Well, if you have your Bibles, could you open them up, please, to Luke chapter 14; Luke chapter 14. I'm looking forward to next Sunday. It'll be good to be together, to worship God as normal, but I'm really excited that you will have a chance to meet my parents, and even more that they will have a chance to meet you. Steven Curry, it's kind of funny calling him that, isn't it? Steven Curry is my dad. But he's a great preacher, and you will be well served, well fed. There's no short change taking place next week. You will really enjoy the ministry, and I think really be served well during that time. So please do make a special effort. I know there's always so many reasons and things that come up, that prevent us from being able to gather on a particular Sunday. But next week, if you're able, I want to encourage you to come to enjoy that time together. And I want you to come up and introduce yourself to my mom and dad. They're praying for you. They know me too well. They're praying for you. And I would love them to know you a little bit as well at the end of that time.
Now, Luke chapter 14, we're looking this morning at verses 25 to 33. If you were to do a quick Google, it highlights there are endless articles and endless books on church growth, the keys to growing a church. One of those articles, one of the top in Google that came up said this, there are 11 Strategies for church growth.
First of all, develop a mission statement prioritizing growth. Secondly, build stronger children and youth programs. Thirdly, encourage involvement. Fourthly, focus on creating relationships within your community. Fifthly, manage your supporters and strengthen these relationships. Sixthly, partner with neighboring churches for events and programs. Seven, start a virtual church. Eight, use social media to promote your church. Nine, hold community events for the public. Ten, give church members a cashless donation alternative. And eleven, focus on small groups.
Now, most of those are very good principles and helpful, but here's what's not on the list:
Call them to hate their own family. Call them to hate their own life. Tell them it's going to be a long road marked by cross-carrying suffering. Urge them to seriously count the cost before joining because it's going to be far harder than you realize. And lastly, tell them they can only join if they renounce all that they have and anything less won't cut it. But let's stand and read God's word and hear what Christ says. Luke chapter 14, verse 25.
[Scripture reading] “Now great crowds accompanied him and turned and said to them, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him, who comes against him with 20,000, and if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
Let's pray.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we recognize the high calling in the text in front of us. And we recognize that in our human flesh it is impossible for us even to understand what is in front of us. Never mind, put these things into practice. But we thank You for your grace. We thank You for your continual prodding. And we ask, Lord, that the text would have a prodding effect upon us this morning and spur us on to love and to live with the type of commitment our King Jesus deserves and requires. So, help us during this time to understand that high calling more and fill us with a desire to live it out. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. [End]
Have a seat.
This morning, maybe you are one who claims to be a Christian, but really, when it comes down to it, that faith, that Christianity is of secondary importance. It is Jesus when the family doesn't need you first. It is Jesus when work is already content and happy with how you're doing. It's maybe in your mind, Jesus and all your stuff, they are the loves of your life. But Jesus doesn't give us that option. The Bible makes clear there is one true God and He is a jealous God. In other words, He is one who demands exclusive worship and exclusive allegiance. As Jesus elsewhere says, no one can serve two masters. If you're going to be a Jesus follower, if you're going to be a disciple this morning, He must come first. He alone is to be your Lord. Following Him, discipleship. It is a costly thing. It is a costly pursuit. If you look at verse 25, we read:
“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them…”
We've spent a long time sitting around that prolonged meal of the Pharisees, that ruler of the Pharisees, but now we are on to a new scene. Now we are back on the road, on the long journey to Jerusalem. There'll be many more conversations, many more things that come up on that journey, but that's where we are. We've left the house, we're on the road, we're heading a direction once more. And Jesus here is addressing not his disciples, but the text says these great crowds who accompanied him. These great crowds.
Now, think about the people we're talking about. Think about the people that Jesus is primarily addressing. It's not those who have left everything, who have counted the cost. It's not those who have forsaken fathers and obligations and work and possessions. He's talking to the massive group that were curious. A massive group that was very much interested, but not yet committed. You could think of them as a crowd of fence sitters. They did like listening to Jesus. There was something about Him that had moved their hearts to want to come and to spend time around Him and His influence, but they were not yet what we would call committed followers.
