Okay now, for our lesson and
message today, in Luke chapter 14, I'm taking the title from
the last verse, the last phrase, Luke chapter 14 verse 35. You see the last sentence? He
that hath ears to hear, let him hear. He that hath ears to hear. Wouldn't it be a miracle this
morning if God would speak to your heart from His Word? Do you have ears to hear Him
speak from heaven who is almighty, almighty in every way? Now what a great blessing from
the Lord to be able to hear even natural things. This time of
year, the birds start singing early in the morning, don't they?
And they start praising the Lord, and those birds are singing,
and we love to hear the birds sing. And then also, we're blessed
to hear the water bubbling over the rocks and the noise that
that makes. It is quite soothing, is it not?
When I was a boy, we used to climb up in those rocky mountains,
and we'd always camp near a stream. And you'd always have that constant
noise of that rippling over those rocks, and it was soothing. You could sleep. And then I thought
of this, the wind whispering through, and especially I think
of the wind whispering through those pine trees, that sweet
whispering sound through those trees. And then often you hear
someone say, you hear someone say this, you hear the voice
of a dear beloved friend that you haven't talked to for a long
time. You remember what you say? Oh, it's so good to hear your
voice. See, it's a blessing to be able to hear the birds, the
water, the wind, to hear a word from an old friend. But that
all pales in comparison to be blessed to hear with spiritual
ears, to hear and receive the holy word of God, to hear the
Lord speak through His word. What a blessing that is to hear
from God. You see, His word is powerful,
more powerful, More sharper than any two-edged sword, it is the
Word of God that truly operates upon our hearts. That's the true
sharpness and the power of the Word. The Word of God is quick
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Don't turn
to this, but let me just read it to you. When Paul wrote to
those believers in Thessalonica, He says, we thank God for you
without ceasing because when you received the Word of God,
which you heard of us, You received it not as a word of men, but
as it is in truth, the Word of God, which affectionately worketh
also in you that believe." The Word of God works affectionately
in the hearts of God's people. That's why the Lord encourages
us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, swift to hear. I always enjoy reading the words
of Cornelius. When Peter came to his house
in Cornelius, that Roman soldier said, Now therefore, we're all
here, right here, present before God, to hear all things commanded
thee of God. Wouldn't it be a blessing for
someone this morning to hear a word from God? Our Lord said this in Matthew
13 when He gave that parable of the sower, And the disciples
asked the Lord, why do you speak in parables? He said, to many
it's not given to know, but to you it's given. And then he said,
given to know. Then he said this, blessed are
your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. To see the Lord by faith in His
Word, and to hear God speak from His Word. Now, with that, let's
look at verse 25, Luke 14, 25. Remember, the Lord had been invited
to the house of the chief Pharisee, and all the things that transpired
that day. And when all that was done, the
Lord Jesus Christ, on His journey, on His mission of mercy, went
with his faith set like a flint toward Calvary, and there went
great multitudes with him. He had gendered quite a following,
great multitudes, and I think there was just not 100 or 200
or 300, I think there were thousands of folks that were following
him. And he turned and he said unto them, Amen, come to me. And hate not his father, his
mother, his wife, his children, his brother and his sister, yea,
his own life. He cannot be my disciple." Now,
some of this multitude that were following him, followed him no
doubt truly out of admiration. Many were following him maybe
out of speculation. Some for one thing, some for
another. You remember the Lord said at
one time, I know why some of you are following Me. The loaves
and the fishes. When He fed that 5,000, He said,
the loaves and the fishes. I know why you're following Me.
You want a free handout. Some were following Him with
expectation of the Lord setting up a temporal earthly kingdom
which would deliver them from the bondage of the Romans who
held such a tight grip on everything they did. The Romans controlled
everything there in Jerusalem. And they were looking for some
relief. Our Lord said, My kingdom is not of this world. But the
Lord draws their attention to one very solemn thought about
being a true follower, about being a true disciple of the
Lord, and that is His absolute Lordship. His absolute Lordship. The Lord demands of His people
total surrender. Total surrender. You cannot be
a true disciple of the Lord without total and complete surrender
to His Lordship. Bowing and confessing that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now, I received
this in one of our preacher brethren. They put out a bulletin every
week like I do, and we all trade bulletins back and forth by email. one of those bulletins up this
morning, and there was an article by an old preacher of the past
who had this to say, but it fits right well with his message.
