Luke Week 13 • Luke 14

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There we go.

If you've got your Bibles, open up to Luke chapter 14.

Luke 14 · chapter mention

That's where we're going to be this morning.

I want to share with you guys, seated right here during that last song, and then standing

up here during that last song, and just hearing the people of God singing the hope of God was

just a beautiful, beautiful piece.

And so while I know that the songs that we sing are not designed to be projected at any individual

here, right, they're all being declared toward God, just the beauty of what that was, just

touched and blessed my heart.

And so thank you as you proclaimed the hope and praise that we have in Christ.

Thank you that it blessed my heart.

Well, if you've got your Bibles, we're going to be in Luke 14 today.

We're going to continue on in our series in the Gospel of Luke.

And I hope that you're, as we're going through this, we've been in this since before Christmas

time, and we're keeping on plugging along.

I hope you've been able to seek and kind of feel through, and I've tried to point these

out, that occasionally we hit these themes that kind of stand out and jump out to us.

And we've gone through a lot of those.

For the last couple of weeks, we talked about the concept of repentance, of Jesus calling

life, and what life looks like if it's going to be experienced in Christ, that it's going

to be found in repentance to Him in order to follow Him.

And we're going to kind of continue on with that as we continue on this morning.

Now, kind of a recap from all the way back from December.

Don't worry, I'm not going to walk through the first 13 chapters, but the origination

of this Gospel, of who it was written toward.

Sometimes we can read the Bible and we think that everything was written to a church or for

theological study or for a historical account.

But it's important for us to know that the Gospel of Luke was a letter that was going to

be written and addressed to an individual.

And it was going to go to the churches, just as it's going to the churches today, but that

its original intent, as Luke penned this, was going to be to an individual, a man by the

name of Theophilus.

And so as this was written, those very specific reasons that are found in the very beginning

of the Gospel of Luke, that this was written so that Theophilus may hold certain to all

of those things that he's heard or been taught about Jesus.

And so what we find in here, the reason why I love the Gospel of Luke is because there's

a very simplicity of application that happens, it's because Theophilus, you've heard who

Jesus is, because you're believing correctly about who Jesus is, that the Gospel is something

that transforms us and that we put it into practice.

So there's a very practical essence of the Gospel of Luke that we see.

And so as we're going through this, this is part of what you and I need to hold as true.

Now there's something else that happens in the Gospel of Luke.

There's moments and times where I refer to it as Jesus shrinks the crowd, that there are

people who are there and there's some masses that are following Jesus and He shrinks the

crowd.

They want to follow Him.

They want to hear some teaching of His.

And Jesus begins to go on a true teaching part for Him of saying like, hey, this is what

it looks like to follow me.

He talks about things with struggles and with suffering and it's not the most open message.

It's not the easiest message.

It's not the message that at the heart as you look at it, help takes a skeptic and say, well,

this is easy.

Come on and chase this with me.

And that's what we're going to find here in Luke 14 this morning.

Where Jesus is going to continue on by establishing what it means to follow Him, of what this is

going to look like, of what this pursuit is going to be.

And He's going to do this by teaching through a set of parables.

And you and I are going to be reflective of this at the end of the message by partaking

in the Lord's Supper together.

You know, right before COVID hit, we had started, I tried to find the new word that doesn't embrace

legalism.

And so I'll say a new practice for our church of partaking of the Lord's Supper together

at the first Sunday of every month.

And we've hit a point to where we can do that again together.

So at the end of the message, we'll conclude by partaking together.

And if you didn't grab one as you came in, they're at the back of the auditorium and please

go back now and get one so that you can take part of this with us.

But it's the practical nature of the gospel of what that looks like in our lives.

And Jesus is going to do this by the telling of some parables.

So we're going to look at all those as a whole where last week we looked at one parable and

really focused in on that.

We're going to look at a series of them today.

But I think what's important for us to know the setting in which Jesus begins to tell these

is that the ruler of the Pharisee's house.

So this is an influential individual.

