New Life Elgin

Discipleship begins with a straight-up question: who is being followed? Everybody is following somebody or something, and a career, a dream, money, comfort, or even good things can end up having a person. Jesus is not one way to God. He is the only way, and salvation is a free gift received by grace through faith. God’s love shows up at the cross, where Jesus laid down His life so sinners could have eternal life and a real relationship with the Father.

Jesus draws a line between being saved and being a disciple. Salvation cannot be earned, but discipleship will cost everything. Luke 14 gives the love requirement: a disciple must love Jesus supremely above everybody and everything else. Jesus is not calling people to literally hate their families. Jesus is saying that love for Him must be so first, so high, and so great that every other love is far below it. God will not settle for number two. He is either first of all, or not first at all.

Jesus proves that love is more than words. John 14:15 says that love for Christ shows up in obedience, and John 10:27 says that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Time, talents, and treasures reveal what is really first. Every good and perfect gift comes from God, and every blessing is meant to bring Him glory and bless others.

Luke 9:23 gives the die-to-self requirement. The cross is not a difficult spouse, a bad job, or merely going through hard times. The cross means death to self and total surrender to Jesus every day. Jesus is not looking for part-time Christians, fans, or people who follow only when life is good. Hills and valleys will come, faith will go through fire, and storms will test whether Jesus is still worthy of blessing. God remains fully present in the valley, even when circumstances do not turn out as hoped.

Luke 14:33 gives the title-deed requirement. A disciple hands God the keys and signs the blank paper at the bottom, trusting Him to fill in His will. Marriage, children, possessions, plans, pride, and abilities belong to God. Believers are managers, but God is the owner.

John 15:8 gives the fruit requirement. The Holy Spirit produces changed character, not sinless perfection. As disciples abide in Christ, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control grow from the inside out. Christ’s ambassadors represent the King of kings in homes, workplaces, and communities, where people need to see authentic love and Jesus in them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus must be first of all. Jesus refuses second place in a disciple’s life. Family, work, possessions, and dreams are good gifts, but they become dangerous when they take the place that belongs only to Christ. Love for Jesus is proven not by church words alone, but by the way time, talents, and treasures get used. [69:49]
• 2. The cross means dying to self. Jesus calls disciples to give up the right to run their own lives. Daily surrender means letting go of personal pride, personal plans, and the flesh that always wants its own way. A hard season is not automatically the cross, but surrendering to Christ in that season is part of carrying it. [76:28]
• 3. God stays fully present in valleys. Trials reveal whether faith depends on getting the desired answer or on trusting Jesus Himself. Loss can strip away many things without taking away Christ. God sees broken hearts, knows the pain, and remains fully present even when the road goes south. [84:00]
• 4. Disciples hand God the keys. The surrendered life stops treating blessings as personal property. God owns the marriage, children, job, home, gifts, and future, while His people manage those things for His glory. Surrender becomes freedom when God’s better plan replaces the need for control. [88:48]
• 5. Abiding in Christ produces visible fruit. The Holy Spirit produces what human effort cannot manufacture, especially love for difficult people. Sin breaks fellowship with God, but confession and repentance restore that fellowship. A lost world needs more than Christian labels; it needs to see Christlike character in everyday life.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:06] - Worship: Jesus at the Center
• [54:08] - Opening Prayer
• [54:44] - Discipleship 101: Follow Jesus
• [56:21] - Everybody Is Following Someone
• [57:03] - Salvation Is a Free Gift
• [62:08] - The Cost of Discipleship
• [63:09] - Love Jesus Above Everything
• [69:49] - Love Shown Through Obedience
• [74:12] - Deny Self and Take Up the Cross
• [79:12] - Faith Through Hills and Valleys
• [85:22] - Surrender the Title Deed
• [91:17] - Bear Spiritual Fruit
• [97:19] - Christ’s Ambassadors
• [98:14] - Communion and Heart Examination

Bible Reading

Luke 14:25-26
“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ‘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.’” [01:03:42]

Luke 9:23
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” [01:14:36]

Luke 14:33
“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” [01:25:59]

John 15:8
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” [01:31:27]

John 14:15
“‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.’” [01:10:05]

John 10:27
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” [01:10:27]

Observation questions

1. In Luke 14:25-26, what relationships and attachments does Jesus name when He describes the cost of being His disciple?
2. According to John 14:15 and John 10:27, what actions show that a person truly loves and follows Jesus? [01:10:05]
3. Luke 9:23 says to take up the cross “daily.” What does the daily part reveal about the kind of commitment Jesus calls for? [01:16:28]
4. What kinds of fruit and changed character are connected with abiding in Christ? [01:33:29]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus does not command His followers to mistreat or literally hate their families. What does it mean for love for Jesus to be so great that every other love is clearly lower? [01:08:15]
2. How is salvation as a free gift of grace different from discipleship, which calls for full surrender and obedience? [01:02:08]
3. Why is a difficult spouse, hard job, sickness, or other painful season not automatically “the cross” Jesus means in Luke 9:23? What does dying to self look like in those situations? [01:18:04]
4. Luke 14:33 calls disciples to give up everything. How can a believer hold marriage, children, work, money, abilities, and plans as a manager rather than as the owner? [01:29:37]

Application questions

1. Everybody follows someone or something. What most competes for first place in your life right now—comfort, career, money, approval, family, control, or something else? What does that competition look like in your normal week? [56:21]
2. Time, talents, and treasures often reveal what is truly first. What does your calendar, spending, and use of your abilities say about your love for Jesus? Is there one practical change you sense God inviting you to make? [01:10:38]
3. Where are you most tempted to follow Jesus only when life is going well? How might you keep trusting and blessing Jesus in a valley, especially when His answer does not come the way you hoped? [01:25:01]
4. Is there an area of your life where you have handed God some keys but held tightly to others? It may involve a relationship, a future plan, finances, a habit, pride, or fear. What would surrendering that area to Christ look like this week? [01:29:10]
5. When you sin, do you tend to hide, excuse it, or quickly bring it to God in confession and repentance? What could help you restore close fellowship with Him rather than staying distant? [01:33:12]
6. Which part of the Spirit’s fruit do you most need right now—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control? Think of one specific relationship or situation where that fruit needs to become visible. [01:33:39]
7. In your home, workplace, school, or neighborhood, what might it look like this week to represent Jesus as His ambassador through authentic love, forgiveness, and self-control? [01:37:49]