He said, if you love anything better than Christ, you're an
idolater. If there's anything you would
not give up for Christ, it's your idol. If there's anything
that you seek with greater zeal, Then you seek the glory of God,
the glory of Christ, that's your idol. True conversion is turning
from every idol. You remember Paul writes this?
We give thanks to God because you've turned to God from your
idols to serve the true and living God. That's written by Spurgeon
back in 1860, but it's still true today. I think of another
preacher of the past, Brother Rob Barnard, who came to Ashland,
Kentucky in 1950 and held that meeting there preaching the sovereign
grace of God, and it turned that town upside down, and that town
has never been the same since. Do you know that? That town has
never been the same since 1950. But Barnard, when he came to
town, Spring said, don't tell me who your Savior is. Well,
that's strange, isn't it? Don't tell me who your Savior
is, tell me who your Lord is. If Jesus Christ is not your Lord,
He's not your Savior. You see, it's the Lord Jesus
Christ that saves sinners. Saving faith, it's the gift of
God, is nothing less, nothing more, nothing else than total
surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's total sell-out to the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's forsaking all, as he says
in verse 33, So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not
all that he has, he cannot. cannot be my disciple." Now,
this is not going to be a negative message. This is not going to
be a negative message. It's going to contain some things
that are negative, but the message of the gospel is always a positive
message. The Lord said, My sheep hear
My voice, I know them, and they do follow Me. Now, these are
vital issues the Lord dealt with when He addressed this vast,
large crowd that followed Him, and it's still the vital issue
today. It's still relative today. Who
is your Lord? Three times the Lord said to
these many people who were following Him for the most part for the
wrong reasons, He said in verse 26, You cannot be My disciple
and love someone more than Me. You cannot be, secondly, he said,
you cannot be my disciple and not bear the cross of Christ.
What does that mean? And then thirdly, he said, you
cannot be my disciple unless you forsake all that you have
and follow me. He said you cannot. It's impossible. You cannot. Now, let's look at
those three things in Matthew, excuse me, These same things
are written here in Matthew chapter 10, but I want to give them to
you here from Luke chapter 14 verse 26. Let's read this again. If any man come to me, if any
man come to me, that's a blessing to come to Christ. If any man
come to me and hate not his father, his mother, His wife, and His
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, His own life. It's impossible
to be a disciple. You cannot. You cannot be my
disciple. Now hold your place there, and
here's why I mentioned Matthew a moment ago. Turn to Matthew
chapter 10, and here's what the Lord is saying here. Now that
word hates a strong word, is it not? Is the Lord teaching
us that we should hate our parents? Well, that would be contrary
to the Scripture, wouldn't it? We're to love our parents. We're
to honor our parents. But here's a sense of what He's
saying here. In Matthew 10, verse 34, Think not that I am come
to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. 1 Come to set a man at variance
against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, that he saying the gospel of Christ
divides among men, and man's foe shall be of his own household."
Now here it is, verse 37. Look at this carefully. He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. That's what he's saying there.
And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
me. He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not
worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall
lose it. He that loses his life for my
sake, he'll find it. He'll find it. If any man, the
Lord says, come to me. Now this is exactly what saving
faith does and how it acts. If any man, come to me. Coming to Christ is a miracle
of God's saving power. Coming to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And again, as I've told you over the years, coming to the Lord
Jesus Christ is not something physical. It's not walking from
the back of the building to the front of the building. That's
not coming to Christ. Coming to Christ is believing
Him in your heart and looking unto Him right now. That's what
coming to the Lord Jesus Christ is. He said, "...all that the
Father giveth to me shall come to me, And all that come to Me,
He said, I will never cast them out. In John 6, verse 37. And then He turns around and
says in John 6, verse 44, No man can come to Me except the
Father which sent Me. Draw him, and I'll raise him
up at the last day. All those who have heard and
learned of the Father, they come to the Lord Jesus Christ. So
that teaches us that no man has the ability in and of himself
to believe the Gospel, to come to Christ, Faith is a gift of
God. Believing the gospel is the privilege
that God gives us when He grants us faith. That's why faith is
called precious. If any man hate not that is all
else but Christ, he cannot be a true follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now listen to me carefully. Don't
tune me out. Open up your ears for a moment.
Our Lord is not teaching us to hate our family nor ourselves. He's not teaching us that we
should hate our family and ourselves, and by this hatred we merit the
privilege of being a disciple. That would be contrary to the
rest of Scripture. For we are told to love one another,
to forgive one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. Let me show you that Scripture
over in 1 Corinthians 13. That whole chapter is given about
love. He said, If any man have not love, he is not of mine.
