The Cost of Following Jesus

The Cost of Following Jesus

Intro Story – Counting the Cost:

Good morning everyone, my name is Nate Herringshaw. I am the missions Pastor here at Renovation Church.

My wife and I both grew up with dogs. Specifically golden retrievers—yes the cutest of all the dogs, we love them. But once we had kids, things changed as in, I only wanted to take care of “human living beings”. I was firmly in the “no dog” camp. I didn’t want the extra responsibility, the mess, the change in routine. But as the kids got older, the question started surfacing: “Can we get a dog?”

At first, my “no” was enough. But then my wife started softening her stance—saying things like, “Maybe,” or, “You’ll have to convince your dad.” Suddenly, I was the last holdout. And before I knew it, I was getting texts with puppy pictures from my wife. The next thing I know, we’re bringing home a puppy in April.

I’ll admit—it was hard to resist. He was so cute. I remembered everything I loved about dogs. But here’s what I didn’t fully remember—or really weigh out: how much work it takes to actually own a dog.

At first, it was all puppy breath, tail wags and snuggles. Then reality hit: the biting, the accidents, the digging. I found myself questioning:

“What were we thinking?”

“Can we return this thing?”

“Did we just get a crazy dog?”

See I wasn’t mad at the dog—I was frustrated because I hadn’t made room for the change. I was trying to fit a puppy into my old life, instead of realizing I had entered into something new. I had said "yes" to owning a dog... but I hadn't counted the cost of what I had to give up.

Once I surrendered to that reality—that life was going to look different, that routines would shift—my perspective started to change. He didn’t feel like a burden anymore. He felt like a blessing. Especially when I saw how much my kids love him.

SHOW PICTURE of Kids with Shepherd the dog.

Now, don’t get me wrong—there are still moments I wonder what I got myself into, especially as I look at my yard all dug up.. But I’m thankful for him.

I just hadn’t fully counted the cost when I said “yes.” So I was stuck on all that was hard or different. Not what my family was gaining.

So this morning I want to talk about what it actually costs to follow Jesus

Scripture Reading – Luke 9:57–62

We are going to look at a passage today about just that. Counting the cost. So if you can turn your bible to page “708” You can go down to the bottom of the page to the little 57 which is at the end of the chapter and we will start there. We will read this multiple times so keep your bible open here but lets read it all the way through, first.

Scripture Reading – Luke 9:57–62 Page 708

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

In our reading, we meet three different people who each express a desire to follow Jesus. At first glance, they sound sincere—each one says the right thing. But Jesus responds in a way that cuts straight to the heart. He knows their motivations. And He uses these encounters to reveal what following Him truly looks like. He sees that they have not fully counted the cost of following him.

This morning you might be listening to the message from two different stages:

You have said “yes” to Jesus but are still holding back in certain areas of your life or aren’t truly following Him like you know you should.

Or you haven’t yet said “yes” to Jesus at all and are not following Him.

So listen through whichever perspective you might be coming from. We are reading the living Word of God and there is something for everyone.

Three Different Encounters:

So we are still on page “708” and we will read these passages again. We will take each encounter step by step. Let’s start back on verse 57 this is what it says.

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

1. The Negotiator: “I’ll follow you wherever…” (vv. 57–58)

We will call the first guy the Negotiator:

So this first guy comes in hot, bold, eager, confident. He comes up to Jesus and says, “I’ll follow you wherever you go!” He sounds like he’s ready to jump in and follow Jesus. He sought Jesus out. He showed initiative. You’d expect Jesus to smile and welcome him in. But notice, in each encounter Jesus has, he doesn't just listen to their words. Jesus sees their heart. He knows their true intentions. So he responds:

“Foxes have dens, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

What an interesting response to someone who just said I will follow you! Most leaders would be like, great! This is easy stuff. I am crushing this.

But in the cultural context at the time, it was normal for rabbis to have disciples, and those disciples were often provided with basics like food and shelter—especially if the rabbi was well-known or had wealthy supporters.

At this point in the story Jesus was known by many. He was performing many miracles like feeding the 5000, healing the sick, casting out demons, etc. So being a follower of a popular Rabbi like Jesus was a big deal. It’s very possible this man assumed that following Jesus would come with some perks, security, comfort, maybe even some influence.

This guy was almost negotiating with Jesus. Saying I will follow you wherever you go…if this is in it for me…

But Jesus flips that expectation completely.

He essentially says: “If you follow Me, don’t expect comfort. Don’t expect stability. Don’t even expect a place to sleep. This road isn’t easy, not even for Me.”