I think like a lot of men and women here in Dallas, they certainly were not opposed to Jesus. We're not talking about those Pharisees who sought to lay a trap like we saw before. These are people who appreciated Him. They appreciated the Christian influence He brought to society and to their life. They are like a lot of people you find today who this morning will go and be in a church service somewhere around the city. They would tell you very earnestly that Christianity is a part of their life. In fact, they may even say it's an important part of their life, but it's the Sunday part. And to this interested, receptive, curious group, Jesus doesn't try and entice them to greater commitment. He doesn't spell out to them all the benefits, and there are many, but all the benefits that would come if only their commitment was wholehearted. He doesn't seek to show them just how rich and wonderful and kind the community of believers around them would be. Rather, He stresses the exclusivity of true discipleship. Look at the end of verse 26:
“Apart from this, he cannot be my disciple.”
It's repeated at the end of verse 27. “He cannot be my disciple.” And then, third time at the end of verse 33, “he cannot be my disciple.” Three times He hits that particular drum. This is a requirement; this isn't an option. He's not laying out a trail of breadcrumbs to get you to come closer to Him and to the fellowship of believers. Rather, this is not a guy looking to grow the numbers. This is not an individual who is seeking to see the giving increase. Rather, He says that following him is a costly endeavor. And you need to know that. If you are thinking about following Jesus, if you are thinking of being one of His disciples, you need to know what you're getting into.
And so, what He does is, first of all, He spells out what following Jesus requires of you. What following Jesus requires of you? And the first requirement is this. It requires your love. It requires your love. Look at verse 26:
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Jesus, like He so often does, He goes right to the extreme, doesn't He? And remember, we're in a Jewish culture. In the Jewish mind, they were very family-oriented. That's a good thing. They loved and prioritized the family. If you ask them to think of the greatest sin they could think of, if you ask people today, they would probably talk about murder. Maybe they would talk about something, some sort of domestic violence or something equivalent. But in that society, what they thought of was dishonoring your parents. That call of the fifth commandment to honor your father and mother was held in highest esteem amongst the Jews.
To defame, to undermine, to push back against, especially your father, to bring him dishonor was a sin of great shame, a grievous wrong to commit. And yet here in the strongest language, Jesus says He must come first. Even over the family. Even over the marriage. Even over all of these relationships that are, and they are, so important in life. Those parents who invested so much in you, the children that you would do anything for, the siblings who you've been trained to look out for in every moment. If we are to follow Jesus, so encompassing is the love he demands from His disciples that all else is to be hatred in comparison. Hatred.
Parents, maybe even grandparents more so, they love to know with little ones, who do you love most? You ever play that game? You sit them down and get them comfortable and then you pounce on them with that awful question, who do you love more, mom or dad? Or granny or gramps, granny or granddad. You know how it goes. And if the kid is really smart, not making any judgment calls on any of the children in the room, but if they're really smart, what do they say? Oh, I love you both the same. I love you both the same. What Jesus is saying here, you can't love them both the same. That's the point. He's saying it has to be Jesus first. It has to be.
Now the word hate here, it doesn't mean that you are to feel malice towards them. It doesn't mean you're to loathe them. He's not calling for a war against parents. He's not calling for a genuine anger or hostility towards them. What this is, is a Hebraic form of speech. It's a way of indicating that something has been rejected because there's a greater thing here, a greater love that takes precedent. There's somewhere else where our supreme affection rests.
There's that playground game, I don't know if you've heard it; ‘would you rather?’ Would you rather, Coke or Pepsi? Would you rather, football or soccer? Would you rather, Chick-fil-A or Canes? And, you know, on and on it goes in the playground. What we're asking in that type of question is not, which one do you loathe and which one do you like? We're saying, which one do you like most? If you were given the choice, which would you be at? Where would you most want to associate and give your attention to? Which one has the greater place in your affections, in your hearts? And that's what Jesus is communicating here. He's not stressing that your attitude and engagement with your family is to be negative. It can't be, because the rest of scripture esteems the family and calls us to give careful attention to relationship with our parents, to relationship with our siblings, to relationship with our children, with our wife, with all of these things, they are to be important. They're to be looked after. In fact, King Jesus requires you to steward those things extremely well. But what He is saying here is He must be first. He clearly and every time must have precedent.