1 Corinthians 13, verse 1, "...though I speak with the tongue of men
and of angels, and have not love, I am nothing. I become a sounding
brass and a tinkling cymbal. Though I have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not
love, I am nothing. Though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not love, charity, it profits me nothing." We're told in Scripture in 1
John chapter 4, Beloved, let us love one another, for love
is of God. Everyone that loveth is born
of God. So what's the true message here? Again, it comes down to
the issue of His Lordship. Do you love Father and Mother
more than you do the Lord Jesus Christ? Now, we're to love our
father and our mothers, our brothers, our sisters. But we do not love
them more than we love our blessed Savior. Let me give you an example
that we can find in the Scripture of what he's saying here about
hating our family. And it's in comparison to the
way we love the Lord Jesus Christ. If we would compare our zeal
and our love towards Him, it would appear that we We hate
our family. Now that's what he's saying.
I want my dear wife, I want her to love the Lord Jesus Christ
more than she does me. See what I'm saying? Now, turn
to Matthew chapter 4, Matthew chapter 4 verse 18. And here
we have this illustrated for us. Matthew chapter 4 verse 18. The Lord Jesus, walking by the
Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, Andrew his
brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And
he saith unto them, Follow me, and I'll make you fishers of
men. He said, Come to me, and I'll bless you. And they straightway
left their net and followed him. And going on from thence, he
saw two other brethren, James, the son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, Simon, Andrew, James, and John. These were all apostles,
right? The Lord made them apostles.
James and John in a ship with Zebedee, their father, mending
their net. And he called them. What if John would have said,
now wait a minute, I love my father more. I love these fish. I love fishing. I'm going to
stay here fishing." And they immediately left the
ship and their father and followed him. That's what he's saying
there, except you hate your father, your mother, your brother, your
sister, your own life. You cannot be my disciple. Now, in a way of comparison,
our love to Christ is so real, so necessary, so vital to our
soul, that compared to any other relationship, it would appear
to be hatred." Now, that's what he's saying. That's what he's
saying. John says this, "...love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him." Remember what Job said
about himself? My eyes, I've heard of thee by
the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes seeth thee, wherefore
I hate myself, O wretched man that I am. Except a man hate
his own life, he cannot be my disciple." That's what he's saying
here. This true love says, I love Christ at all cost. Whatever
the cost is. Life, wealth, health, This love
is the love of God that's shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. It's the hope that makes us not
ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Spirit that He has given us. The fruit of the Spirit is
what? Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness. We only
love Him because He first loved us. That's the only reason. And
it's not the product of the flesh. It's a fruit of the Spirit that
we love the Lord Jesus Christ more than life itself. That's how he described a true
disciple. Now here's the second thing in
Luke 14 verse 27. And he says, secondly, whosoever
doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be My disciple."
Now, what's he saying here? Again, the Lord says to this
vast crowd following Him, anyone who does not bear the cross and
come after the Lord Jesus Christ cannot be My disciple. Now, we had something similar
to this. Turn back to Luke chapter 9. You remember over there in
Luke 9? Look, turn to Luke 9.22. Luke
9, verse 22. He tells the disciples, "...the
Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected of the elders, the
chief priests, the scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third
day. And He says unto them all, if
any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his
cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it, but whosoever
will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantage if
he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"
You see, we bear the cross of Christ. Now, he's describing what true
believers, what they do. Now this is not talking when
he's talking about here bearing the cross. This is not talking
about, now listen carefully, this is not talking about wearing
a cross symbol around your neck. That's not what he's talking
about. Those for the most part are just superstitious idols. Nor is he talking about dragging
a wooden cross down the street. Now, next month or so, we're
going to see on the news, somebody walking down the highway with
a piece of wood on his back, with a wheel attached to the
end of that piece of wood, and he's talking about, I'm bearing
the cross of Jesus. No, you're a fool what you are.
You're a fool what you are. Nor is he talking about, now
listen, bearing some affliction or some trial, as some people
say, well, we all have a cross to bear. That's not what that's
talking about. Whosoever doth not bear his cross
and come after me cannot be my disciple. It's talking about
his cross. This is talking about taking
a public stand for the message of the cross, for salvation by
the cross, for salvation by Christ crucified. This is taking a stand
and declaring what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished upon the
cross for us and glorying in nothing else but Christ in Him
crucified." Remember the Apostle Paul said, God forbid I should
glory in the cross. God forbid I should glory except
in the cross of Christ. And then he said, I'm determined
not to preach anything among you, but Jesus Christ in Him
crucified. So we glory in Christ in Him
crucified. We glory in the message of the
cross. of Christ and Him crucified.