Jesus is revealing a deeper question:

Are you willing to surrender your comfort for the sake of My calling?

A lot of us approach Jesus like the negotiator. We say something like…

“I’ll follow you if…”

you give me the job-the promotion

you get me out of this bad situation..

you heal my family

you bring me a spouse

You give me what I want..fill in the blank

Or you might be negotiating with Him in a different way like..

I will stop doing this…if you do this for me…

I will start doing this… if you do this for me…

We negotiate with Him like He owes us something…

Jesus doesn’t owe us anything! Because He’s already given us everything.

Following Him means laying down our terms, our wills, our lives to Him…

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, put it famously:

“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

So let me ask you:

Are you willing to follow Jesus even if He doesn’t give you what you want?

Or if He asks you to do something difficult?

Are you in this for JESUS or for comfort and safety? Which of these are the most important to you?

What is standing in your way to give it all Him?

Okay lets look at the next person on the same page 708 starting in verse 59.

He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

2. The Hesitator: “Let me first bury my father…” (vv. 59–60)

I call this person he Hesitator:

Here is another person where at first, this sounds completely reasonable. It almost sounds mean for Jesus to say what he said. But Jesus, again sees things from the heart. He sees what you and I can't.

Most scholars agree that the man’s father likely wasn’t dead yet. What he meant more accurately was: “Someday, once my family responsibilities are done. I’ll follow you.” Because as a son he was in charge of his family's estate. And once he had taken care of those responsibilities when his father had passed, then he would be free to follow Jesus.

How does Jesus respond?:

“Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Man, that still sounds harsh… but I believe Jesus is really calling out the delay in this man. He is waiting until it’s more convenient for him. For when he has fewer responsibilities. Or when he can fit it into his schedule…

See this man isn’t saying “no” to Jesus, he’s saying “not yet or not today.” Which I think is really important to look at.

How often do we do the same?

“I’ll follow you Jesus ... .but first let me…”

finish school

get married

build up my savings

hit that next promotion

Retire

“I’ll follow You fully…when its more convenient"

“I will follow you Jesus… just not today.”

I heard a preacher say this once and I think it's spot on. He said “I believe the enemy doesn’t mind if you say “yes” to Jesus…just as long as it’s tomorrow…”

Think about that…

Tomorrow can turn into a lifetime of delay.

For some of you, tomorrow has lasted years. You just keep putting it off. You let other responsibilities come in the way of surrendering to Jesus.

Jesus is looking for people who will say yes now. Not waiting for tomorrow. Will that be you?

To quote Augustine (354–430 AD)

“Christ is not valued at all, unless He is valued above all.”

How are you like the Hesitator?

What responsibility are you valuing above following Him?

Those of you who have been following Jesus for a long time…Is there a part of you that still has hesitation to surrender ALL to him? Why not today?

Now let's look at the last person. Starting at verse 61

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

3. The Half-Hearted: “Let me say goodbye…” (vv. 61–62)

This last guy I call the Half Hearted:

Yet again, this request seems reasonable. He just wants to go say goodbye to his family. But not surprisingly, Jesus sees the heart, he sees more than what's on the surface.

This man wanted to follow Jesus, and say goodbye to his family. But it wasn't just saying good bye. There was more to it. I believe he needed to save face with his friends and family by telling them what he was doing just in case this thing with the Rabbi didn't turn out. He wanted to keep a backup plan.

He wanted to move forward—while still looking back.

And Jesus response is:

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

This is a call back to when we first started the Elisha series. If you remember in 1 Kings 19:20–21. Elijah calls Elisha to come follow him. Elisha is working the fields and his hand is on the plow. Now Elisha does go and say goodbye to his family but in doing so he literally burns his old life. He burns his plow equipment and slaughters his oxen which was his way of living, making no way for him to return to his old life. This was his way of stating he was all in when he followed Elijah.

So when Jesus gives his response to this man. It seems that Jesus sees that this man still wants to keep the door open to his old life. He is not willing to burn the plowing equipment and slaughter the oxen in his own life.

Jesus is not being cruel….He’s being clear.

You can’t follow Jesus while still clinging to your old life. This is what He is saying.

There’s no room for split loyalty in the kingdom of God. You can’t serve two masters..When you say yes to Him. That's it. It’s Him. You can’t be half hearted.

