In this intriguing episode of Weekly Wisdom with Jeff Schreve on Pray.com, dive deep into the true essence of discipleship as discussed in Luke 14:26. Through an engaging conversation, Pastor Schreve addresses the challenging concept of loving Jesus supremely and protecting our hearts from rival affections. Join us as we explore the importance of embracing our cross and walking in faith with a wholehearted devotion to the Lord. Don't miss this enlightening episode that will leave you pondering the profound requirements of being a true disciple.
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Luke, chapter fourteen, beginning in verse twenty six, from the lips of Jesus. If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yeay, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Let's pray together, Father in Heaven. We come to you in Jesus' name, and we ask you to help us to understand your word and understand this passage of scripture in Luke. It seems so foreign to us, Lord, and it seems foreign to the Bible. But Lord, you are telling us that we need to love you supremely, and we need to protect our heart from any other rival loves that would want a crowd in. You have said the very first commandment, You shall have no other gods before me. Lord, help us to love you with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and all our mind. And help us to know your word, to know your truth and walk in it for you. Pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Hi friends, Welcome to this episode of the Weekly Wisdom podcast from pray dot Com. I'm Pastor Jeff Shreeve, and I want to share today about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. In Luke chapter fourteen, Jesus addressed a crowd of would be followers, and he sets forth some shocking and challenging requirements for those who would be his disciples. He said, if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, whether he has sufficient money to finish it, lest after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish it, all that behold begin to mock him, saying the man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king going out to make war against another king sitteth not down first and consulted whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand, or else, while the other is yet a great way off. He sendeth an ambassador and desires conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, But if the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill. But men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. You know, Jesus said, if you're going to be his disciple, you have to love him supremely, and that means above all else. And he says shockingly, if you don't hate your own father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, and even your own life, you can't be his disciple. Now that word hate is used in a comparative sense, meaning that Jesus must be far above any other love relationship in the disciple's life. Now, it might sound difficult or even harsh for Jesus to require such total devotion from his followers, but the Lord knows that any other love relationship that comes before him will ultimately hinder our relationship with God, as Solomon found out when his many wives because he held fast to them in love his many wives turned his heart away from the Lord. Hey, we can't serve two masters, and Jesus knows that, and so we have to love him supremely. Secondly, Jesus requires that those who want to be his disciples they must be willing to carry their own cross and follow him. And in verse twenty seven, Jesus said, whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me, he can't be my disciple. Now, the cross is a symbol of sacrifice and suffering. It represents the disciple's willingness to lay down his own life for the sake of following Jesus. Carrying our own cross means that we must be willing to endure hardship and suffering and persecution for the sake of the gospel. It means that we must be willing to put our own desires and ambitions aside and follow Jesus fully, even if that means going against the expectations of our family or friends or society. Hey, it even means that we must be willing to follow Jesus even to death if need be. Thirdly, Jesus requires those who want to be as disciples to give up all their possessions now you say, WHOA wait a minute, That's what he said in verse thirty three. None of you can be my disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. Now, before you freak out, this doesn't mean that we have to literally divest ourselves of everything we own. But it does mean that we surrender all those things to the Lord's will and to the Lord's purposes. We say, Lord, your overall, I belong to you. I've been bought with a price, and I belong to you. You know, possessions can easily become a hindrance to our relationship with God, and they can distract us from our true purpose in life and lead us away from the Lord. And so that's why Jesus said, hey, you can't let those things get in the way. Surrender all that to me. Now, this passage in Luke fourteen, it's a challenging call to discipleship. And these requirements that he gave, they may seem difficult, they may seem impossible, But Jesus knows that if we trust him, if we look to him, that he can do great and mighty things in us and through us, and he can enable us to do the impossible and He and only He can fill us with his love, joy, peace and power. So pray with me, Dear God, thank you for this challenging passage in Luke fourteen. Lord, I recognize that being a disciple of Jesus is not easy, but it's the most rewarding journey that a person can ever take in life. So Lord, we pray right now that you'd help us to love Jesus with all our hearts, all our soul, all our strength, all our mind to love him supremely. Lord, help us to count the cost, knowing that it requires sacrifice and surrender of all our hopes and desires and plans to you. And we can do that because you're good God, and You're worth of cost. And Lord, we want to be salt and light in this world. If we've lost our saltiness, then God restore it in Jesus' name. We need you. Lord, Thank you for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. May we never take it for granted and always live our lives to your glory and to your praise in Jesus' name. Amen, you've been listening to Pastor Jeff Shreeve, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Texas, Canada, Texas and the founder of from His Heart Ministries. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you and grant you peace.