We glory in salvation by the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ
did not try to put away sin. He put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself. And we take a stand for that. Salvation by the cross. This
is talking about taking a public stand for Christ and Him crucified,
for the doctrine of the cross, and for the preaching of the
cross. This is contending publicly for the gospel of Christ to contend
for the faith once delivered unto the saints. Now let me show
you a scripture that will help us on this. Find 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, talking about the message of the cross. The message
of the cross, taking a stand for the cross, what Christ accomplished
upon the cross. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 17, For
Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not
with wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ should be made
of none effect. For the preaching of the cross,
that is the message of the cross, to them that are perishing is
foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God. Look down at verse 22, same chapter,
1 Corinthians 1, 22. For the Jews require a sign,
the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified
unto the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks foolishness,
but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks Christ,
the power of God, and Christ, the wisdom of God. We stand for
the cross of Christ, for the message of the gospel of salvation
through His blood, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses
us from all our sin. Salvation by His grace alone. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bearing His cross means we stand for salvation received by faith
alone. For by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourself. It is the gift of God. Ephesians
2, 8 and 9. We stand or salvation by the cross of
Christ and salvation in Christ alone. Neither is there salvation
in any other, for there's no other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved, and it's salvation by
His mercy alone. That bearing the cross of Christ,
the message of the gospel, His gospel. This bearing the cross of Christ
is counting the cost. It's laying it all on the line
for the gospel of Christ, as it says there in verse 28, for
which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first,
and counting the cost. Counting the cost. As Paul said,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, it's the power of
God and the salvation to everyone that believe it. Now, here's
the third thing I want us to look at in verse 33. So likewise, whosoever he be
of you that forsaketh not all that he has, he cannot be my
disciple. Now what does this mean here?
Likewise, the Lord again tells this massive crowd and us, I
want you to take this personal, to forsake all we have and follow
the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, if you do not do this,
you cannot be my disciple. Now again, let's find a scripture
that we've looked at before, turn back to Luke chapter 9.
Luke chapter 9, verse 57. Luke 9, verse 57. Remember the
man who said, Me first? Me first? Luke 9, verse 57. It came to pass that as they
went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I'll follow
thee wherever you go. And the Lord said, Will the foxes
have holes? The birds of the air they upnest.
The Son of Man doesn't have a house. He's homeless. You want to follow
a homeless man? The Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another, follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer
me first. Now underscore those two words,
me first. Luke 9 verse 59. Suffer me first
to go and bury my father. And the Lord said to him, let
the dead bury the dead. But go thou and preach the kingdom
of God. Hold up the cross of Christ.
Another also said, Lord, I'll follow thee, but let me first. Let me first go bid thee farewell,
which are at home at my house. And the Lord said to him, no
man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit
for the kingdom of God." Talking about what true discipleship
is and following the Lord as Lord. Now, this is what happens
when the Lord is pleased to reveal Himself unto us. He hid these
things from the wise and prudent and revealed them undebated.
When the Lord is pleased to reveal Himself unto us, you know what
we do? We let go of everything else. We let go of everything
else. Now, I'm not talking about quitting
your job, selling your house. That's not what he's talking
about here. Now, stay with me. We forsake all former religious,
idolatry, and religious deeds and follow the Lord Jesus Christ
alone. That's forsaking all that we
have and following Him. That is forsaking every false
refuge That is, forsaking any self-righteousness, forsaking
all those things, the religion of men, the traditions of men,
forsaking all that and following Christ. Remember what we read
in Philippians chapter 3? Paul said, I count all those
religious things but dung. rubbish, garbage, that I may
win Christ and be found in Him. Not having my righteousness,
my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faithfulness of Christ. We forsake all former idolatry,
religious deeds, and follow the true and living God. That's what's
involved in being a believer. We forsake all past religious
experiences, religious feelings, and trust only His Word, and
look to the Lord Jesus Christ right now. You see, saving faith
doesn't look back. Remember what we read in Philippians
chapter 3, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth into those things which are before. Saving faith doesn't
look to a time, a place, or event, or feeling. Saving faith looks
to the Lord Jesus Christ in our heart, Right now, coming to Christ,
looking unto Him, forsaking all. That's what Paul said, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before. I press toward the mark of the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ. We forsake all
our righteousness as filthy rags and trust the Lord Jesus Christ
who is the Lord our righteousness. Except you forsake your righteousness."