My Story:

In middle and high school I fell away from following Jesus. I focused on serving myself and that included partying and making bad choices which lead me to depression and self hatred. But the Lord got a hold of me and I surrendered my life to Jesus. After I graduated Highschool, I decided to join a discipleship school that propelled my life in pursuit of Jesus. But when I came back home, I knew I couldn’t just go back into the same circles that I was previously in.

That came at a cost. I didn’t have many friends.

It was a season when I actually had the least amount of friends I have ever had.

But God sustained me. The few friends I did have, were deep, life-giving, and centered on Jesus.

Eventually, I was able to reconnect with some old friends—and that’s been great. But I never went back to making those friends my core community.

Because I knew, if I kept one foot in that old life, I’d get pulled right back into serving myself.

So let me ask you..do you want to follow Jesus but feel like you’re not ready to let go of your past?

Is there something you are being half hearted with when it comes to following Jesus?

Are you looking back? when Jesus says look at me…look forward.

The Real Cost — and the Greater Gain

As we look at these three encounters, maybe you see yourself in one or more of them:

Maybe the..

The Negotiator — “I’ll follow You if You do this for me…”

The Hesitator — “I’ll follow You… but first let me take care of this…”

The Half-Hearted — “I want to follow You, but I’m not ready to let go of my old life…”

See Jesus already set the standard earlier in Luke 9:23–24:

“ Then he said to them all:” Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up your cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”

Later in Luke 14:26, He takes it even further:

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple."

And Paul echoes this in Philippians 3:8:

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

A Global Church Perspective:

Here in America, it can be difficult to truly grasp the cost of following Jesus sometimes. But I want to put some numbers in front of you. According to Open Door’s report from 2023-2024, 4,476 Christians were killed simply because of their faith. Globally 380 million christians face intense persecution for their faith, that is 1 in 7 believers.

In many parts of the world, people come to Christ knowing full well that it could cost them their lives, and still, they choose Him. They are surrendering to Him. They have counted the cost and are still saying “yup…He is worth it!” Actually, some of the fastest-growing churches in the world are in places like Iran and China, where persecution is some of the harshest. Just let that sink in. More people are saying yes to Jesus in places where their “yes” could costs them their very lives.

That's what Paul is saying, that is what Jesus says…everything else is worthless in comparison to knowing Him. That there can be no negotiation with Jesus. There can be no hesitation. No half heartedness.

Some of you will be called to go to the nations as missionaries and I can not wait to connect with you about that. I truly believe there are some who are called in this room already. But know this. Your calling will come with a cost, it will not be easy. But hear this: the reward is greater still.

Here’s the point:

We can spend so much time obsessing over what we have to give up to follow Jesus, that we forget what we gain…we gain HIM. The King of Kings. The Lord of Lords. The healer. The Redeemer. The Provider. The Comforter. God with us. The Savior of the world. That is WHO we gain.

We have to truly see the cost but we have to stop embellishing what we are giving up and diminishing what we are gaining.

What we gain in Christ is everything.

He is worth it.

He is worth your life.

He is worth the cost.

He gave everything for you.

And now He invites you to give everything to Him.

See, God sent His Son Jesus to earth to take on the punishment for sin that we deserved. He was brutally beaten and nailed to a cross, but three days later He rose again—conquering sin and death once and for all. Because of this, we can now be made right with God. All He asks is that we confess our sins and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord and surrender our lives to Him.

So I want to ask everyone to close their eyes for a moment.

And I want to give those of you who have never surrendered to Jesus. Time to make that decision today. Remember the time of Salvation is Now. Not tomorrow. It's now.

So if you want to receive forgiveness for your sins and follow Jesus as your Lord. If you’re ready to surrender to Him. I am going to ask you to stand up. Don’t worry about other people.

Their eyes are closed.

Stand up.

Take a step of faith.

Okay, I am going to ask everyone to repeat after me–whether you are standing and responding to Jesus's call for the first time or whether you believe in Him and are responding to a deeper level of “following Him”...

Salvation Prayer:

Dear God,

I confess to you, that I have sinned against you.

But God I believe, that you sent your Son Jesus, to take my place

And God I thank you, for forgiving my sins.

And now I commit to following you, with my life.

( While everyone still has their eyes closed, for those of you standing)

That is the best decision you’ll ever make in your life. I promise you that. Now for those of you who stood and made that decision for the first time I want you to go right now and meet the Follow Up Team in the back by the Worship Center Doors and they will explain more of what this decision means and what are the next steps of truly following Jesus.

( While they’re walking, let me just pray and thank God)

Okay lets go back into worship