On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. Luke 5:1-3When the disciples said “yes” to following Jesus, they were choosing to follow Him from now on as their rabbi.“Contrary to what many assume, Jesus did not invite people to convert to Christianity. He didn’t even call people to become Christians; he invited people to apprentice under him into a whole new way of living. To be transformed.”John Mark ComerBet-sefer “House of Book”Bet-midrash “House of Learning”Talmid“Apprenticeship”Simon and Andrew were fisherman. Think about that for a second: This means they didn’t make it into an apprenticeship program. They weren’t the best of the best; they were the ones who got sent home to “make babies and pray they become rabbis.” But Jesus invited them to be His apprentices. Before they believed in Jesus, He believed in them.John Mark Comer20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:2024 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24Apprentices had three main objectives:Be with their rabbiBecome like their rabbiDo what their rabbi did As of 2023, 68% of Americans identify as Christian.GallupIf disciple is something that is done to you (a verb), then that puts the onus of responsibility for your spiritual formation on someone else, like your pastor, church, or mentor. But if disciple is a noun—if it’s someone you are or are not—then no one can “disciple” you but Rabbi Jesus Himself.John Mark ComerWE NEED AN OLD VISION OF DISCIPLESHIPApprentices to Jesus is about:Being with JesusBecome like JesusDoing what Jesus didThere is no problem in human life that apprenticeship to Jesus cannot solve.Dallas WillardTHERE IS A COST TO FOLLOW JESUSTHE WAY OF JESUS IS CONFLICTING59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”Luke 9:57-62THE WAY OF JESUS IS ALL-CONSUMING24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24THERE IS A COST TO NOT FOLLOW JESUS“People often complain about how hard the spiritual life is. And the honest truth is, yes, it is. Bu that’s missing from this diagnosis is that the unspiritual life is even harder. Life is hard, with or without God. But what’s really hard—nearly unbearable for some—is facing the pain and suffering of life apart from God. So is trying to save yourself rather than be saved. Living in a godless, shepherdess, meaningless universe—that’s really, really hard.” John Mark Comer25 For whoever would save his life[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?Matthew 16:2420 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:20