The Gospel of Luke: Jesus is for everyone – Sacrificial living

Luke 14:25-35

1. Following Jesus means sacrifice living – Everyone wanted to be around Jesus. They wanted to hear His words and see the miracles. They didn’t want to miss out. The disciples were riding the wave if Jesus’ popularity. They must have thought “Why does Jesus have to spoil things?” Hear Jesus shows He’s not interested in being popular. He didn’t water anything down. He was uncompromising about the cost of following Him. Jesus calls us to make sacrifices to win the victory against sin and evil. We may never need to give up our family, our possessions or our life, but we need to be willing to do so. We need to deny ourselves in order to follow Jesus. Following Jesus means saying no to sin and self gratification. In any choice always choose to carry your cross and follow Jesus even if it means losing our lives.
2. Don’t waste your time on building a folly – Jesus was saying, if you choose to follow me, make sure you complete it. He was also talking about the rebuilding of the temple. The Lord had abandoned the temple. The Messiah was amongst them. God had moved on and the rebuilding of the temple was a waste of time and money. Jesus is saying here, “Follow me and not the past”. Build Jesus in your life and do not build up religion.
3. Don’t assume you know God’s plans and purposes – The people wanted a war with the occupying Romans. They believed God would give them victory. Some of them had already become Zealot terrorists. They believed the Messiah would lead their war against the Romans. We need to remember that God is sovereign and He does not do things our way. God cannot be confined to the box of our understanding. His will will be accomplished whether it fits in with ours or not. God’s plan was to replace the sacrificial system and the temple with His Son and to take the Gospel to the whole world. God’s plan was for the Romans to tear down the temple in 70 AD. God’s plan was to turn the world upside-down. God’s plans are far greater than we can imagine. We need to give up our small ambitions and focus on the greatness of the Lord God Almighty.
4. Be salty for Jesus – We are supposed to make a difference in the world for God. He has saved us for a purpose. We can stand against impurity and pollution in the world. We must make sure we are not polluted by sin and that we do not lose our saltiness. When we become like the world we lose our saltiness. Sin compromises our witness for Jesus. God’s grace abounds to us all and we need to confess our sin and be cleansed (1 John 1:9).