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"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33).

To forsake means to surrender your claim to; to say goodbye to.

Until I recognize that everything I have belongs to Jesus Christ, I am not His disciple. Consider Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler who asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10:17).

"Jesus answered, 'You know the commandments: Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Do not cheat. Honor your father and mother.' 'Teacher,' the man replied, 'I've obeyed all these commandments since I was a child.'"

"Jesus felt genuine love for this man as He looked at him. 'You lack only one thing,' He told him. 'Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' At this, the man's face fell, and he went sadly away because he had many possessions" (Mark 10:19-22 NLT).

Jesus was not implying that to follow Him, we need to take a vow of poverty. He asked this man to "sell all he had" because He could see that possessions were the god of this man's life.If he would of had given it all away he would of inherit, and posses even greater than he had before. If something else had been on the "throne of his life," Jesus would have asked him for that.

Count the Cost

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it" (Luke 14:28).

Jesus underlines the importance of counting the cost of discipleship. Many people make impulse purchases without even considering the cost, or they rush into marriage or a career. Sadly, some do the same in their commitment to follow Christ.

This point is illustrated in Luke 9:57-58: "Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, 'Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.' And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.'"

The man in this story did not even wait to be called. He hastily volunteered. He seemed to have a good heart, but he was impulsive. No doubt he had been watching Jesus with great admiration, and now wanted to walk with Him. But he had not counted the cost!

This man did not know what lay in his future, but Jesus did. By the nature of Jesus' statement to him, it would appear that this man, in contrast to the one who wanted to avoid friction with family and friends, was too concerned with material things in general. In essence, Jesus was saying to this man (and to all who would be His disciples), "Whatever would dull your desire to serve, quench your hunger for the Word and thirst for prayer, or make the world more attractive must go."

Jesus is not asking if you will commit 20%, 30%, or 50% to Him. He is asking you to commit 100% of everything to him. Billy Graham has said, "Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have."

What Is the Cost of Discipleship?

• I must pay the price for the sins that I may now cherish.

  As a disciple of Christ, I cannot cling to a single sin and pretend that I am following Him. In the place of those sins, I can enjoy walking in fellowship and friendship with God, living a holy and happy life.

• I must pay the price of this world's fellowship.

  In other words, I must no longer allow secular and worldly philosophy to color my thinking and living. "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold" (Romans 12:2 Phillips).

  As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I must pay the price of this world's friendship. I will be laughed at for my convictions, mocked for my beliefs, and scorned for trying to live by what the Bible teaches. At the same time, in place of the world's friendship, I will have God's.

• I must pay the price for the plans of my life.

  We all have ideas of what we want to do and who we want to be. These are not evil or wrong. Still, I must be willing to give them up if asked to do so by the Lord. And in the place of those flawed plans, I will have God's perfect plan for my life.(Jere 29:11)

• What Are the Benefits of Being a Disciple?

  Yes, there is a cost to discipleship, but what we gain in the place of the things we give up is infinitely better.

  • The disciple is the one to whom God reveals more as that individual drinks in His every Word, marking the inflection of His voice with the desire to obey.
  • The disciple is the one who lives the Kingdom life in all its fullness,obtaining all God has for him.
  • To the disciple, each new day is a fresh opportunity to walk with God.
  • To the disciple, life has definite purpose and direction. It is life abundant.
  • Going out into the world and being fishermen of men
  • Never worrying about anything knowing that God will provide on a daily basis.
  • Being a perfect peace, because your mind is focus, stayed, and thinking of Jesus

  It costs to follow Jesus Christ, but it costs more not to. If you are settling for anything short of discipleship, you are missing out.

• You have a choice to make.

  You love God, and you want to follow Him. Now you have to choose:

  • To live for yourself or to deny yourself.
  • To ignore the cross or to take it up.
  • To seek to save your life and ultimately lose it, or to lose (or invest) your life and ultimately find it.
  • To gain the world or to forsake the world.
  • To lose your soul or to keep it.

  Though our numbers as disciples are small, we must press on and stand together. God may purge our ranks, but it is only to make us stronger as we pursue His plan and purpose to make an impact upon our world.

• (Math 9-vs-37)
• 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.