No one should embark on the journey of following Jesus without first understanding the cost of doing so. Jesus used the following analogy to illustrate this same point point.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ – Luke 14:29-30

Over the last 7 weeks, we took a look at the most important keys to building a solid foundation for living a life that truly follows Jesus and His teachings. Now, it’s time to take a serious look at the cost of building upon this foundation.

During His ministry, Jesus confronted his followers with the seriousness of following what He teaches.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:25-28

In this important declaration, Jesus states two things that will keep someone from being a disciple (follower) of Jesus.

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple
If you allow anything to become more important than following Jesus, you are not worthy to be called a disciple. Family, friends, money, or things of this world can all quickly become top priority in our lives and we need to guard against this.

This idea of making Jesus top priority is rooted in the first of the 10 commandments found in Exodus 20. “You shall have no other gods before me.” Nothing should ever be more important that following Jesus’ example and teachings.

“anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
The second thing that can keep us from becoming a disciple has to do with the idea of sacrifice. Just as Jesus sacrificed His life on for us on the cross, we also need to be willing to give up everything to follow Him. Everything that we think we need, including our dreams and goals, must be subject to the direction and guidance that God provides through Jesus’ teachings, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit within us.

As followers or potential followers of Jesus we need to seriously weigh the costs of following Jesus. It is a very serious, life-long commitment and should never be taken lightly.

5. A continual submission to the work of God in our lives today through the daily filling of the Holy Spirit.

Once you are in God’s camp the journey is not over, it is just beginning. It reminds me of the movie, “Lord of the Rings-Fellowship of the Ring.” In the first film of this trilogy, Frodo and his friends embark on a mission to take the evil ring to Rivendale – land of the elves. When he arrives, he begins to dream of going back home to the shire but soon begins to realize that this journey he has begun is far from over, and it is not going to be an easy journey.

Embarking On The Journey
Like this journey, embarking on the journey to follow Jesus is not over after you pray and accept what Jesus has done for you. It is just beginning and you are in for quite a ride!

Sometimes this journey will mean enduring things that we never wanted to endure. Sometimes it will mean doing things we never intended on doing. And sometimes it will mean giving up things we never intended to give up. Just as Frodo saw his mission as more important than keeping himself comfortable and safe, we need to think less of ourselves and more of the greater good that God’s plan is seeking to accomplish.

This journey requires a continual submission to God and to the work He has called you to. The important thing to remember is that your dreams and goals need to be in submission to His. God has a plan and it is worth following it, why? Because it is His plan and He created you. Who better to submit to than the one who knows you better than yourself.

O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me. – Psalm 139:1-5

It Takes Commitment
Ultimately, Frodo commits to complete his mission no matter what it takes. At the end of “The Fellowship Of The Ring,” Frodo is off to accomplish his mission and he had no idea what he would be in for.

A relationship with God requires a similar type of commitment. It is a 100% commitment of our resources. Everything we are, everything we have, and everything we can do needs to be focused on the mission that God has given us to take on.

God is not looking for followers who are half-hearted or only looking for “fire-insurance.” Jesus made this point clear in a letter to the Laodicean church in Revelation.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. – Revelation 3:15-16

Think about that – Jesus would either have you 100% for Him or 100% against him but He can’t stand this wish-washy weakly committed “christian” thing.

Don’t Go At It Alone
As he continues on his journey, Frodo does not go alone. While Frodo felt this was his mission and he had to do it alone, his friend Samwise Gamgee would not let him go alone. Sam served as Frodo’s friend, guide, protector, and strength while they journeyed together on this mission.

On our journey with God, we have a “Sam” that tags along with us guiding, protecting and giving us strength. Jesus described our “Sam” this way

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. – John 16:13-15

The Holy Spirit comes on us at the time we accept and believe what Jesus has done for us. He joins us on the mission God has given us to accomplish.

The Holy Spirit is resident within us and willing to help and guide us down the path. Just like Frodo did with Sam, we have the choice to hear that guidance and follow it or to go against it and endure the consequences that result. But through it all, the Holy Spirit is 100% committed to us, not matter what happens. God would let us go at it alone. He loves us to much to allow that. Moses reminded the Israelites of this fact shortly before he handed the reigns of leadership over to Joshua. He said,

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. – Deuteronomy 31:6

Everyday we need to ask the Holy Spirit to make Himself obvious to us and guide us in the way we should go.

This commitment is needed to accomplish our mission is foundational to following Jesus because it is exactly what Jesus did. He came to earth to accomplish His mission and He gave up what He wanted to accomplish what God the Father had planned in order to redeem the world.

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. – Matthew 26:39

If we are going to follow his example then we need to be 100% committed no matter the cost. We need to be willing to give up our comforts, dreams, and desires – just like He did.

4. A belief in the truth of scripture inspired under God’s control

This non-negotiable of the faith is as fundimental as believing that God exists. The Bible is our guide book for living. It is the source of what we know about how Jesus lived. In order to follow Jesus, it is essential to hold to the truth of scripture in very high regard. It is the inspired, true, flawless Word of God to our lives.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

God In Control – From Beginning To The End…
“All scripture is God-breathed” What more do you need to know about the the truth of the Bible? The Bible is under God’s complete control. From it’s writing to its gathering together into one book to it’s copying/translating through the generations, I believe the Holy Spirit was intimately invovled with making sure the Bible remains true to the message God wants to send to His people. Charles Ryre explains the concept of inspiration this way:

God’s superintendence of the human authors so that, using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error His revelation to man in the words of the original autographs. (Charles Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972), p. 38)

Even to this day, archeology continues to unearth artifacts that support the bible we have today. Examples like the Dead Sea Scrolls confirm many of the key passages of the scriptures. Experts say that the Bible we refer to today is about 98.5% accurate to the earliest manuscripts that they have. The about 1.5% in differences that have been found are minor changes and do not in any way affect the main message of God’s story to us.

Think about that, 4000+ years from the writing of the first books of the Bible and it is still accurate to the original. That is unheard of for any other book in the literary world. Only under God’s control, could something like that occur.

The Purpose Of God’s Word
“is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Why did God watch the formation of the Bible with such care and control? Because it is our guide on understanding who God is and what God has done/is doing.

The Bible is also our training manual on how to follow Jesus and relate to God and man. If we do not read, meditate, and study it, we won’t know how God wants us to live our lives.

The goal of the Bible can be summed up in verse 17 says, “so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” God wants us to be prepared to be used by Him for any good work.

The Spirt and The Bible Work Together
But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. – Job 32:8

For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. – 1 Peter 1:21

The writer of Job hits the nail on the head. The only way that to truly understand what the scriptures are saying is through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes the unclear, clear. Paul explained it this way to the Corinthians by writing,

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

In this passage, Paul wrote about understanding gospel of Christ and how that is a revelation from God, via the Holy Spirit. I believe in the same way, it is the Holy Spirit working in us that reveals the truth of scripture in a way that those who do not have the Spirit (unbelievers) can not understand.

Without a solid foundational belief in the truth of scripture, everything comes into question. God and how He relates to us, Jesus and what He has done for us, and the Holy Spirit with His guiding principles all hinge on the truth of the Bible and its being the inspired, true, flawless Word of God. Those who follow Jesus need to look to our guidebook in this light and utilize it in a more worthy fashion.