*Luke 9:57-61 ESV
* 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[g] 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.”**
A Disciple…
A person who has laid down their life.
Is giving their life to follow Jesus.
1 Kings 19:13-14 ESV
And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”
1-Salvation is free, but being a disciple costs.
*Romans 10:9 ESV
We cannot get overly focused on the call to disciples, that we neglect talking about the cost of discipleship.
Matthew 16:24-25 ESV
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.]
The difference between the price of true discipleship and the price that culture puts on Christianity, is that Christ sets the price of discipleship, where cultural Christianity bases the cost on what’s comfortable to you.
In order to experience the true life Jesus has for us, we have to do our part and lay our life down.
*Galatians 2:20 ESV
* 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. **
The days that we question the cost of following Him, is the day that we need to go back and remember His call!
*1 Kings 19:15-17 ESV
*And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. *
2. *Discipleship is always Generational. *
God was not done with Elijah, but it was time for his role in the Kingdom to change.
There were things that Elijah couldn’t do that the next generation had to do, but they couldn’t do it until Elijah anointed them.
1 Kings 19:19-21
19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
3. Disciples respond “now.”
When God chooses us, everything changes.
John 15:16 ESV
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
We cannot focus on what we have lost, but trust and let Him make something in us that we are currently not right now.
- *Put our loved ones in His hands. *
We cannot care more about what our family and friends say about us, than we do what God says about us.
Honor the decisions that others make in the name of following Jesus.
*5. Accept His call over our own. *
We cannot allow our current lifestyle, habits or achievements done on this earth define us more than we allow God to mark us.
Discussion Questions:
1- How have you let cultures view of Christianity negatively affect God’s view of discipleship for your life?
2- Why do we struggle with sharing the cost of following Jesus to others?
3- Read Matthew 16:24-25. What does it mean to “lose your life?”
4- We know the power of transferring anointing to the next generation. Why does this seem like such a hard thing for us to do?
5- Describe the first time that you felt that God was calling you? How can that encounter still motivate you today?