PSK 158. Sermon – Counting the Cost of Discipleship
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*PSK 158. Sermon β THE NARROW GATE: COUNTING THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP!* πβ€οΈβπ₯
ποΈ *CHRIST’S GOOD NEWS MISSION*
Sunday Worship Service β 13th September 2026.
https://evangelion-tm.com/psk-158-sermon-counting-the-cost-of-discipleship/
π Liturgical Day: 15th Sunday After Trinity.
π Bible Lesson: Luke 14:25-33; Matthew 7:13-14.
βοΈ *Text: _“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?”_* β Luke 14:28 (NKJV).
ππ¦ THEME:
*THE NARROW GATE: COUNTING THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP β _True Discipleship Was Never Advertised as an Easy Path; It Was Offered as a Costly Treasure Worth Selling Everything Else to Obtain._*
π΅ *OPENING HYMN MHB. 495 β _“Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”_*
π YouTube Search: *“Jesus I My Cross Have Takenβ Β β _Henry Lyte, Methodist Hymn Book β Illustrated.”_*
1: JESUS, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee;
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shalt be;
Perish every fond ambition,
All I’ve sought, and hoped, and known;
Yet how rich is my condition,
God and heaven are still my own.
2: Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Saviour too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like man, untrue;
And, whilst Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate, and friends may shun me,
Show Thy face, and all is bright.
3: Man may trouble and distress me,
‘Twill but drive me to Thy breast;
Life with trials hard may press me,
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest;
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me,
While Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me,
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.
(Henry Francis Lyte, 1824 β One of the most searching hymns of costly discipleship in the entire Wesleyan-Methodist tradition, directly addressing what it means to forsake all for Christ.)
πβοΈβ€οΈβπ₯ *SEVEN PROPHETIC PRAYERS*
(Preparatory β Before the Exhortation)
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 1 β _Counting the Cost Honestly_*
Title: No Discipleship Entered Blindly.
*_“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost?”_* β Luke 14:28 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Father of wisdom, grant every soul in this congregation the honesty to count the true cost of following Christ! Let no one here begin the tower of discipleship without first sitting down to calculate what it will truly require, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 2 β _Love That Surpasses All Else._*
Title: Christ Above Every Earthly Attachment.
_“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother… he cannot be My disciple.”_ β Luke 14:26 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Lord Jesus, let every soul in this assembly love You so supremely that every other love, by comparison, appears as hatred! Let no relationship, however precious, be permitted to outrank Christ, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 3 β _Bearing the Cross Daily._*
Title: The Cross Carried, Not Merely Admired.
_“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”_ β Luke 14:27 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Crucified Saviour, place the cross firmly upon the shoulder of every believer here! Let discipleship never be reduced to admiration from a distance, but to daily, costly cross-bearing, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 4 β _Forsaking All to Follow._*
Title: Nothing Withheld From the Master’s Claim.
_“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”_ β Luke 14:33 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Sovereign Lord, expose every possession, ambition, and attachment that this congregation has withheld from Your Lordship! Let every soul release their grip and forsake all for the sake of following You fully, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 5 β _The Narrow Gate Entered_*
Title: Choosing the Difficult Path Over the Easy Road.
_“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”_ β Matthew 7:14 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_God of the narrow way, give every soul in this sanctuary the courage to choose the difficult path that leads to life! Let no one here be deceived by the broad road’s false comfort, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 6 β _Salt That Has Not Lost Its Flavour._*
Title: Discipleship That Retains Its Distinctiveness.
_“Salt is good; but if the salt loses its flavour… it is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill.”_ β Luke 14:34-35 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_God, our Preserver, keep the salt of discipleship in this congregation from ever losing its savour! Let this assembly remain distinctly set apart, useful, and effective in a decaying world, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 7 β _Wisdom Like the Wise Builder._*
Title: Sufficient Resources for the Journey Ahead.
_“Lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him.”_ β Luke 14:29-30 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Father of completion, grant every believer here the wisdom to finish what they have begun in following Christ! Let no soul lay a foundation of discipleship only to abandon the building, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
βοΈβ€οΈβπ₯π¦ *EXHORTATION* πβ€οΈβπ₯
βοΈβ€οΈβπ₯π¦ Theme: *“THE NARROW GATE: COUNTING THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP β _True Discipleship Was Never Advertised as an Easy Path; It Was Offered as a Costly Treasure Worth Selling Everything Else to Obtain!”_* πβ€οΈβπ₯
π *Bible Lesson: Luke 14:25-33; Matthew 7:13-14* (NKJV)
π *Liturgical Day: 15th Sunday After Trinity β _13th September 2026._*
βοΈ *Text: _“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?”_* β Luke 14:28 (NKJV).
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In 1956, missionary Jim Elliot and four companions were speared to death by the Waodani (then called “Auca”) people in the jungles of Ecuador, having spent years attempting peaceful contact to share the gospel. Elliot had written in his journal years earlier: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” Remarkably, his widow Elisabeth and his sister-in-law Rachel Saint returned to that same tribe, and within years, many of the very men who had killed Elliot became devoted followers of Christ. Elliot’s death was not a tragic miscalculation β it was, by his own accounting, a cost he had already counted and willingly accepted, believing the gain of Christ eternally outweighed any temporal loss.
