1. End quote- “May God grant us joy as we strive earnestly to follow the way of
discipleship. May we be enabled to say “no” to sin and “yes” to the sinner. May we
withstand our foes, and yet hold out to them the Word of the Gospel, which woos
and wins the souls of men.”
 Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“There is no challenge that compares to the Christian life, and no thrill that exceeds
the thrill of the Christian way, but dying with Him and taking up His cross is not
easy. We must forsake all, and most of all, we must forsake ourselves.”
Quote- “Only the man who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and
unresistingly lets his yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy… The command of
Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it. But for those who
willingly submit, the yoke is easy, and the burden is light.”
 Dietrich Bonhoeffer
For an overwhelmingly majority of us in here today, we were raised with some
church background. We were baptized at a young age, proclaiming that we “believe
that Jesus is the Son of God who died for the remission of our sins so that we might
have eternal life.” We have regularly attended church on Sundays and Wednesdays,
received Bibles as gifts or tokens of milestone accomplishments. We went to a
Christian college where our faith grew and was perhaps slightly challenged by the
student sitting next to us who grew up in a different denomination than we did. And
we’re here today because of that faith we’ve had since a young age.
Matthew 11:28-30—“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.”
What does this mean? If you fit the person I just described, how do you relate to
this? I can remember the first time I read this passage and understood what Jesus
was really saying in these words. I remember thinking to myself, “What am I that
burdened with that I need to give it to Jesus and take his burden instead?”
After all, I live in a nice country, in a nice home, on a nice street. Jesus didn’t.
In his paraphrase of scripture, Eugene Peterson interprets Luke 14:26 to say,
“Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children,
brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who
won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.”

2. In Sunday school, we learn about Jesus paying the ultimate sacrifice for us. We learn
about how he died on the cross for our sins—man of sorrows, what a shame! We
learn about how he was beaten and tortured and made to carry this heavy cross
through the streets of his city, furthering his pain and humiliation.
But when are we supposed to learn about carrying our own crosses?
Have we so enamored ourselves with acknowledging Christ’s sacrifice that we
quickly forget we’re called to make sacrifices too?
One of the classes I’m taking this semester is Church History I. It is interesting, it is
challenging, but it is so important to study. The reason we have the faith we do
today is due to the stories and lessons these early church fathers preserved for us
and some of the traditions we practice today date back to the second and third
centuries.
Recently, we have been studying martyrs, which have always particularly fascinated
me. Dying for religion? It seems unheard of in our world today, at least in America. I
want to share with you a few examples of the earliest martyrs we have on record
and what we might be able to learn from them.
If you will, journey with me to 156 AD. Polycarp, an early church member in Smyrna,
is the first church member to have been recorded as being killed for his faith. He was
86 years old. Despite attempts and pleas for him to renounce his faith, he is
recorded as saying, “For 86 years I have served Christ and he has done me no
wrong; how can I blaspheme against my King and Savior?’
There’s the story of Justin Martyr. A former philosopher converted to Christianity,
he was martyred for his faith in 165 AD, hence adding, “Martyr” to his name. He is
recorded as telling his persecutors, “You can kill us, but you cannot do us any real
harm.”
Or go with me to the year 203 AD. In Carthage, modern day Tunisia on the
Mediterranean coast of Africa, two women, named Perpetua and Felicitas. Both
were very young in age and of significant social standing in the community.
Perpetua was only 22 and nursing a son. When she refused to renounce her faith,
she and Felicitas, along with four other Christians, were condemned to death. They
entered the arena calmly with their eyes fixed heavenward. The day before Perpetua
died, she wrote this letter to her family.
Do not be ashamed by my death. I think it is the greatest honor of my life and I
thank God for calling me to give my life for His sake and in His cause. He gave the same
honor to the holy prophets, His dearly beloved apostles, and His blessed, chosen
martyrs. I have no doubt that I am dying for God’s cause and the cause of truth.

3. I can likely guess what you’re thinking—why is she sharing this? Granted, these are
all accounts of people who died some 1800 years ago. I hope and I pray that none of
these situations will happen or a period of persecution in this manner will resurface
in a widespread scale like this ever again.
However, we’re told as Christians to expect it. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:12 that “all
who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Hebrews 11:16
tells us that those who desire a heavenly home, God will not be ashamed to claim
them and call them his own. James 1:4 says that we are to consider trial that we
suffer for our faith “great joy” for we are proving our faithfulness to God.
So, my challenge for you today is this—what are your trials that you suffer through
for God?
I began my lecture today by reading a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A German
preacher, sometimes spy, who is considered by many to be a modern day example of
a martyr who greatly suffered for his faith. In his book “The Cost of Discipleship”, he
writes,
And if we answer the call to discipleship, where will it lead us? What decisions
and partings will it demand? To answer this question, we shall have to go to him, for
only he knows the answer.
What do we sign up for when we become a Christian? What does it mean when we
acknowledge that Christ is our Lord and died for the remission of our sins? What
cost do we pay?
If you will, turn with me to Luke 14. Verses 28-30 are as follows.
“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesnot first sit down
and count the cost, whether he hasenough to complete it?Otherwise,
whenhe has laid a foundationand is not able to finish, all who see it begin
to mock him, saying, ‘This man beganto build and was not able to finish.”
What a great illustration Jesus provides for us here! As we talk about paying the cost
of discipleship, the cost of following Christ, asking ourselves if its worth it, we have a
story from Jesus here that talks about someone who did not pay attention to the cost
he owed.
Continue on to the next story Jesus uses here.
“Or what king, going out to encounter another king inwar, will not
sit downfirst and deliberate whether he isable with tenthousand to meet
him who comesagainst him with twenty thousand?And if not, while the
other isyet a great way off, he sendsa delegationand asksfor termsof