This is a person who, during the time, during the day of Jesus' ministry, this would have

been a huge win, strategically speaking, for the gospel.

This would have been a huge win, strategically speaking, for the movement of God during the

time.

This would have been a great opportunity for Jesus to kind of lessen it a little bit so that

more influence, more power, more credibility could come.

But instead of that, Jesus continues to proclaim the truth of what he's been saying.

And in doing so, he shrinks the following.

This is something common that we see in the life of Christ, all the way back to the rich

young ruler.

When he comes to Jesus and says that he wants to follow Jesus, and what is Jesus' response?

Well, if you want to follow me, I know you define yourself by these things.

Go and sell all you have.

Give it to the poor and follow me.

And then the rich young ruler, Scripture tells us, walked away sad because he knew how much

he loved his possessions and his money of what he decided was going to define him.

And this is one of those moments where Jesus cuts to the heart of the individuals in the

room and begins to address the struggles who were there.

And it all begins as a group of individuals are seated around a table.

Now, these individuals that are seated around their table, they seat themselves in the way

that culture requires, that culture calls for, the customary practice to do so.

Now, I've never been to like a highfalutin, right, dinner with something like this.

I've never been a guest of honor in something like this.

But I did grow up having Sunday dinner at my aunt's house.

And I knew all the way back to then and thinking through now, when I walked into her house,

there were seats that weren't intended for me.

There were seats of honor for different individuals.

And maybe you grew up or even still in a house like that.

I'll be honest with you, still a little bit of me when people come over to my house and

they sit down in my brain like I've got like, no, that's my seat because I can see the TV

clearly from right here.

So, right, I'm going to need you to move over.

My wife won't let me.

And that's where we end up, right?

But we got those.

We've got those traditions.

At my aunt's house, the table in the kitchen was reserved for the older individuals in the

family.

They were the most comfortable chairs.

It was the most comfortable table.

It was the closest to the food, less distance that they had to travel.

I've never in my life sat at that table, right?

Then there was the table that was on the screened-in back porch.

That was the card tables with the folding chairs.

The card tables were steady.

The folding chairs were steady.

And those were for the older teenagers and the adults and their friends.

And so that's where they would go.

But all of us who were really young at the time, I think by the time the family had moved

to different areas, it was like I was probably eight years old.

And when we would go to eat, we would get our plate of food last and we would have adventure

eating, right?

So I would like sit on the corner of the recliner while I had my plate positioned on the end

of a night table while being told, no matter what, you better not spill anything, right?

That's where we were.

And so imagine if that's you, like Jesus is in that setting and he's in the kitchen and

he's got everybody that's surrounding them.

And the younger parents' table was out there because they know where they're supposed to

sit.

And in the living room and in the den, that's where the kids are all positioned.

And Jesus is sitting amongst the people who were set in the places of honor.

They've earned their spot.

They lived in their tradition.

They know what's required of them and they've established themselves in their works and in

their works alone.

And Jesus looks and says, hey, when you're invited to a wedding feast, do not come in and

take the seat of the place of most honor.

Jesus says, instead, go and sit at the lowest seat.

Don't walk in and sit where people know from you where your title is where you're supposed

to be.

Instead, go sit in the den.

Go get on the corner of the recliner and get the edge of the table.

And if you do this, the host may come up and say, no, no, no.

This is where you think you should be.

This is where you've chosen to be.

This is where you've positioned yourself.

But come with me so that I can elevate where you sit.

The host at that time says, come with me so that I can elevate your standing.

As we look through taking the gospel of Jesus Christ and the application for that in our

life, the first thing that I want us to see this morning in the heart of this parable

that Jesus teaches us is embracing humility.

That's what it's called for us.

Jesus at the very end in verse 11 says this.

She says, look, if you position yourself in your life by this is what I'm owed, this is

what I'm deserved, this is what I've earned, you in that mindset will be humbled.

