Count the Cost

Gospel Light Church

ONWARD – Launching into a New Year

February 1, 2026

Count the Cost

Luke 14:25–33

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 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. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 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?29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Following Jesus is free—but it is never cheap. Christ calls us onward not with hype or sentimentality, but with honesty: discipleship costs us everything, because Jesus is worth more than everything.

Intro: Crowds vs. Disciples

“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them…” (Luke 14:25)

Luke tells us something striking: Jesus turns to the crowds and deliberately thins them out.

• This is not a seeker-sensitive moment.
  This is not a motivational speech.
  This is a clarifying confrontation.

Crowds are drawn to miracles, momentum, and meaning.
But Jesus is not interested in admirers—He is forming disciples.

C. H. Spurgeon once warned that it is possible to be …. “So near to the kingdom, and yet never enter it.”

The crowd walks with Jesus.
The disciple walks after Him.

And so, Jesus speaks words that shock modern ears.

A. The Cost of Supreme Allegiance (vv. 26–27)

“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.” (v. 26)

1. A heavy decision with a deep meaning

Jesus is not commanding emotional hatred.
This is Semitic hyperbole—a stark contrast meant to reveal ultimate loyalty.

Compared to our allegiance to Christ, every other love must look secondary.

Matthew’s parallel clarifies this:

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:37)

• The issue is not affection.
• The issue is authority.

Who has the final word over your life?

2. A surrender on the deepest level

“…yes, and even his own life…”

Jesus presses the knife deeper.

• Not only relationships.
• Not only reputation.
• But self-rule must die.

“Christ will not share the throne of the human heart—He must reign alone.” – C.H Spurgeon

To follow Jesus onward means relinquishing the right to define:

• Success
• Identity
• Comfort
• Direction

This is completely counter cultural and requires a deep transformation.

3. The Cross before the crown

“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (v. 27)

In the first century, the cross was not a metaphor—it was an execution device.

Jesus is saying:

“If you follow Me, you must die to yourself before you ever live for Me.”

• Discipleship is not self-improvement.
• It is self-crucifixion.

II. The Cost Must Be Considered (vv. 28–32)

Jesus now gives two parables, both centered on wisdom and foresight.

1. The Builder Who Didn’t Finish (vv. 28–30)

“Does not first sit down and count the cost…?”

A half-built tower is not a testimony—it’s an embarrassment.

• Jesus is not concerned with questions.
• He is concerned with shallow commitments.

Emotional decisions without spiritual resolve lead to:

• Burnout
• Bitterness
• Abandoned faith

Jesus wants followers who know where the road leads before they start walking.

“You find that the things you let go of while following Jesus were the things that were going to destroy you in the end.” — Francis Chan

2. The King Who Didn’t Prepare (vv. 31–32)

The second image moves from construction to conflict.

• Discipleship is not a hobby—it is warfare.

To follow Jesus is to declare allegiance in a world ruled by rival powers:

• Sin
• Fear
• Culture
• Self

You either prepare to surrender everything to Christ, or you will eventually surrender something else to the world.

III. The Cost Is Total (v. 33)

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

This is the summary. No metaphor. No parable. No softening.

Renounce = to say goodbye, to release ownership.

Jesus does not ask for:

• Spare time
• Leftover energy
• Minimal obedience

He asks for all—because He gave all.

“That religion which costs a man nothing is usually worth nothing.” — C.H. Spurgeon

IV. Why the Cost Is Worth It

Luke 14 is heavy—until we remember who is speaking.

The One who demands everything is the One who gave everything first.

Jesus counted the cost:

• Rejection
• Suffering
• The cross
• The grave

And He went onward anyway.

Jesus did not merely teach about the cost of discipleship—He embodied it. – N. T Wright

We renounce all not to earn salvation, but because salvation has already been purchased.

*******SO, WHAT*******

1. What competes with Christ for first place in your life?

Family approval?
Financial security?
Personal comfort?

2. Have you followed Jesus emotionally—or intentionally?

Crowds drift.
Disciples decide.

3. What have you not yet surrendered?

Jesus is not Lord of most, He is Lord of all

Jesus asks the question/; Have you counted the cost—and decided I am worth it?