He says, you cannot be my disciple. Now, which would you rather have?
Your own filthy, self-righteous, filthy rags of self-righteousness
or Christ Himself as your righteousness? Now, that's a no-doubter, is
it not? That's a no-brainer. Christ is our righteousness,
and we count all else lost. We forsake all else. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputes righteousness without works. Except we forsake all, the Lord
says, you cannot be my disciple. Go ahead and hang on to that
experience. Go ahead and hang on to that righteousness. Go
ahead and hang on to that feeling. He said if you do, if you don't
let go of it, cannot be my disciple." You see, this is defining for
us what is involved in being a believer. Forsaking all and
following Him. Now, look at these last two verses
in Luke 14. And it almost seems like the
Lord is talking about something totally different. Now, I look
at this a long time here in Luke 14 verse 34 and verse 35. You see these things? He says,
salt is good. Salt is good. But if the salt hath lost its
flavor or its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? The salt,
table salt, if it's spoiled, however that happens, I don't
know. But if it loses its seasoning
flavor, what good would it do to use the salt? It neither fit
for the land, nor for the dunghill, but men cast it out. He that
hath ears to hear, let him hear. Now remember, the Lord is preaching
to us and to this crowd, and the Lord says, salt is good for
many things. Now, my doctor tells me that
salt is not good for my high blood pressure. He tells me to
lay off the salt. But the Lord says here, salt
is good for many things. It makes food taste better. When I found out I had a blood
pressure problem and tried to use a salt substitute or to eat
some food with no salt, I mean, that would make you lose a lot
of weight because I can't eat anything without salt. Salt makes
food taste better. It's used to preserve food. You
pick up a can or bottle of any processed food and it's full
of salt. It is even good to heal wounds.
When I was down on the farm and when Daddy would make a bowl
of steer, He would use salt to heal the wound. In Leviticus
chapter 2, every meat offering under the law was to be salted
before it was burned and offered unto the Lord. Salt is good.
The Lord says it is. Again, the Lord is talking about
being a true disciple, a true follower of the Lord. Believers
are called, in Matthew chapter 5 verse 13, believers are called
the salt of the earth. Now here the Lord is warning
these many supposed followers The salt of your profession is
only real if it never loses its savor. The salt of your profession
of salvation in Christ is only real if it never loses its zeal
for Christ. Here the Lord is warning us about
apostasy, about forsaking the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want you to find a good
example of that is found in John chapter 6. Turn over there. Here
again we read of another great multitude that was following
the Lord Jesus Christ. He had just performed a miracle
feeding the many people with loaves and fishes, with a few
loaves and few fishes. And he said unto them in John
6 verse 65, John 6, 65, Therefore said I unto you that no man can
come unto me except it were given him of my father. From that time
He's declaring the sovereignty of God in salvation and what's
involved in being a true discipleship and receiving Christ as Lord
from that time many of the disciples went back and walked no more. The salt has lost its savor. or what appeared to be salt.
Then the Lord Jesus said to the twelve, Will you also go away?
Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast
the word of eternal life. We believe and we are sure thou
art that Christ, the Son of the living God. There the salt remained
salted. in religion appear to have the
salt of grace, the salt of mercy, the salt of true doctrine, but
many make shipwreck of the faith. When trials come, when persecutions
come, they compromise or they quit the gospel altogether. The
salt has lost its savor. Now, I'm not saying that believers
lose salvation. I'm saying that many appear to
be believers who are not. And by and by, they quit. John put it this way, they went
out from us, but they were not of us. If they had been of us,
they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. To forsake
the Lord Jesus Christ leaves nothing but judgment. He that
hath ears to hear, let him hear." May the Lord our God be pleased
to keep us by His power, that being preserved by the power
of God. And the evidence of being preserved
by the power of God is that true believers persevere in the faith. Now let me show you one scripture
on that and I'll let you go home. Find the book of Colossians chapter
1. Colossians chapter 1. You know the Lord says, I will
not turn away from them, that's being preserved by God, but I'll
put my fear in their hearts and they shall not depart from me.
That's perseverance. Now, Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. Verse 19,
For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell,
having made peace through the blood of His cross by Him to
reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were sometimes
alienated, enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath
He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death to present
you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight. There's not a period
there. What are those two dots? What
do they call that? Colon. Continues. If you continue in the faith,
if you continue in the faith, settle, be not moved away from
the hope of the gospel, which you've heard, which was preached
to every creature under heaven, whereby Paul am a minister of
the gospel of the grace, the grace of God.