But those who live in the confidence of grace alone, those who understand they're unworthy

of the calling that God's given them, those that rest and trust in who Christ is and Christ

alone, they will be exalted.

You know, when we think of humility in our humility is a positive word that we talk about with even

within our culture, but it's very rarely, rarely applied.

And in fact, within our world, within our life, it's very rarely something that's encouraged because

we have a misunderstanding of what humility is.

We think of humility as beating yourself up, speaking down about yourself, but that's not

humility at all.

Humility is not thinking of less of yourself, but humility is thinking of yourself less.

The heart of the commandment that Jesus calls us to, to love God and to love others.

Where am I in that?

I'm not.

In humility, it's difficult for us because it's the opposite bent of the world in which

we live.

Yeah, on the side, we'll, we'll praise the people who are humble at work and humble in

sports and humble in all of those other things that we think of.

But yet at the same time, we feed a mindset of go and get yours, take what you deserved, fight

for what you long for and what you desire.

But Jesus, embracing power and calling and authority, embraced humility at the same time.

That he came to this earth as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, but yet he was the earthly

son of a virgin teenager and a carpenter.

We think, we know that Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, but yet he wasn't

born at a, at a hotel, he wasn't born in a hospital, he wasn't born in a home, but instead he was

born in a manger, surrounded by animals.

Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, but, but wasn't welcomed with a parade of influential

people, but was instead welcomed by shepherds.

Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, but didn't leave there to take his throne in

Jerusalem.

But Jesus of Nazareth went out into the rural areas and began to spread the hope of the gospel.

Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, as he's currently making his journey to Jerusalem,

would not establish his kingdom by the might of armies, but by the blood he would spill on the

cross of Calvary. Thinking of himself less while thinking of others. I read an author this week,

and I really love this, of what humility causes us to do when we embrace this in our life.

It causes us, he says, to take our eyes off of ourself and place them on God and others.

He said, all too often we walk around this world looking into a mirror,

focusing on ourself and ourself alone, but the gospel causes us to remove the mirror and instead

to keep our eyes focused on God and our eyes focused on others. And I love the picture of what

Jesus gives. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be

exalted. So Jesus begins his hair in another parable. Jesus kind of set the mood or the tone in the room.

He turns the apple cart over. He upsets the norm. But then he tells another one. Now seated in that

room at that table with Jesus are men of influence and power who all have come and all have shown up

because they've been called to by someone who they feel is greater than them as the ruler of the

Pharisees. So Jesus tells another one. He says that a man gave a banquet. And the scripture tells us that he

invited a lot of people. And he sent his servant out to let everyone know that everything is ready. So

this was new for me as you understand this, right? During the time of Jesus, you didn't necessarily

have a watch, right, where you could go and you could say, well, it's six o'clock. We better head to the

party that we've invited to. So if you're invited to a party on the day of the party, you would continue

to do everything that you needed to do in anticipation that at some point in time, you were going to be

summoned for the party. And when the master, when the person who was throwing the party was ready for

everyone to come, he would send out his servants to let everyone know so that they could stop all that

they were doing to come and be a part of the party, to come and be a part of the banquet. And so Jesus

says, this is what this master has done. He sent his servants out. Everything's ready. The table was set.

The food has been prepared. Come and enjoy. But instead of them coming, what began to happen is the people

began to make excuses. We're sorry we can't come. We have different obligations that we have to

fulfill. Some were work obligations. Some were family obligations. Some were financial obligations.

And what began to happen is all the people who had been invited, none of them arrived.

What I want us to look at this morning and this continuum of the application of the gospel is this.

You and I, if we're going to be serious with our walk with the Lord, we have to move past excuses.

You know, the Bible doesn't say that they had obligations, but the words of Luke as he penned this

were excuses. Look at verse 18.

But they all alike began to make excuses. Now, let's pause here for just a second, right? Parents, you know

what he's getting at, right? These aren't good reasons. This isn't communicated understanding.

