September 7, 2016
WHO'S ON FIRST?
Luke 14:25–35
Matt Moss
Central Truth
Being a Christ-follower involves honestly taking stock of our priorities and then being willing to reorder them in accordance with God's will.
Key Verse | Luke 14:33
"So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)
Luke 14:25–35
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 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.
Salt Without Taste Is Worthless
34 Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Dive Deeper | Luke 14:25–35
When I was a kid, two of my passions were baseball and comedy. So, in those pre-YouTube days, Abbott & Costello's legendary "Who's On First?" routine qualified as world-class entertainment to me. The essence of the gag was a misunderstanding between the two comedians resulting from the fact that the players playing certain positions, such as first base, had names that sounded like questions,"Who," "What," and "I don't know." Thus, the question "Who's on first?" could be answered with the statement "Who's on first," leading to much frustration and laughter.
Similarly, many of us get confused about who is first in our lives. For instance, we may think that God comes first on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. but our desires for comfort, pleasure, and self-glorification take priority for the remainder of the week.
In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus goes to great extremes to clear up any misunderstanding. He makes it clear that people who believe in Him put following Him first. He calls us to die to our own agendas by “renouncing all we have” and “bearing our cross” to follow Him.
Dying to our own agendas can mean something different to each of us. I used to be an avid exerciser who never missed a workout. I went to the gym every day at 5:30 a.m. because I loved the way it made me look and feel. After I finished working out, I would pray and study the Bible, but if I woke up late or had a busy work day, the spiritual disciplines would get squeezed out. One day, after reading these verses, it hit me: God was not my first priority—He probably wasn’t even second, honestly—and I certainly hadn’t died to my agenda.
Strangely, flipping the order of workouts and time with God in my schedule was transformative for me. First, I no longer missed time with God, which led to significant spiritual growth. But it also made subsequent decisions to die to my agenda and instead to serve my wife, kids, coworkers, and others infinitely easier. And, blessings such as improved relationships, greater purpose, and peace have proven to me that Jesus’ admonition is not intended to rip us off, but that we may “have life to the full” (John 10:10).
Discussion Questions
1. (Softball version of the question): What is the number one priority in your life?
(Hardball version of the question): If someone took an inventory of your calendar (how you spend your time), checkbook (how you spend your money), and thoughts (how you spend your mental energy), what would they say takes priority over following Christ in your life?
2. What tangible/tactical steps will you take today to “nail to the cross” any habits, pastimes, or false idols that are displacing Christ as the number one priority in your life right now?
3. With whom will you share this struggle and ask for encouragement, prayer, and accountability?
4. Do you trust that God will not only provide for your needs but invite you to a “fuller life” (John 10:10) if you make Him a higher priority than (fill in the blank with your answer to question 2)? What Scripture can you point to as evidence of that?
5. If you made the decision to “bear your cross and come after” Christ, how has God blessed that decision? Celebrate that victory, and build your own version of an “altar” (e.g., Genesis 12:7, Exodus 17:15, Joshua 8:30). This can be something as simple as making a note in your journal or taking a picture to remember God’s work in your life!