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Count the Cost – Luke 14:28-33

Introduction

Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Luke 14:28-33 ESV For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, (30) saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ (31) Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? (32) And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. (33) So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

You may be seated

Last week we had a hard hitting sermon about hating yourself and loving Jesus SO MUCH that in comparison it looks as though you hate your family.
- Now scripture is clear that you should absolutely love your family, in fact scripture talks about that a lot.
- But you should love JESUS so much that He is your only consideration.
  - Knowing that true love comes only from God in the first place. So if your family is to be loved it has to be a love that comes from Christ.
Nonetheless, last weeks sermon was a punch in the spiritual gut for some of us. That was the warm up for this message this morning:

Show Title Slide

If the thought of hating yourself and dying to yourself seems rough… then listen closely to this message.
If the thought of putting your God before your family seems ridiculous, then listen closely to this message.
This message is all about this: Do you really want to be a Christian? Are you really wanting to sign up for what God has for you?
Jesus gives us two examples of counting the cost, and they cover two major areas of living the Christian Life, He talks about building and warfare, so let’s see what Christ has for us this morning… let’s pray.

Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray

Count the Cost of Building Your Life on Christ

Count the cost of Building your Life on Christ, that’s point one this morning…

Luke 14:28-30 ESV For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (29) Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, (30) saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Count the cost of building your life on Christ.
If you are going to be a Christian, if you are going to follow Jesus Christ as Lord, then you are building your life on Him.
Life, in this sense, can be looked at as a tower that you build. From the moment you are born the foundation is being poured.
- The way your parents raise you.
- The external influences on you as a child.
- Who you grow up with and hang out with.
- What you learn and how you behave as a child…
- This builds your foundation, this is what the rest of your life is going to be built on.
- Then as you grow into a teenager and a young adult your foundation influences how you build your life, doesn’t it.
  - If you were taught to lie and steal, you build a life of lying and stealing.
  - If you were neglected, you build a life of trying to do things on your own.
  - If you were spoiled, you build a life of selfishness.
  - All of these things that happened to you as a kid, whether good or bad, they influence how you build your life.
  - Everyone has a life story, how they became who they are today.
  - And some people spend lots of money, time, and effort trying to reform that foundation that was destroyed for them as a kid… they go to theory, read self help books, try to retrain their mind and their ways…
But for Christians we get a second chance at our life story, we get a second chance at that foundation…
- Because the Christian Life Starts with being BORN AGAIN!
- What does that mean? That means our foundation is re-laid! We have new life, a fresh start a clean slate.
And if you are born again then your new foundation is whom? It is Christ Jesus! Jesus is who we build our life on, amen?!

Matthew 7:24-25 ESV “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

Isaiah 28:16 ESV therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

1 Peter 2:2-6 ESV Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— (3) if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. (4) As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, (5) you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (6) For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

1 Corinthians 3:11 ESV For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Scripture is OVERWHELMINGLY clear that Christ is the foundation of everything for the Christian. He is the Rock in which we build our house! He is the cornerstone that we build our life upon.
- It’s all about Jesus!
- And if you understand that, it’s not hard to understand that Jesus says “If you don’t hate your family in comparison to how much you love me, then you are not worthy to be my disciple, because you are not building everything upon me.
So Christians have this foundation, Christ Jesus, but the world… they have many other foundations…
- The world builds their life upon money…
  - If I only had this much money, then I would be happy, then I would be secure.
- Some in the world build their life upon success…
  - I just need one more promotion… one more degree… just a few more letters after my name.
- Others in the world build their life upon power…
  - PEOPLE NEED TO RESPECT ME! I need more power, more control, more influence, then I will be secure.
- While yet others build their life upon possessions…
  - I need a bigger house, 2 more cars, a flatter tv… a more curved tv… a bigger tv… I NEED THE BIGGEST FLATEST CURVEDEST TV! Then I will be secure.
- Some take a practical approach and build their lives upon security…
  - I need to move to the best school district, with the lowest crime rate… I need to have a solid job and a diversified 401k. I need 2 years of emergency supplies in my basement. And I need to learn to speak Chinese, Russian, and Korean just in case we get invaded. Then I will be secure!
- Yet others, and this one is huge in millennials, build there life upon a foundation of people…
  - I need more friends, more family, more people in my life… then I will feel secure…
    - There are people here this morning who are not here because of Christ but here because they want a foundation of people in their lives… they want the church family. IF THAT’S YOU THEN JESUS HAS A WARNING FOR YOU! COUNT THE COST.
- Money, Success, Power, Possessions, Security, People. These are the foundations that people lay, and these are the foundations that Jesus asks you to give up to follow Him.
Let’s look back at our key verse for this point…

You see the problem is not the foundation… Jesus says people are good at laying they foundation… it’s what happens next.
It is time to say ENOUGH! Church!
- Enough of this trend of people laying the foundation on Christ, building on Christ… then halfway through building they decide they want to add in some money, or some power, or some security…
- They realize that they still want the old way, they still want the things of the world…
- And they give up building their tower, or worse yet it comes CRASHING DOWN!
Want to know what I am talking about? Look at any megachurch pastor who has fallen into sin in the past 10 years.
- Look at how their churches fell.
- How they turned their backs on God.
- How scandal overtook them.
These are men who laid a foundation on God, a foundation on Christ… and then they say “Oh, this power is kind of nice… This money is kind of nice… this influence is nice…”
- Then, having built on Christ but now trying to build on something else their tower comes Crashing down.

