So You Want To Be a Disciple - Luke 14:26

In this intriguing episode of Weekly Wisdom with Jeff Schreve on Pray.com, dive deep into the true essence of discipleship as discussed in Luke 14:26. Through an engaging conversation, Pastor Schreve addresses the challenging concept of loving Jesus supremely and protecting our hearts from rival affections. Join us as we explore the importance of embracing our cross and walking in faith with a wholehearted devotion to the Lord. Don't miss this enlightening episode that will leave you pondering the profound requirements of being a true disciple.

Welcome to Weekly Wisdom, an inspirational series hosted by Pastor Jeff Schreve. Each week, Pastor Jeff illuminates different sections of the Holy Bible, meticulously extracting pivotal themes and life lessons that can enrich and uplift your daily life. 

This series invites you to delve deeper into understanding the scripture, offering a transformative platform for spiritual growth. As you navigate through this journey, you will be offered an opportunity to fortify your relationship with God, accompanied by Pastor Jeff's insightful guidance. 

Join us weekly as we engage in heartfelt prayer and foster a stronger connection to God, under the expert guidance of Pastor Jeff Schreve. Experience a profound transformation as you embrace the wisdom of the Bible, distilled for you, each week.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Luke, chapter fourteen, beginning in verse twenty six, from the
lips of Jesus. If any man come to me and
hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren and sisters, yeay, and his own life also,
he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear
his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

(00:22):
Let's pray together, Father in Heaven. We come to you
in Jesus' name, and we ask you to help us
to understand your word and understand this passage of scripture
in Luke. It seems so foreign to us, Lord, and
it seems foreign to the Bible. But Lord, you are
telling us that we need to love you supremely, and
we need to protect our heart from any other rival

(00:46):
loves that would want a crowd in. You have said
the very first commandment, You shall have no other gods
before me. Lord, help us to love you with all
our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all
our mind. And help us to know your word, to
know your truth and walk in it for you. Pray
in Jesus' name. Amen. Hi friends, Welcome to this episode

(01:09):
of the Weekly Wisdom podcast from pray dot Com. I'm
Pastor Jeff Shreeve, and I want to share today about
what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
In Luke chapter fourteen, Jesus addressed a crowd of would
be followers, and he sets forth some shocking and challenging
requirements for those who would be his disciples. He said,

(01:36):
if any man come to me and hate not his
father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and
sisters yea, and his own life also, he cannot be
my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and
come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of
you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first

(01:56):
and counteth the cost, whether he has sufficient money to
finish it, lest after he hath laid the foundation and
is not able to finish it, all that behold begin
to mock him, saying the man began to build and
was not able to finish. Or what king going out
to make war against another king sitteth not down first

(02:17):
and consulted whether he be able with ten thousand to
meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand, or else,
while the other is yet a great way off. He
sendeth an ambassador and desires conditions of peace. So likewise,
whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that
he has, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good,

(02:41):
But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall
it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land,
nor yet for the dunghill. But men cast it out.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. You know,
Jesus said, if you're going to be his disciple, you
have to love him supremely, and that means above all else.

(03:07):
And he says shockingly, if you don't hate your own father, mother, wife, children,
brothers and sisters, and even your own life, you can't
be his disciple. Now that word hate is used in
a comparative sense, meaning that Jesus must be far above
any other love relationship in the disciple's life. Now, it

(03:29):
might sound difficult or even harsh for Jesus to require
such total devotion from his followers, but the Lord knows
that any other love relationship that comes before him will
ultimately hinder our relationship with God, as Solomon found out
when his many wives because he held fast to them

(03:50):
in love his many wives turned his heart away from
the Lord. Hey, we can't serve two masters, and Jesus
knows that, and so we have to love him supremely. Secondly,
Jesus requires that those who want to be his disciples
they must be willing to carry their own cross and
follow him. And in verse twenty seven, Jesus said, whoever

(04:11):
does not carry his own cross and come after me,
he can't be my disciple. Now, the cross is a
symbol of sacrifice and suffering. It represents the disciple's willingness
to lay down his own life for the sake of
following Jesus. Carrying our own cross means that we must
be willing to endure hardship and suffering and persecution for

(04:33):
the sake of the gospel. It means that we must
be willing to put our own desires and ambitions aside
and follow Jesus fully, even if that means going against
the expectations of our family or friends or society. Hey,
it even means that we must be willing to follow
Jesus even to death if need be. Thirdly, Jesus requires

(04:59):
those who want to be as disciples to give up
all their possessions now you say, WHOA wait a minute,
That's what he said in verse thirty three. None of
you can be my disciple who does not give up
all his own possessions. Now, before you freak out, this
doesn't mean that we have to literally divest ourselves of

(05:19):
everything we own. But it does mean that we surrender
all those things to the Lord's will and to the
Lord's purposes. We say, Lord, your overall, I belong to you.
I've been bought with a price, and I belong to you.
You know, possessions can easily become a hindrance to our
relationship with God, and they can distract us from our

(05:40):
true purpose in life and lead us away from the Lord.
And so that's why Jesus said, hey, you can't let
those things get in the way. Surrender all that to me. Now,
this passage in Luke fourteen, it's a challenging call to discipleship.
And these requirements that he gave, they may seem difficult,
they may seem impossible, But Jesus knows that if we

(06:04):
trust him, if we look to him, that he can
do great and mighty things in us and through us,
and he can enable us to do the impossible and
He and only He can fill us with his love, joy,
peace and power. So pray with me, Dear God, thank

(06:25):
you for this challenging passage in Luke fourteen. Lord, I
recognize that being a disciple of Jesus is not easy,
but it's the most rewarding journey that a person can
ever take in life. So Lord, we pray right now
that you'd help us to love Jesus with all our hearts,
all our soul, all our strength, all our mind to

(06:47):
love him supremely. Lord, help us to count the cost,
knowing that it requires sacrifice and surrender of all our
hopes and desires and plans to you. And we can
do that because you're good God, and You're worth of cost.
And Lord, we want to be salt and light in
this world. If we've lost our saltiness, then God restore

(07:10):
it in Jesus' name. We need you. Lord, Thank you
for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. May we
never take it for granted and always live our lives
to your glory and to your praise in Jesus' name. Amen,
you've been listening to Pastor Jeff Shreeve, the pastor of
First Baptist Church in Texas, Canada, Texas and the founder

(07:32):
of from His Heart Ministries. May the Lord bless you
and keep you, and make his face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you and grant you peace.