This is explaining away a bad behavior. They all began to make excuses. The first said to him,

I've bought a field and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused. And another said, I've bought

five yoke of oxen and I go to examine them. Please have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife

wife. And therefore, I cannot come. They all come with excuses. They all come with things in their life that

they said, it's more important than the banquet that I've been invited to. And so I choose to reject

based off of who I am. So Jesus continues telling the parable. The servant came and he told the master.

And Jesus' words were the master became angry.

And he said then, go bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Go out into the roads,

the hedges, the highways, and bring those who are passing by because the banquet will continue.

The party will push on. That those who have rejected, have rejected what was laid before them,

but there are those who are going to live in the benefit of the master. Now there's parts of this

that you and I have to wrestle with that I'm not sure that my brain fully understands,

but a truth of this rings true today. And I want you to think through this. In this very difficult

parable that Jesus gives us is the great banquet. There becomes a point in time in this banquet

for those who are invited, the master moves on from.

It says there was a seat, but there's now someone else who's going to fulfill it.

There's now someone else who's going to take this seat. You've rejected, and you've rejected,

and you've rejected, but they have not.

You know, as we think about the application

of this in the gospel, as Luke would pin this to Theophilus,

as I studied it this week, and the Holy Spirit working and moving in my heart,

as I pray that as you hear this morning, the pursuits of yours as well.

My fear, my concern, my prayer is this.

Don't miss the invitation.

Don't miss the invitation.

Don't let the pursuits of this world, don't let the stuff that you and I think are good,

cause us to miss out on the banquet that we've been summoned to.

Because there are individuals in here who said yes to all of the things that they want to say yes to,

and as a result, are saying no to Jesus.

And here's what I find so many times in the life of individuals who say they are followers of Christ is this.

We're good at saying yes.

We're good at saying yes to everything else.

We're good at saying yes to family.

We're good at saying yes to financial.

We're good at saying yes to work.

We're good at saying yes to hobbies.

We're good at saying yes to everything that we want to do.

And as a result of that, where you and I oftentimes find ourselves is we're really good at saying no to Jesus.

I'm going to ask you, look at your calendar.

Look at your calendar.

See how many things that we say yes to.

And see how many times, as a result of saying yes to everything out here,

we say no to Jesus.

I'm not talking about filling your life with religious obligations.

But what I am talking about is saying no to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And does that reveal more of your heart than you think it does?

Here's the thing that I believe that Jesus is trying to get this group of men who are seated around this table.

Here's what I think Luke is passionately pouring out to Theophilus.

That I wrestled with this week and that I hope that you begin to wrestle with,

if not so already today, is this.

That following Jesus isn't easy.

Following Jesus isn't simple.

So many times in our life, what we want is we want Jesus to fix all the things that are broken,

but then we continue to live in what we break.

We continue to live in the chaos and sin of our life.

So many times we want to follow Jesus and we want our eternity secured and we want our struggles to change,

but everything else that we want in our life, we want it to stay the same.

And Jesus looks at all of them and says, if you're going to follow me, things got to be different.

I know you got a family obligation.

I know you got a financial obligation.

I know that you've got a work obligation.

But don't put it in comparison to Jesus.

Don't miss the opportunity.

You see, in our life, we want to add Jesus to things.

We want to add Jesus to the same loves.

We want to add Jesus to the same pursuits.

We want to add Jesus to the same mindsets.

And it just doesn't work that way.

Following Jesus isn't easy.

Look down at verse 25.

Now, let's pause here for a minute, all right?

So the crowd again.

Jesus is going to shrink it.

Jesus is going to shrink it.

Verse 26.

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters,

yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Now, I want to be honest with you.

I've preached this passage of Scripture more times than I can remember.

And this is one of those passages of Scripture that if I had my sinful preferences, I'd just skip right over every time, right?

Even maybe like cut and paste, let's get this out of here.

Because this is a hard passage of Scripture for us to wrestle with, all right?

Now, number one, if you're getting ready to send your mama a text, that preacher says, all right, got to hate you, follow Jesus, don't do that, all right?