Beloved, Luke records Jesus turning to address the “great multitudes” following Him β and rather than welcoming their enthusiasm with easy affirmation, He deliberately raises the bar to a level that would thin the crowd considerably: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
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*The Standard: Supreme Love, Not Literal Hatred.*
This is Semitic hyperbole, a common idiom of comparative preference β not a command to despise family, but a demand that love for Christ so radically surpass every other love that, by comparison, those other loves appear as hatred. Elsewhere Jesus states the same truth positively: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). The standard remains uncompromising either way: Christ must reign supreme.
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*The Illustration: Counting Before Building*
Jesus offers two brief parables β the tower-builder and the king weighing war. Both illustrate the same principle: *_“does not sit down first and count the cost”_* (v.28). No wise builder begins construction without first determining whether resources suffice to complete it. Discipleship, similarly, must be entered with clear-eyed assessment, not impulsive emotion. Jesus never sought converts who would abandon the project halfway, leaving an unfinished tower for onlookers to mock.
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*The Requirement: Forsaking All*
The parables culminate in Jesus’ unambiguous conclusion: *_“whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple”_* (v.33). Not merely forsaking sin β forsaking all, including legitimate possessions, relationships, and ambitions, insofar as they compete for the throne that belongs to Christ alone. This is not salvation by works; it is the recognition that authentic saving faith inevitably reorders every other allegiance beneath Christ’s Lordship.
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*The Gate: Narrow, Not Popular*
Matthew’s Gospel confirms this same costly trajectory: *_“narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it”_* (Matthew 7:14). Discipleship was never designed to be a crowd-pleasing invitation. It was designed to filter genuine commitment from superficial enthusiasm, precisely because eternal life is too precious a treasure to be casually obtained.
Beloved, have you counted the cost, or merely joined the crowd following at a comfortable distance? Christ does not want admirers. He wants disciples who have already calculated the price and decided He is worth it all.
*_“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?”_* β Luke 14:28 (NKJV). βοΈβ€οΈβπ₯π¦
πβοΈβ€οΈβπ₯ *SEVEN INTERCESSORY PRAYERS*
(Post-Exhortation β Prophetic Charismatic Warfare)
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 8 β _Against Half-Hearted Discipleship._*
Title: Every Superficial Commitment Confronted.
_“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”_ β Luke 14:33 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_My Father, My God β we confront every spirit of half-hearted, convenience-based discipleship in this congregation! We command every superficial commitment to be replaced with wholehearted surrender, consumed by fire, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 9 β _Against Idolatrous Attachments_*
Title: Every Rival Throne Dethroned.
_“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother… he cannot be My disciple.”_ β Luke 14:26 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Jealous God, we dethrone every idol β whether family, ambition, wealth, or comfort β that competes with Christ’s supremacy in this congregation! Let Christ alone occupy the throne of every heart, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 10 β _For Unfinished Towers Completed_*
Title: Abandoned Pursuits of Faith Revived.
*_“Lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him.”_* β Luke 14:29 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Faithful Finisher, we call forth every unfinished tower of faith abandoned by discouragement in this congregation! We decree fresh resources and resolve to complete every God-given assignment, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 11 β _For Courage on the Narrow Way._*
Title: Strength to Resist the Broad Road’s Appeal.
“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” β Matthew 7:14 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_God of the narrow way, strengthen every believer in this congregation tempted by the ease of the broad road! Let no one trade eternal life for temporary comfort, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 12 β _Against Lost Saltiness_*
Title: Distinctiveness Restored to Compromised Believers.
_“But if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned?”_ β Luke 14:34 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Preserving Father, restore saltiness to every believer in this congregation who has blended indistinguishably into the world! Let this assembly recover its sharp, distinct flavour for the Kingdom, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_* β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 13 β _For Christ’s Good News Mission: A Costly Discipleship Community_*
Title: This Ministry Refusing Cheap Grace.
_“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”_ β Luke 14:33 (NKJV).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_Lord Jesus, we decree that Christ’s Good News Mission remains a community of costly, wholehearted discipleship, never settling for cheap grace! Let every worker and member count the cost and remain willing to pay it, in Jesus’ Name. Amen! β€οΈβπ₯
β€οΈβπ₯ *Prayer 14 β _The Warfare Benediction._*
Title: Sent Out Counting the Cost Gladly.
_“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”_ β (Jim Elliot, 1949).
β€οΈβπ₯ *_My Father, My God β seal every soul departing this sanctuary today with the settled resolve to forsake all for Christ! Let them walk the narrow way this week gladly, having already counted and accepted the cost, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!_*β€οΈβπ₯
π΅ *CLOSING HYMN MHB. 562 β _“All to Jesus I Surrender”_*
π YouTube Search: *“All to Jesus I Surrender β _Judson Van DeVenter_ Trinity Hymnal (Revised Edition, 1990).*
1: ALL to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
Refrain:
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.
2: All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
3: All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
(Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1896 β Written by an artist who surrendered his career to full-time ministry, this hymn stands as one of the clearest musical expressions of forsaking all to follow Christ β a perfect seal for this message.)
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*Enter to Worship: Depart to Serve!*
*SOLI DEO GLORIA!*
*_“To God Alone Be The Glory!”_*
βοΈβ€οΈβπ₯π¦ Rt. Rev. Dr. Michael A. FαΊΉΜmi-AdΓ©bΓ‘njα»
Acting Patriarch β Christ’s Good News Mission.
π www.evangelion-tm.com/
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