Public Reading: Luke 18:25-35
The Story:
• Hard teaching
o You have to love Jesus more than anything
o More than family, friends and even life itself
• This passage has two audience
o New believers need to know what they are getting into – they need to count the cost
o Current disciples – daily pick up cross and follow Jesus (Lk 9:23)
• Focus today is on the second audience
o It is about control
• Throughout history, humans have always wanted some type of control
o The act of being able to make a decision about your life
o What to eat, drink…how to dress…where to live…
o Wars have been fought over this issue…
o In the USA, we hang so tight to our “rights” that I think the rights take over and start control us…
• Control can be both a good and a bad thing
o After all the Bible clearly teaches that self-control is a good thing – Gal 5, fruits of the Spirit
o Yet control is bad in the sense that it can keep us from following Jesus.
• Jesus said in verse 27, “whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
o Remember at this point the cross was a instrument of death
o It was not something nice to wear around your neck or post on your wall
o Jesus is telling folks that they have to die to follow him
o They must give up everything – give up control of their lives to follow Him
“Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” –Luke 14:33