About This Message
On the road to Jerusalem — the road to the cross — Jesus encounters three would-be followers and lovingly exposes the idols each one holds above Him: comfort, delay, and a divided heart. Rather than guilting us into sacrifice, this passage invites us to see the treasure of Jesus so clearly that letting go of everything else becomes an act of joy, not burden.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”— Jim Elliot
Key Points
- 1
The God who designed dens for foxes and nests for birds chose homelessness in human flesh — He's not threatening us with discomfort but inviting us into solidarity with the most generous person who ever lived.
- 2
The three deadly words 'Lord, but first' reveal that good things — family, security, financial stability — become idols the moment we elevate them above obedience to Jesus.
- 3
A heart that keeps one foot in the Kingdom and one foot in a backup plan will plow a crooked furrow — like the Israelites romanticising Egypt, we can forget the slavery we were rescued from when following gets uncomfortable.
- 4
The cost of following Jesus is everything, but the cost of not following Him is also everything — you just don't get Jesus at the end; the problem is never that the price is too high but that we haven't seen the treasure clearly enough.
- 5
Jesus never asks us to sacrifice from a distance — He walked the road to Jerusalem first, gave His own life before He ever asked for ours, and now He stands before us saying 'Follow me' not into emptiness but into an inheritance beyond imagining.
Come Hear It Live
Sermon summaries only go so far. Join us any Sunday at 9:30am — the doors are open and all are welcome.
7A Leslie Street, Mandurah WA · Sundays 9:30am
