He Is No Fool Who Gives What He Cannot Keep

In one paragraph

On Memorial Day Sunday, the pastor walked First B Jackson through Luke 14:25-35, where Jesus lays out the cost of discipleship in plain, direct terms. The passage is a hard one, and he said it took him an extra week to sit with it before preaching it. The first thing Jesus says to the large crowd traveling with him toward Jerusalem is that anyone who comes to him must love father, mother, wife,...

Read together

1. Luke 14:25-35 the main passage preached through the entire sermon
2. Matthew 10 cited as a parallel to the hate your family saying, with the line the one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me
3. Romans 9 (Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated) used to explain the Semitic idiom of loving less than, though the speaker referenced it as Old Testament without a precise chapter
4. Luke 9:23 cited as Luke's first use of the word cross, with the call to deny self and take up the cross daily
5. Matthew 16 (take up his cross and follow me) cited as a later parallel saying of Jesus about self denial and following
6. Mark 8 cited as Mark's version of the call to deny self, take up the cross, and follow
7. Proverbs 21:18 cited as prepare plans by consultation, in the multiplicity of counselors there is much wisdom, make war by wise guidance
8. Philippians 3:7-11 read in full as Paul's example of counting all things as loss and rubbish to gain Christ
9. Hebrews 11:23-29 read as the hall of faith account of Moses choosing ill treatment with God's people over Egypt's treasures, considering the reproach of Christ
10. 1 Peter 2:20 used as the closing benediction about enduring suffering for doing good because Christ left us an example to follow in his steps

Talk about it

1. The pastor said that the Semitic idiom for 'hate' in Luke 14 means to love less than, not hatred as we normally understand it. How does knowing that change the way you hear Jesus' words about family and discipleship?
2. Leon Morris wrote that when a man from one of their villages took up a cross and went off with a band of Roman soldiers, he was on a one-way journey. He would not be back. What does that picture stir up in you when you think about what it means to follow Jesus daily?
3. The pastor pointed to the two illustrations Jesus gives, one about building a tower and one about a king facing a greater army, and noted that the second situation was not the king's choice. How does the idea that the greater force is already on its way change how you think about the choice to come to terms with God?
4. Paul in Philippians 3 counted everything he had gained as rubbish compared to knowing Christ. What is something you find it hardest to hold with an open hand before God?
5. Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, 'He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.' Where in your own life do you feel the pull between holding on to what is temporary and trusting God with it?