The Cost of Following Jesus Is Worth It

Oct 11, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Counting the Cost Before Building the Tower

Jesus compares discipleship to constructing a tower with unfinished foundations. Just as builders calculate expenses to avoid becoming a laughingstock, followers must weigh what surrendering to Christ truly demands. This isn’t about earning salvation but embracing the sober reality that following Him reshapes priorities, relationships, and resources. The call isn’t to reckless abandon but clear-eyed commitment. Like the abandoned Costa Rican hotel haunting its coastline, half-hearted faith leaves a hollow testimony. True discipleship requires foresight paired with courage. [55:28]

“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’”
(Luke 14:28–30, NLT)

Reflection: What current “construction project” in your walk with Jesus feels incomplete? What practical step could you take this week to move toward finishing it?

Day 2: Hate as a Shadow of Love’s Priority

Jesus’ jarring command to “hate” family isn’t literal malice but a radical reordering of allegiance. Like a shadow proves light’s presence, this “hate” reveals love’s true north: Christ above all. Discipleship demands that even cherished relationships orbit around Him, not compete for His place. The cost surfaces when family expectations clash with gospel obedience, or comfort wars with mission. Yet this tension births freedom—loving others best by loving Jesus first. [43:56]

“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.”
(Luke 14:26, NLT)

Reflection: Which relationship or habit quietly competes with Jesus for your highest devotion? How might reordering this priority deepen your capacity to love?

Day 3: The Cross as a Tool, Not a Trophy

To first-century crowds, the cross meant humiliation, not hope. Jesus reclaims it as the disciple’s daily tool—not for atonement, but surrender. Carrying it means dying to self-rule, comfort, and reputation. Like missionaries leaving 401(k)s for Costa Rican slums, the cross isn’t jewelry but a calloused-handed instrument. It digs trenches for new life where pride once stood. Every “yes” to Jesus is a nail in the coffin of the old self. [47:17]

“And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”
(Luke 14:27, NLT)

Reflection: What “death to self” have you resisted this month? What small act of surrender could you practice today?

Day 4: Sacrifice as the Currency of Joy

The missionary’s paradox: losing comforts to gain purpose. Sacrifice isn’t self-punishment but exchanging temporary trinkets for eternal treasure. Serving screaming kids, funding meals abroad, or inviting coworkers to church all trade momentary ease for lasting joy. Like Christ’s cross birthed resurrection, our small deaths plant seeds of others’ salvation. The cost always multiplies into gain—not in dollars, but disciples. [54:47]

“But even if my life is to be poured out like a drink offering to complete the sacrifice of your faithful service, I rejoice, and I share my joy with all of you.”
(Philippians 2:17, NLT)

Reflection: When has a past sacrifice for Jesus surprised you with unexpected joy? What current invitation to give stirs both fear and excitement?

Day 5: Renouncing Everything to Gain What Cannot Be Lost

Jesus’ final demand—renounce all—seems extreme until seen through resurrection’s lens. Like selling a field for hidden treasure, disciples lose what shackles to gain what satisfies. The rich young ruler clung to wealth but starved his soul. The Costa Rican missionary left retirement plans but found eternal impact. What we release determines what we receive. True freedom comes when hands empty of idols catch heaven’s abundance. [01:02:42]

“So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.”
(Luke 14:33, NLT)

Reflection: What one possession, identity, or dream feels hardest to release? How might holding it loosely unlock deeper trust in Jesus’ provision?

Sermon Summary

Luke 14 starts with Jesus turning to great crowds and saying something that sounds almost bonkers if it gets pulled out of context: anyone who comes to him must “hate” even father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and his own life. Jesus uses exaggerated language to press one huge point: nothing, not even the best gifts in life, can sit above him. Scripture never gives permission to hate people, because Jesus commands love, even love for enemies. Jesus demands a love for him so supreme that every other love gets put in its proper place.

Jesus then makes the cost even more clear: “Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” The cross was not a nice symbol of hope to the first hearers. The cross was torture, shame, execution, and death. Jesus calls disciples to take up their cross only after he himself carries the cross perfectly, gives his life, and offers salvation as a free gift. Salvation costs nothing because Christ paid everything, but following Christ costs the disciple everything.

Discipleship means doing things Jesus’ way, loving what Jesus loved, hating what Jesus hated, and living like Jesus lived. Jesus does not ask for a few leftovers, a convenient hour on Sunday, or the things that do not really matter. Jesus asks for surrender. The Christian life requires dying to self, dying to the need to control life, and dying to the selfish way that naturally lives inside fallen people.