This is not a call of family hatred.

This is not a call to exclude yourself from the individuals in your life.

This is not a call to hate yourself.

But what this is a call, and I think I use this every single time I preach on this passage of Scripture,

this is a call to examine your list.

This is a call to see.

Jesus isn't saying,

hate your dad, hate your mom, hate your children, hate your brothers and your sisters, hate yourself.

What Jesus is saying is this,

that in comparison with me,

that in your life that I'm free of everything else.

Think about it this way.

You and I, when we place what we call our priorities,

and oftentimes I think it is good intentioned people,

but we think through these and what it communicates.

We say, you know what?

Jesus, number one.

My wife, number two.

My kids, number three.

My church, number four.

My neighbors, number five.

My friends, number six.

My hobbies, number seven.

And we begin to go through our life and rate all of these things.

And at the heart and the core of the gospel,

what God is communicating to us is this.

Get Jesus off the list.

Remove him from your list.

That the king of kings and lord of lords is greater than any list that you and I can create on our own.

So he says in comparison,

this is what this life looks like.

This is what this is.

And I love what Jesus is dealing with in these parables and in these passages of scripture.

Jesus doesn't even deal with jobs, hobbies, and friendships,

which most of us struggle with.

He cuts right to the core and says,

your eyes have to be locked in on me and on me alone.

And he looks at the crowd that's around him.

This is in order to follow me, bear your cross.

You see, in order to follow Jesus, there is a cost.

Jesus continues on teaching.

Verse 28.

He says,

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?

Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish,

all who see it begin to mock him,

saying,

This man began to build and was not able to finish.

Or what king going out to encounter another king in war

will not sit down first and deliberate

whether he is able with 10,000 men to meet him

who comes against him with 20,000.

And if not, while the other is yet a great way off,

he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

So therefore, any of you who does not renounce all that he has

cannot be my disciple.

Jesus says,

Look, there's a cost in following me.

Jesus is not like another credit card

to just put in our pocket

to be able to pull out when we need him.

Jesus isn't another activity to add to the schedule.

He's not another name on the list.

He's not another box to check

that when we come to Jesus,

he says,

Count the cost

because if you're going to follow after me,

everything that I am

has to penetrate

every aspect of your life.

Count the cost.

It's going to cost you something.

And the great litmus test that we look through,

that we examine,

is can you see that cost in your life?

When we examine our world,

as Luke writes to Theophilus,

as he examines his life with the Lord,

do you see the effect of the cost of Jesus

in your life?

He says,

Because if not,

it's like a man who began to build something.

But he couldn't finish.

It's like a king who heads off to war

without understanding what it's going to take from him.

And Jesus says,

We have to count the cost.

Church, my prayer for you and for myself,

this week on my knees,

taking some examinations of my own life

through the power and the conviction of the Holy Spirit,

is what am I letting go of

so that God can continue to fill the voids and spaces of my life?

Of counting the cost

of understanding what it means to follow Jesus

in Jesus alone.

I want us to understand this before we wrap up.

Counting the cost

is not about repaying Jesus.

That's not what Jesus is getting to.

Jesus isn't saying

by counting the cost

and paying back

that you then will earn what's there.

Because if that were the case,

it wouldn't be grace.

We'd be saved by our works.

And the Bible is clear.

We're saved by grace through faith alone.

It's not about repaying.

It's not about what's due from us.

Counting the cost, though,

is about responding

to what Christ has done for you.

As we sit here in just a moment,

and as we open this together,

and as we take part

of the elements of the Lord's Supper,

it's not about repaying

because we can't repay,

but it's about responding.

It's about responding to the fact

that this little wafer that we've got

represents the body of Christ

that was sacrificed

to pay the penalty

that you and I

should pay for ourselves.

But it was paid on our behalf.

And so the penalty is taken away.

It's about responding

to the blood of Jesus

that we see in this cup of juice.

That the blood of Jesus

that covers us

and washes away our sin

so that we can be

in relationship with God.

It's about responding.