Matthew 6:24 ESV “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Listen to me church, you can not have two foundations. You can not serve two masters. Your house, your tower will crumble!
So today you must decide, are you willing to serve Christ and Christ alone. Are you willing to live the rest of your life completely devoted to Him? If not, save yourself the trouble, save yourself the ridicule, walk away now. Come back after the world has beat you up some, come back when you are at your wits end, come back when all you want is Jesus and more of Jesus.
- In a few sermons we will talk about that when we talk about the prodigal son… sometimes you need a prodigal period so you can come back desperate for Jesus!
DON’T LAY THE FOUNDATION OF CHRIST UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO BUILD A LIFE ON THAT FOUNDATION! AMEN?!
This brings us to point two… count the cost of a lifetime of spiritual warfare.

Count the Cost of a Lifetime of Spiritual Warfare

Luke 14:31-32 ESV Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? (32) And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

Point two this morning: Count the cost of a lifetime of Spiritual Warfare.
- Let me be crystal clear… Signing up for Christ… being born again… is signing up for WAR.
  - It’s like walking into a recruiter station on September 12^th 2001 and saying “Sign me up”. You better KNOW you are going to war!
And if you are going to war you better be ready to fight!
- We aren’t talking about the US Space force… who for some reason has camouflage uniforms…
- We are talking about boots on the ground, guns in hand, bullets over head WAR!
- And it is not a short war, it is a war for the rest of your life or until Christ comes back and finishes it once and for all.
Don’t be like a King who goes “Meh, I guess I can go to war for a bit… I don’t know… let me check my calendar… or I am free all week… yeah lets go… maybe we will win… who knows… let’s see what happens and have fun with it…”
- WHAT! THIS IS WAR! SOULS ARE AT STAKE! This is not something to be taken lightly… are you prepared to fight.
- Are you prepared to war.
- Are you prepared to be attacked spiritually day after day.
- Do you trust enough in Christ to protect you, to deliver you?
You know the Isrealites are so funny… If you are in B90 you know what I am talking about…
- They gave up their life in Egypt to follow God.
- God sends crazy plagues to free them from Egypt.
- He opens the Red sea for them to cross.
- He guides them by fire at night and cloud by day.
- He opens up the ground to swallow up rebellion in the camp.
- He overthrows armies in the Israelites way…
- BUT THEN THEY GET TO THE PROMISED LAND AND THERE IS GIANTS IN THE LAND.
  - All of the Sudden they are not ready to go to war anymore.
  - All of the sudden they give up on God’s ability to deliver them.
  - They didn’t count the cost of following God and now they are afraid.
- And the funniest part is when God says “Fine, you don’t trust me, then you can wonder in the wilderness for 40 years and your kids can take the land”.
- THEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN The isrealites are like “No no no, we will go to war” and then they march into battle without God’s help and get crushed.
  - It’s like Hannah when I ask her to clean her plate, and she refuses, and I tell her if she doesn’t she’s getting a spanking… and she says “NO” then I say “Fine, a spanking it is then”… then all the sudden she want’s to clean her plate… TO LITTLE TO LATE GIRL!

Ephesians 6:11-13 ESV Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Are you willing to wear the armor of God for the rest of your life? COUNT THE COST!

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 ESV For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (5) We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (6) being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

Are you willing to fight anytime, anywhere… every day, every place? Are you willing for the enemy to attack you… are you willing to strike him down when he does? COUNT THE COST.

1 Timothy 6:12 ESV Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 ESV So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. (27) But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Are you willing to fight the good fight, not fighting as one who beats the air, or runs aimlessly, but fighting a real fight, a real battle…
- Not just coming to church because it feels nice.
- Not just reading your bible because it seems like a good thing to do.
- Not just praying only when it’s time to eat.
- Not just fasting because you need to lose some weight.
BUT ARE YOU READY TO GO TO WAR?! That’s what Jesus says when He says count the cost.

Conclusion

Jesus concludes with this, so I will conclude with this…

Luke 14:33 ESV So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

I don’t think many people walked into recruitment stations after the 9/11 attacks not knowing what they were signing up for.
- They loved their country so much that they were willing to leave everything behind… their homes, jobs, possessions, even their families, to go and fight and possibly die for this great nation.
Yet so many people today sign up for the Lord’s army not willing to even finish basic training, yet alone go to war.
- DON’T BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE. Count the Cost.

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Count the Cost

Introduction

Count the Cost of Building Your Life on Christ

Count the Cost of a Lifetime of Spiritual Warfare

Conclusion

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