Jesus uses the picture of a man building a tower to show that disciples must count the cost. The unfinished building in Jaco stands as a real-life picture of a project begun without enough to finish. A profession without surrender can look like that abandoned building: something started, but never truly lived out. The gospel calls people not merely to receive Christ’s gift, but to live for the Christ who died for them.

Sacrifice becomes beautiful when it puts another person’s needs above personal comfort. Christ on the cross gives the most beautiful picture of sacrificial love in history. Sacrificial love may look like giving, serving in children’s ministry, taking an irritable coworker to lunch, inviting someone to church, or going where God calls. God takes small acts of obedience and multiplies them for his kingdom.

Jesus says that anyone unwilling to renounce all he has cannot be his disciple because Jesus is worth it. The pearl of great price is worth everything. Christ gives more joy, peace, purpose, and satisfaction than anything surrendered for his sake. Sacrifice is not the loss of life’s purpose; sacrifice is where life’s purpose finally comes alive.

Key Takeaways

1. Salvation is free, discipleship costs Christ carried his cross perfectly, so eternal life cannot be earned by human sacrifice. Discipleship, however, means actually following the Savior who has been received. Grace does not remove the call to surrender; grace makes surrender possible. [41:07]
2. Jesus must be loved above everything Jesus’ hard language about “hate” does not cancel love for family or neighbor. Jesus demands that family, comfort, plans, and even self-preservation never become greater loves than him. Ordered love begins when Christ holds the highest place. [43:22]
3. The cross means dying to self The cross was an instrument of death before it became a familiar Christian symbol. Jesus calls disciples to die to the selfish life that insists on doing things its own way. That death hurts, but it opens the way to real freedom and Christlike living. [60:29]
4. Sacrifice becomes something beautiful Sacrifice puts another person’s interests and needs above personal comfort. Christ’s sacrifice turns costly love into something full of purpose rather than empty obligation. Small acts of love can become places where God transforms lives. [52:58]
5. Jesus is worth every surrender Jesus compares wholehearted discipleship to finding something so valuable that everything else becomes worth giving up. Christ does not leave a surrendered life empty, because he himself is the treasure that gives joy, peace, and satisfaction. A life lived his way is never wasted.

## [62:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:49] - Counting the Cost
[41:07] - Salvation Is a Free Gift
[43:22] - What Jesus Means by Hate
[45:40] - Taking Up the Cross
[49:15] - Following Jesus Costs Everything
[52:58] - The Beauty of Sacrifice
[55:28] - Count the Cost Before Building
[57:41] - Surrender Instead of Halfway Faith
[59:38] - The Death Required in Discipleship
[62:24] - Renouncing Everything for Christ
[63:54] - Serving with Joy and Purpose
[65:13] - A Prayer for Sacrificial Living

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Luke 14:25-27
“A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 'If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” [43:22]

Luke 14:28-30
“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!” [55:20]

Luke 14:33
“So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.” [01:02:24]

Observation questions

In Luke 14:25–27, which relationships and attachments does Jesus name when describing what cannot come before being his disciple? [43:22]
What did a cross mean to Jesus’ first hearers, before it became a familiar symbol of Christian hope? [47:15]
In the illustration of the tower in Luke 14:28–30, what happens when a builder begins without enough to finish?
According to Luke 14:33, what does Jesus say a person must be willing to renounce in order to be his disciple? [01:02:24]

Interpretation questions

Jesus’ language about “hating” family and one’s own life is strong. How does the command to love others help explain that Jesus is calling for love for him to be above every other love, rather than permission to mistreat people? [43:56]
Why is it important to distinguish between salvation as Christ’s free gift and discipleship as a costly life of following him? What problems arise when either truth is ignored? [41:07]
What does “bearing a cross” look like in ordinary Christian life when it means dying to self rather than simply enduring an inconvenience? [01:00:40]
How does the unfinished-tower picture challenge a faith that makes a profession of belief but resists surrendering daily life to Jesus? [57:41]