In fact, look at the end of verse 26. He uses that other expression, “even your own life.” It's the same idea. Of course, you're meant to look after yourself. I hope you brushed your teeth this morning. You're meant to do these things. You're meant to take care of this temple that He has given to us. We're meant to look after the body. Of course we are. Obedience to God requires it. But what we are being told is that Christ must come first, even over the normal things. Most people live to eat dinner. We work to put food on the table. We live to take care of this. But Jesus is saying, while that may be true, He comes even above the obvious, even above everything we would normally prioritize. And everything that God has given, even the good things He's given to us, even the things He's given us, careful instruction about family, wife, children, cannot take precedence over the love and the commitment His followers are required to have.
One commentator said, when the good rivals the best, it is to be hated. That's what's being communicated here in the verse. Everything else that would hold us back, that would creep in over and above our initial primary commitment to Christ is to be held in a lesser place. He doesn't say, you'll be a less successful Christian if you don't get this right. He doesn't say if you don't have Him first in your life, you're gonna have more struggles. He doesn't say if you don't have Him first in your life, you'll not reach your full Christian potential. What does he say at the end of verse 26? Unless He is your singular, your supreme love, it says, he cannot, cannot, cannot be My disciple. You see the point? There's no other option here. This isn't a call to, you know, let's all raise our commitment to Jesus because that would be good. What He is saying here is unless Christ is first, you're not in.
This isn't a call to be a better Christian. This is a requirement to be a Christian at all. Jesus demands your love. He demands to be your first love above all else. Anything less than that is null and void. Anything less than that is not biblical Christianity, is not true discipleship. The second requirement is it requires you to suffer. Look at verse 27:
“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
There's a link here. Everyone who comes to Me, he is also going to be one who bears his own cross. Those two go hand in hand. One who comes after, one who follows Jesus will bear his own cross because following Jesus is always a costly thing. Now, we have such a sanitized idea of the cross in our heads, don't we? It's a pretty piece of jewelry to be hung around the neck. And if you were to give a gift of a cross jewelry, a cross necklace at Christmas to somebody, they would wear it and it would communicate something of love, of peace, maybe even tell the world, I'm a little bit religious. It communicates those very gentle, soft things. But in the world that Jesus is speaking into, the cross is a symbol of shame. To the Jew, it was a shame to die on the tree. It was a curse to die on the tree. It was a scandal to the Romans. There was no worse death, no greater punishment in that day that had been conceived of. Here was the most public, embarrassing execution. It was a symbol of everything horrible, everything scandalous. It was all tied up with the cross. As Jesus mentioned the word cross, people pulled back. They had that creepy feeling go up their back. The true Christian reading here of Jesus's words is that He is saying, if you are a follower of Him, you are going to embrace, you will need to embrace a reality that the road ahead is hard and difficult, marked by shame, one along which people will reject you. A road marked by sincere sacrifice, one that comes with great cost.
True Christianity is not some sort of country club where there is great coffee and comfortable seats and a stimulating talk. So often that's what we think of, don't we? We're so blessed in this church. We have a lovely building. We do have comfortable seats. We have coffee as soon as you walk in. These are wonderful. I don't know about the stimulating talk, but you get what you get. This is so often what we think of as Christianity. This isn't it. May this be, I hope, an oasis that refreshes our soul, that we can go out into the world, because when we go out, we bear our cross. We go to walk that road of suffering. That's discipleship. That's following Him. It's a worthy walk, but it is one marked by suffering, the suffering He is calling us to.
Did you notice there in verse 27, two words? We're to bear our own, it says, own cross. In other words, what we're being told is not just the leaders will suffer, we’re not being told that in some parts of the world there is a persecuted church and those unfortunate believers will suffer. Rather, what's being communicated here is every person will have their own cross to bear. Every follower, true follower of Jesus will know some measure of personal cost that accompanies our pilgrimage. What does it require of you to follow Jesus? Well, it requires your love, it requires you to suffer, and it requires you to glory in the cross.