It's about seeking

and praying

and desiring.

Transformation

is what cost means.

Transforming from who you were

to who you are today

and the power of the gospel

that it represents.

It's about submitting.

It's about saying that,

God, I submit my will

and my freedom

to live in your will

and your calling

of my life.

And it's about remembering.

It's about remembering.

It's one of my favorite

calls that the scripture tells us

is to remember.

To remember.

In the Old Testament especially,

as you see people go

on their journeys with God,

as you see them

have moments of victory

and moments of struggle,

as you see them

in moments of obedience

and moments of sin,

in the continual pattern

of what they're told,

what they're commanded

to remember.

And I think oftentimes

you and I want to find out

what we don't know,

what the future holds.

But a simple truth

of scripture is this,

to remember.

And so this morning,

as we think of what it means

to count the cost,

I want us to remember

the sacrifice

of Jesus.

To remember the body

that was given.

To remember

the blood

that was spilled.

And it's our response

for Him.

If you're here with us

this morning

and you're a follower

of Jesus Christ,

maybe you're not a member

of this church.

Maybe you're not even

a member of our denomination.

But if you're a follower

of Jesus Christ,

we want to invite you

to partake with us

as brothers and sisters

in Christ.

If you're here today

and you're not a follower

of Jesus Christ,

it's sitting for you.

This is for those of us

who are part

of the family of God.

But today,

if that's where

you find yourself,

it's the simple hope

of the gospel

of the call,

what God's called you to,

of what God's invited you to.

To admit

that you're a sinner.

To believe

that Jesus came

and lived

and died

and rose again.

And to confess

that Jesus Christ

is Lord.

And that today

you may become

a follower of Jesus.

Would you pray with me?

Lord,

as we go into this time,

Lord,

I pray for the hearts

of each person

that's here.

Lord,

for those of us

who are believers

in Jesus,

Lord,

I pray that we would do

what your word

calls us to do.

These acts

would not be done

out of religious

obligation,

Lord,

but they would be done

out of remembrance

of who you are,

Lord,

and what you've

called us to.

Or if there's anyone

here who's not

a follower of Christ,

I pray that today

would be the day

where that they respond

to the calling

as you lead

their hearts

to confess

to confess

that Jesus

is Lord

and Savior.

And today,

Lord,

they can take part

in this with us

as they are welcomed

into

the family of God.

And it's in Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

As you take the bread,

God's word tells us

that Jesus on the night

he was betrayed,

he took the bread.

And we'd give him thanks,

he broke it and said,

this is my body,

which is for you.

Do this in remembrance

of me.

And in the same way,

he took the cup

after supper,

saying,

this cup is the new

covenant in my blood.

Do this

as often as you drink it

in remembrance of me.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank you

for your words.

Lord, I pray

that as we're here

this morning,

Lord, we would understand

the cost to follow you.

Lord, through the power

of your Holy Spirit,

Lord, have us examine

our lives,

our ways,

confessing and repenting

of our sin,

bringing ourself

before you.

Lord, may it not become

a sense of where we feel

like we are,

of finding what we deserve,

but yet, Lord,

counting the cost,

responding to what

you've done for us.

Lord, seeking to be

transformed by the power

of your Holy Spirit

to live for your name

and for your glory.

Lord, submitting,

submitting ourselves,

submitting our will,

our way

to your will

and your way

for our life.

And Lord,

may we never forget

and continue to remember

the sacrifice of Jesus.

in His name we pray.

In His name we pray.

Amen.

You've been invited

to seat at the table.

Don't let the pursuits

and passions

and obligations

of this world

cause you to miss it.

Trust Jesus.

Seek after Him

and follow Him

with all that you are.

We'll stand

as we respond to Him.

Thanks again for listening

to the Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast.

We hope that you enjoyed

listening to this week's message.

If you'd like to learn more

about who we are

or explore additional resources,

visit us online

at www.willowridgechurch.com

or by searching

for Willow Ridge Church

on Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you.