Complete the Deal! (Luke 14:25-31) (Luke 14:34-35)

Great crowds were following Jesus.  He turned around and said to them, if you want to be my follower you must love me more than you own father and mother. wife and children, brothers and sisters---yes, more than your own life.  Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.  And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me.

But don't begin until you count the cost.  For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money  to pay the bills?  Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you.  They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!'

Salt is good for seasoning.  But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again?  Flavorless salt is good neither for the soil nor for fertilizer.  It is thrown away.  Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"

Now here is Jesus followed by a huge crowd and most of us would be quite used to this popularity and encourage it but not Jesus.  He likes to slow down the mechanism and diminish the excitement.  He turns around now and tell them the truth, YOU MUST LOVE ME MORE than anybody or anything else in your life.  So much that it almost looks like you hate them.  Wow Jesus! You don't know what you are asking Jesus I really love them you, maybe someone else we have said for centuries.  That's too hard of a teaching, you know!

Carry your own cross!  What does that mean Jesus?  Ridicule because of you? What?  No Jesus!  Let's make a deal, OK?

Let's water it down a little bit,  I will only preach the Gospel if you bring the crowds or make me popular.

Jesus is actually wanting the COMPLETE DEAL! The full Gospel with all the miracles and he wants now to be glorified and you even ridiculed for not holding back on the Truth.

He just doesn't want the foundation build but the whole building because he knows that if you build foundation upon foundation you get a concrete block.  If you just build the foundation, you will be ridiculed for not completing your work and not counting the cost first. The complete Deal is all that he wants.  All or nothing!

I know an evangelist by the name of George Verwer, the founder of Operation Mobilization reaching all over the world through discipleship.  I have been in Belgium with that organization as a missionary in training.  Great organization but unfortunately being criticized for doing only works and not of the Spirit.  You have to understand that works complete faith and works are required to reach the world.  The Spirit helps as the works are put forward and I have seen the Spirit move in Belgium as I was with them in 1984.  I have never heard any preaching like I have being with OM, somehow the preaching of taking up your cross has been watered down.

Which brings me to the power of the salt.  I make yeasted bread and use salt.  Yesterday I made four loaves of bread which burned a bit.  I put 2 teaspoons of salt in the four loaf-batch and used sourdough but normally would use a bit of yeast.  I could preach a whole sermon using bread.  Salt represent us true believers of the cross and yeast represents in the Bible the power of sin. Salt kills yeast when mixed together.  Both are needed in leavened bread and you need just a little of each.  Have you ever had salt less bread, it is good for diets but not for me, trust me. They are very powerful!

 A water down Gospel, trust me, is as useless as a pound of salt that has lost its saltiness, in bread and a disciple who has not completed the deal with Jesus is as useless as both.

Have a great day!