Again, I think there's a little bit more in verse 27. Verse 27 doesn't simply stress that there is suffering to cross bearing, which of course we've just said it does that, but it weds that reality that you will carry your cross, it weds it to the idea of following Jesus, of discipleship itself. Again, look at verse 27:
“Whoever does not bear his own cross, and comes after me.”
In other words, the call of verse 27 is not just you will suffer, it's you will suffer, but in that there is a closeness, an ongoing movement towards Jesus Himself. Do you see that? This is an important reality if we're going to understand all of the call. Jesus' serious words, and they are certainly that, they are not just a statement of how hard it will be, but they explain that through the cross-bearing life, there is an intimacy, there is a closeness to Jesus that will be experienced.
In other words, when you put the whole thing together and see it as the full statement, we're being told, yes, it is a hard walk for the disciple, but it is one with the one we love most. It is one that brings us into closer fellowship with Him. And that doesn't make it any less hard. That doesn't make it any less difficult, but it can make the difficulty wonderfully sweet.
Jesus' work on earth, think about it. His work on earth was massive. There's so many symbols and aspects to that work that…His miracle working hands, the resurrection stone, apart from the resurrection, we would be lost, we would be without hope. The resurrection stone certainly has significance for the believer. The idea of a cloud, He ascended to heaven on the cloud and He will come back. There's symbolism there. And yet in Christianity, what symbol do you think of? The cross. We don't think of a hand, we don't think of a stone, we don't think of a cloud, we think of a cross.
And I think part of the reason for that is in the here and now, Jesus has called His followers to be a people off the cross, who walk each day bearing their own cross. And when we come together so often, we eat and drink in remembrance of His cross work, His sacrifice. I think the reason that symbol time and time again in Scripture and throughout the centuries of Christendom has been the central focus is because our pilgrimage to glory, is one that has to be focused and always remembering His sacrifice on the cross.
And so, in a wonderful way, even as we go through life and we experience our own trials, our own difficulties, that there is a weaving that is continually taking place between the cross-bearing experience we have and that of Jesus Christ. We know Him and more and more His commitment and His sacrifice, and the love He first had for us more and more as we walk this difficult cross-bearing pilgrimage. Our daily cross carrying holds before us the fact that we are walking after our Lord and Savior who first went to the cross for us. As Galatians 2:20 says:
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
That's the idea. In this earthly pilgrimage, yes, there is suffering, yes, there is difficulty, and yet in that experience, there is a greater connection, a greater intimacy to be known with our Jesus Christ who gave His life for us. So, what does following Jesus require, if you will? It requires your love, it requires you to suffer, it requires you to glory in the cross. Again, this text, this portion of Scripture, it isn't given to persuade you to become a Christian. What it's doing is it's painting a true picture of what this will look like, of what following Jesus requires. It's gonna demand your greatest love. It's gonna take you on a path of suffering. And yet in that, He will make himself more known. We're being told here, this is the greatest, the most significant cost you could imagine. And yet, it's worth it. Because following Him and knowing Him more, that in itself is a priceless thing.
The second thing, and don't worry, there's only two points. The second thing that I want you to notice in the text is the type of commitment this is, the type of commitment. Jesus immediately follows that high description of the cost associated with following Him with a plea now to carefully consider, to realize what type of commitment we're talking about. And to do that, He really tells two parables. Two parables that each stress in their own way the type of commitment that's required.
So, the first thing I want you to see in this point is that it's a lengthy commitment. It's a long-term commitment. Look at verse 28.
“For which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish.”
It's a very simple story, isn't it? And it's a very simple story that's making the very obvious warning, know what you're committing to. It's a call, as the text says, to count the cost. That's the key phrase in this parable. Jesus wants you to know what you're getting into, to know the significant length, the long-term nature of the commitment he is issuing. He wants you to know, to weigh up, to make sure that you can see this thing through. The move that's being talked about of building a tower, maybe it was being built in a city for defense or maybe it was being built out by the vineyards, a tower as a security tower in which a servant could be paid to look out and to see if any threats were coming so that others could be brought. Others could come and help. That's the idea. Someone's building this great tower for some form of security. But the idea is they didn't count the cost first. And so only half a tower is built. If you only have half of the contraption built and it sits there for months on end, unfinished, what does that say? It says we ran out of money. It says we don't have money to pay the security guard. Instead of saying, this is a field that is protected, it actually communicates the opposite. It says, we don't have any money, we don't have any security, so come and take. Come and grab.
