Church Sermon By: Jared Thompson

Written By: Amy Adams

Christ didn’t come to make believers. He came to make disciples. Disciples are vastly different from those who just believe in something. Disciples are disciplined and  God is looking for those who are dedicated and disciplined. Most of us can’t even wake up on time…

Disciple literally means “one who is disciplined.” The Bible says: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”… most of us don’t even realize sleep can even be an idol. Discipleship is something we are trying to do. Discipline requires an attribute that is lacking in most of humanity: dedication. The word for that in scripture is holy, which is hagios in Greek and qodesh in Hebrew. Dedication can only be achieved through maturity. The mark of immaturity is one who abandons something after it starts to get difficult. Most of us have more dedication to conquer a video game level than we do when it comes to prayer, fasting and even having and maintaining a relationship.

“ ⁷ Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹ and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:7-11

 Shame also means confused in Greek. This passage talks about not thinking of yourself more highly than you should because you might sit in a place where you think you’re important but be asked to move down. Instead, be humble and sit in a lower position so you may  potentially get asked to be moved up to a better position by the “host.” Those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Help those who can’t possibly repay you and God will reward you for your generosity, whether it be with time, money, listening, etc.

¹⁶ But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. ¹⁷ And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant^[a] to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you,^[b] none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” Luke 14:16-24

             This passage talks about those who were invited to a party and all gave excuses to not being able to attend the party. The owner was mad and told his servant to go and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. They all attended and the master then said, “none of these men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” You absolutely must love everything and everyone else less than you love God. Whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Jesus can’t and won’t ever be a true disciple. Whoever goes through a lot of suffering and doesn’t stop following God even after all their troubles, distractions and disappointments are the only ones who will be called a true disciple of Christ. Is what you have now sufficient enough? Is the cost of following Christ worth more or less than what you already have? Is it worth abandoning what you already have? It’s time to count the cost of being a disciple.

Do you want to just be a believer or do you want to advance the kingdom of God? It costs a lot and there’s going to be some suffering involved in order to follow Christ. Let’s not be mocked and diluted by the rest of the world and be called “hypocrites” because we didn’t count the cost before we started following Christ. We are supposed to be the miracle by being the change only God can accomplish. Only God can change the heart… No one and nothing else can.

A disciple says: “I follow anywhere He goes.” Jesus wants someone who is disciplined in His way and knowledgeable in His teachings. Jesus held many conferences but only 12 showed up every day. If you can hold true to marriage then you can hold true to discipleship. Church is supposed to be a house of disciples. He wants believers who are constant, consistent, disciplined and dedicated to be His disciples. The goal of a union is oneness, whether it be a marriage to a spouse or a covenant with God. Christ will cover up our failures and mess-ups; you just stay dedicated.