Application questions

What has following Jesus cost you recently—in your time, comfort, money, reputation, preferences, or plans? If nothing comes to mind, what might that reveal about the way you are currently following him? [41:54]
Is there a relationship, ambition, possession, habit, or desire for control that sometimes competes with Jesus for first place in your heart? What would it look like to put that good thing back in its proper place under Christ?
Where are you most tempted to insist on doing life your own way? What could dying to self look like in one specific situation this week? [01:00:57]
Who is one person whose needs you may be avoiding because serving them would be uncomfortable or inconvenient? How could you show that person sacrificial love in a practical way—perhaps through a meal, a conversation, help, or an invitation? [51:34]
What ability, time, or resource has God given you that could be used to serve others in the church or community? What is one realistic next step you could take rather than remaining only a spectator? [53:45]
Jesus is worth every surrender. When you think about something you fear losing or giving up, how does remembering Christ’s love and the joy he gives reshape that fear? [01:02:40]

Sermon Clips

41s

#SacrificialLove

“But then he's like, hey, if you wanna follow me, do things the way I did. The Christian life should be a life full of sacrifice, and sacrifice is such an unpopular word anymore. But it's not. It's a beautiful word. It's a beautiful word. When you sacrifice, you're putting somebody else's interest and needs above your own. You're saying, out of what I have, I will give you because I want to bless you. And then all of a sudden, sacrifice becomes something beautiful. The most beautiful picture of sacrifice we have in all of history is Christ on the cross.”

51s

#DieToSelf

“But it's a very unpopular message in church today. But this is what Jesus said to the crowds that were following him. He didn't say, hey, follow me, and it'll be all rainbows and lollipops. Hey, you'll you'll have the best incredible easy life from here on out. Just follow him. He says no. Your life is going to lead to you dying to self. That's what he's talking about when he talks about the cross. He doesn't expect us to be martyred for him. Most of us won't have that privilege because of where we live and where we worship. But there is a death that is required, and it's a death to self. It's a death to doing things the way you want, to living that selfish life that lives inside of us because we're also eaten up with sin. That's why we needed a savior.”

34s

#TheGospel

“But sacrifice is always worth it. That's exactly what Christ modeled for us. What did he pay to win us back? What did it cost him? Think about that. It cost him his life. It cost him... He came from heaven to earth and became a human. That's a huge cost right there in and of itself. And then he lived a perfect life, and he died so that he could win you back to the father, and then he offers that as a free gift. That's the gospel.”

42s

#LoveInAction

“When you start loving people sacrificially, it will transform your world. And I'm not just talking about money. It's... Most of the time, it's not money. Yes. We give our treasures, but you also give your times and your talents. And that's what he really wants. He wants your heart. He wants you to say, yes, you are worth it no matter what the cost is, and I will follow you. I will follow you, and I will do the hard things that you told me to do. There is always sacrifice in growing in Christ. There is always sacrifice in the process of discipleship. So my question to you today is, what are you willing to sacrifice?”

34s

#FollowJesus

“But it's not just about receiving the free gift of salvation, it's about walking with him every day. And I'm telling you, you're sitting there... You might be sitting there thinking, Spencer, this is such a hard message. It is. But sacrifice is beautiful. Don't take my word for it. Take his word for it. When you start to love sacrificially and lift others up, there is such joy in that. There is such beauty in that, and you get to watch how God transformed their lives through your small acts of love.”

37s

#WalkTheTalk

“But before we do that, I wanna be clear about one thing today. The cost is not salvation. The salvation is a free gift that we can never earn or deserve. Jesus is not talking about salvation in this text. Okay? So this is no way in any way suggesting that it's a workspace theology. We know that it's by grace alone, through faith alone that we are saved, And Christ did all of that for us. But there is a cost to actually following Jesus.”

37s

#TakeUpYourCross

“But that's not the message of the gospel. The gospel is exactly what we just talked about in worship is surrender. You say, okay. Christ died for me so that I could live for him. Because when I live for Christ, I'm fulfilling what I was called to be. I'm actually doing the things that God has called me to do. I am the one that is going to follow him, and if that means I'm gonna sacrifice and do the hard things, I will because I know that in doing that, I become more Christ like.”

35s

#ServeWithJoy

“But that's what the cross was for him. He... Isn't that cool? First off, it's one of my favorite parts about Christianity. God will never ask you to do something that he didn't do perfectly through Christ. So when he says, hey, you take your cross, he already took his cross. When he says love your enemies, he loved his enemies perfectly. When he says, hey, you should pray, he was always in prayer. He is our supreme example in all things. So when he says, hey, you wanna follow me? You need to take up your cross.”

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