I don't know if you've ever driven along neighborhoods and you see some houses, there's always some houses, and they have, you know, the little box that kind of sits in the front of the house, you know, where the security alarm is. And normally that all looks spick and span, shiny, good, there's flashing lights to communicate to the world around, don't try and break into this house, because we have this thing covered. But, if you look at the house, and the front cover is lying off that alarm, and the wires are clearly hanging out, you know, fine rightly, nobody's got the security alarm on in there. Instead of advertising, we are a secure household, do not dare cross our doorstep, it does the opposite. It says, guys, we haven't got ourselves sorted out. Come on in and take, because there's no way we're going to be aware that you have come. You've plenty of time to get away.
Well, that's the idea here. To start to build and not have counted the cost, it communicates that you're defenseless. It communicates something embarrassing to the world around. In fact, look at verse 30:
“The people say, this man began to build and was not able to finish.”
Jesus is saying, you gotta know what you're starting. Because it's gonna be worse, it's significantly worse to start and not finish than to not start at all. It's significantly worse, in other words, to bring it into our context and the point that Jesus is making, it is significantly worse to start the Christian walk and then abandon the King of the universe.
The Bible talks about that sin of apostasy. Those who identified with the church who identified with Christ, who called themselves His followers, and yet in time, the thorns or the scorching sun or whatever it happens to be, it causes whatever good was there to wither up and die, and they abandon the faith. That's a serious thing. That's something scripture speaks about in the sternest of language.
And so, Jesus says, look, before you follow, make sure you can see this thing through. Because He's talking about not a commitment today. Will you pray this prayer today? Will you walk this walk to the very end? He also tells us not only is it a lengthy commitment, but please understand, this is an urgent commitment. It's an urgent commitment.
At one level, Jesus immediately, He has just said, look, know the full length, the full weight of what we are asking you to sign up to. And then you can imagine people kind of backing away, and He issues the second parable almost to, bring the other side of the coin to reverse the message He's just given by reminding them that while it is true this is a lengthy commitment, this is a significant commitment, this is a big commitment, yet at the same time, you need to know it's a serious thing to walk away from King Jesus. Look at verse 31:
“Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him who comes against him with 20,000? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.”
Again, a very simple picture, a picture of a powerful king, a king with a vast army, an army that obviously will squash and consume the other. And so, the individual realizes they are so lacking in resources, they have no defense, it is guaranteed they are going to be consumed, they are going to lose this war, and so because of that, they seek terms of peace. They seek to reach out now before the destruction comes. They reach out now to negotiate the peace agreement. And the connection, the point is clear here. Again, He's talking to the great crowd. He's talking to the fence sitters. And He's letting them know the one you are against. Because if you're not for me, you're against me. The one you are against is the great King, the Judge of the living and the dead. And your army, your resources have no hope. You're going to get crushed. You're going to get destroyed. That destruction is inevitable. There's no way out. And so now, not later, now is the time to reach out for the peace agreement. Now is the time to submit yourself to the greater King. Now is the time to embrace the terms He issues.
Yes, understand the whole paragraph. This is a massive commitment. You've got to love Him above all else. You've got to suffer for Him. You've got to glory in the cross, and this is not a one-day thing. This is a lengthy commitment. And yet, though you need to realize this comes with a real cost, this is an urgent thing that you cannot afford to lack. For the king is coming to destroy all who oppose Him and all who oppose His people. And now is the time to make peace. Today is the day of salvation. It's a lengthy commitment. It's an urgent commitment. And lastly, it's an ultimate commitment. An ultimate commitment. Look at verse 33:
“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
So therefore, it says. In other words, in conclusion, let me wrap this all up and put a bow on it so you cannot miss the point, Jesus says. If you don't, he says at the end of verse 33, if you don't follow this advice, again, you cannot be my disciple. Not you will be a lesser disciple, you cannot be one at all. And what is the summary of all that advice? According to verse 33, so you must renounce all that you have. All that you have. He must be first over your loved ones. He must be first over your success. He must be first over your reputation. He must be first over your popularity. He must be first over all that you have.