4. peace.So therefore, any one of youwho doesnot renounce all that he has
cannot be my disciple.”
The initial story here seems foolish. If a man has worked his way up to being king,
surely he is capable of knowing he must first have a plan before sending his soldiers
to battle! If he sent them in, against an army that easily outnumbered them, it would
seem ignorant of him to think he had the abilities.
But how many times do we think this about a Christian? Surely they knew what they
were getting themselves into here. You can’t keep intentionally sinning and messing
up once you’ve been baptized. You can’t keep thinking you’ve got it all figured out on
your own once you ask God to come into your life.
How many times do we see Christians act this way?
How many times do we act this way?
Jesus is not attempting to give his audience some daunting task or unrealistic
expectations here. You can see him almost wanting to reach out and shake their
shoulders and say, “Guys! Come on! You’re missing the point here. I want you to
follow me, not because it’s easy. Not because it’s fun or the easy way out. I want you
to follow me because it’s worth it but you’re just not getting it.”
Of the many lessons we can learn from these short parables, one seems
painstakingly clear.
Jesus was honest.
He does not attempt to recruit people by telling the best attributes of Christianity. If
you’ve ever tried to convince someone to do something, or gain interest for
something you are a part of, you’re know you’re not likely to do win them over by
telling him or her all of the negative things or ways that it could go horribly wrong!
He tells the truth up front, simply because he doesn’t want any lukewarm believers
or people who are unsure what they are getting themselves into. He’s warning them
of the cost.
Beyond considering the cost, we must take a step back and ask ourselves—am I
willing to pay it? It is one thing to acknowledge what Christ requires of us as
Christians, but it is an entirely different thing to accept and be ready to pay the cost.
There are many Christians in the world today who prescribe the Gospel of Health
and Wealth—I will gladly follow Christ and live by his teachings, as long as I am
happy and my troubles are small. However, if things start to go wrong, or if things
don’t go the way they would like them to go, the first thing they begin to question is

5. their faith. The age-old question, why do bad things happen to good people? Becomes
their biggest stepping-stone to the gospel.
Further into the New Testament, past Luke into 2 Timothy, we read of what life is
like for Paul as he nears the end of his imprisonment. He uses language of athletes
and races and tells Timothy he has “fought the good fight” and “run the race set out
for him with endurance.”
Despite his struggles, his shortcomings, his failures, and his past, Paul was enduring
the cross he carried. He ran the race with endurance. He embraced what was coming
shortly because he had counted the cost of following Christ and he had deemed it
worth it.
Many young Christians in today’s day and age start out with this mindset.
Sometimes we call it a “spiritual high.” You are on fire for God; you’re ready to go
proclaim him at school, at work, with your friends and family, anywhere you can
with anyone! But then… something goes wrong. Life gets in the way.
To further the race analogy, it’s like beginning a marathon in a full sprint—it seems
like a great idea and you’re laughing at those who are pacing themselves because
you know the best way to do something.
Then you cramp. You hurt. And suddenly, those people you laughed at are passing
you easily, not at all tired by their steady pacing. You might even quit.
How many Christians do we know like this today? Their faith consists of these very
spiritual highs, but like any high peak, there’s a low valley coming. Just like the
tower builder found in Luke 14, we begin to see that there are more similarities
between the foolish builder and ourselves than we thought.
He had a great idea, a great plan—a masterpiece even! But he didn’t realize the
sacrifice it required just wasn’t worth it.
One of my favorite music groups is Rend Collective, a worship band from Ireland. If
you have not had the opportunity to listen to their music, I strongly recommend any
of their songs!
However, one song has always stood out to me in particular. Its honesty, its
uniqueness, and its boldness is hard pressed to match in many other Christian
contemporary songs today.
It’s simply titled “The Cost.”
Its opening words are “I’m saying yes to you, and no to my desires.” Its chorus says
“I have counted up the cost, and you are worth it.”

6. This folksy worship band from Ireland is latching onto something many of us have
yet to realize.
It’s not about counting the cost. It’s not about being aware of it. It’s about the
willingness to pay it. We must not be cautious or lukewarm about this—Jesus tells
us in Luke 9:62 that those who “put their hand to the plow and look back” are not fit
for the kingdom of God. Those who hesitate, those who aren’t sure—they weren’t
meant for an eternal, everlasting relationship with God.
Are we willing to pay the cost? Are we willing to deny ourselves of everything that
gets in the way of a relationship with Christ and say, “I know what it takes Jesus, but
you’re worth it!”?
It’s not until we can come before him and say, “I’ve counted up the cost, and you are
worth it” and truly mean it with all of our heart can we have eternal hope in Christ.
It is not until we acknowledge that there is a price to pay for being a disciple. Some
have been called to give it all, some have been called to give a little. Whatever our
personal circumstances might be, whatever God has in store for us, we’re called to
be ready.
Are you ready to be a follower of Christ?
I would like to close with this thought in mind. Richard Wurmbrand, a man who was
imprisoned for 14 years in Romania for his faith, penned this.
“When you were a child, you might have sat on a small stool and looked at your
mother’s embroidery. From your point of view, it was a confusion of zigzags, knots, and
loose threads. Then your mother, to help you understand, turned the embroidery on
the right side so you could see and appreciate the design. You must stop looking on the
wrong side of things… Lift your hearts to heavenly places and look down upon events
from that vantage point. You will see life’s temporary sufferings as a gathering of
pearls and jewels with which we will be adorned in eternity.”
Thank you for coming!