Sometimes we approach following Jesus like buying a car. We want to haggle a little bit. We want to try and get a slightly better deal. I'll pay most of the cost, but you've got to give me a little off. You've got to give me a little wiggle room. Jesus is saying, loud and clear, there is no negotiation here. There is no haggling allowed. Because the issue is not, as so often we think it is, how little can I give and still be in the club? How little can I offer and still be considered a Christian? Rather, the issue is how much is God worth? You see why this is important? How much is God worth? If He is above all and overall and the most significant of all, anything less than giving your all is grossly insufficient. That's the point. Because He is worth all, He demands precedent over everything else in the heart of His followers.
The reality in this particular section of Scripture, in this particular conversation that Jesus is issuing is He's making very clear here that it's not about an incentive. So often we read other parts of Scripture that are meant to be an encouragement to Scripture and we use them and speak of them as incentives to follow. Oh, you follow Him and you'll get treasures in heaven. You follow Him and you'll hear that commendation, well done, good and faithful servant. You follow Him and you'll get a seat at the heavenly banquet. But the only incentive Jesus presents to this crowd is actually the blessing of being His disciple. That should be enough. In fact, that is the ultimate point, isn't it? He is worth it. And because He is worth it, we renounce everything else that we have. Because what we get in return is a relationship with King Jesus. That's why He must be first.
When I officiate a wedding, this is what I declared near the beginning of the service. Marriage is a special relationship instituted by God and commended in Scripture, is honorable to all who enter it in true affection. It was confirmed as God's pattern for mankind in the teaching of the Lord Jesus and by His presence at the marriage feast in Cana. The apostle Paul sets it forth as a picture of the mystical union between Christ and his church. Therefore, it ought not to be entered upon lightly or unadvisedly, but thoughtfully and reverently, considering the reasons for which it was ordained. Let me tell you the point of this section of Scripture. Jesus is saying that following Him ought not to be entered upon lightly or unadvisedly, but thoughtfully and reverently considering the cost that it brings.
Let's pray and ask that he would help us to discern that this morning.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we give thanks to You for King Jesus. We thank You, Lord, that He hides no punches. He makes so clear all that is required of a follower of Him. And yet, Lord, we thank You that while the call is high, we thank you, Lord, that even this morning as we come to the word, we are reassured by the nature of the one who has already gone ahead of us, who went to the cross, despising the shame, and bore the punishment that should have been ours, that even as we have failed once more, there is forgiveness made available through the work of Jesus Christ.
We thank you, Lord, that He has paid that price for our past, our present, and dear Lord, our future transgressions, and we are secure, that Scripture makes clear that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And yet, Lord, we come and ask that You would help us not to shrug off the challenge of the text in front of us, but that You would give us an earnest desire to pursue the fullness of what King Jesus has called us to. Help us, Lord, to carry our cross each day. Help us, Lord, to walk worthy. Help us, Lord, to ensure that Christ has precedent, that Christ has that ultimate seat on the throne of our hearts, that we may serve and follow Him as He deserves.
We pray, Lord, for any amongst us who have dabbled with Christianity to this point, who have come once more on another Sunday to sit on the fence. And we pray and ask that You would convict them this morning. Convict them that a passing interest in the things of God is not enough. A one-time prayer to God is not enough, but that King Jesus demands loyal followers. And we pray and ask that You would bring them to that place of repentance and faith, that they would look not to their own efforts or works, though the calling is high, but that they would look themselves to the cross work of Jesus Christ in which all hope is found. And Lord, that they would find peace with the King who offers peace to all who come in repentance and faith. We pray that You would work amongst us and that you would spur us on, Lord, this week to love and good deeds for the honor of our King who we serve. Amen. [End]
