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Dedication — Counting the Cost and Wholeheartedness

Bryan Schiele
03/16/25 - Sun Worship

"A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher." (Luke 6:40)

I want to be a more well-rounded disciple of Jesus, focused on Truth, Heart, Action, and Community. Continuing our “Cross Training” journey, let’s keep those dimensions in mind as we apply them to different aspects of Jesus, jumping back to dedication. Dedication involves counting the cost, wholeheartedness, establishing priorities, and making ourselves available to others. So what is the cost of discipleship?

Counting the Cost (Truth)

Consider the Cost of the Cross

People love a good bargain! Growing up, I spent quite a few Black Friday mornings camping out in line for hours with my mom, rushing through the crowds to grab that discounted item, shopping until I almost literally dropped. But what if stores raised their prices rather than lowered them? Would those die-hard shoppers still be willing to pay the price?

What You Need to Know

Rather than hyping up crowds, Jesus turned them away with sticker-shock at the sky-high price of following him (Luke 14:25ff; John 6:66-69). He said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children ... yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). Surely "hate" exaggerates his point (cf. Matt. 10:37), but the point is undeniable: no love can come before our love for him!

He sounds several jarring warnings to anyone unwilling to give everything (Luke 14:27, 33). Jesus compares our decision to a building financier who starts a project without checking that he has the resources to finish it. He wants us to do some soul-searching before accepting his offer, committing to him with open eyes. "So," Jesus concludes, "any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).

There's a paradox in how Jesus describes the disciple's life. He invites us to take up his yoke and find rest, describing his burden as light and easy (Matt. 11:29-30). Yet he also describes his way as narrow and hard (Matt. 7:13-14). So which is it?

Well, it's hard because we give up our life to gain it (Matt. 10:39). Yet we get so much in return, in both the present life and the life to come (Mark 10:29-31, 1 Tim. 4:8). Paul gave up a lot to follow the Lord, but he said, "whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him" (Phil. 3:7-9).

What You Need to Do

Pour yourself out in God’s service (Phil. 2:17) and “present your body as a living sacrifice" each day (Rom. 12:1) to "glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Rather than hoarding "me-time," steward and redeem the time (Eph. 5:15-17). Your choices, goals, and relationships now serve Christ — your life and your death are now for him (Rom. 14:7-8). You can't be a new person while living your old life. So out with the old, in with the new (Rom. 6:1-6). Throw off anything that slows you down (Heb. 12:1).

Steel yourself for difficulty you will suffer ahead (2 Tim. 3:12). Find the strength to continue, knowing "that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).

Through the Week

• Read — Luke 14:25-33; Matt. 16:24-25; 19:16-22; 1 Tim. 3:12-13; 2 Sam. 24:18-24
• Reflect — Ask yourself, “What do I still lack?" (Matt. 19:20)
• Request — Pray, ”Fill me, oh Lord, as I empty myself before you."
• Respond — Let go of something you've been unwilling to in the past.
• Reach Out — Ask someone, ”What sacrifice are you glad you made for the Lord?”

Wholeheartedness (Heart)

Give the Lord Your Entire Devotion

Have you ever tried to do something halfway? If we find ourselves hesitating, like Daniel San from the Karate Kid, maybe we need the timeless wisdom of Mr. Miyagi. "Walk left side," he told Daniel, "safe. Walk right side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later get squish just like grape. Karate same thing. Either you karate do 'yes' or karate do 'no.' You karate do 'guess so,' squish like grape."

What You Need to Know

Sometimes we may use words like "all" and "always," when we mean "some" or "most," like when a spouse says, "You always do that!" But when Jesus uses the word πᾶς | pas, meaning all, whole, or every — he always means it. “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18–20)

When a law expert asked Jesus, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" (Mark 12:28), Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" (Mark 12:29-30). God says you'll find him when you pursue him with "all" your heart (Jer. 29:13). Doing what's right "yet not with a whole heart," like King Amaziah (2 Chron. 25:2) is no way to honor the living God.

Jesus can't stomach lukewarm Christians (Rev. 3:16) who go through the motions. He knows that halfway will kill you. But how do you love and serve God with all your heart and soul (cf. Deut. 10:12)?

What You Need to Do

Spend time in confession, prayer, and worship, searching yourself to know what you've held back, what secret pain or wrong attitude might have kept you from wholehearted service (1 John 1:8-10; Prov. 4:23). What keeps us from wholeheartedness? Sometimes it's fear and worry (Matt. 6:25ff). Maybe it's timidity and an overabundance of caution, holding back to protect yourself (2 Tim. 1:7). We can all get cynical when we give our all and it doesn't go well. It takes great courage to believe "all things" and hope "all things" (1 Cor. 13:7; Prov. 13:12).

Sometimes trying to be like everyone else can stifle our wholeheartedness, but you're different by design (1 Cor. 12:18), to give Christ's body the diversity to accomplish his work (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:14-27).

Wholeheartedness requires us to do less to accomplish more. When we take on too much, we scatter our thoughts and fracture our focus, so that we can't fully listen to a friend or even sit quietly in prayer. We're told to "work heartily" not "work hurriedly" — there's a difference (Col. 3:23). No one had more important tasks than Jesus, yet he often gave one individual his full attention (e.g. John 3-4). Troublemakers, distractions, and naysayers will come, leading us to say with Nehemiah, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" (Neh. 6:3).

Our bodies and minds will get tired. We might even get discouraged, but those who "wait on the Lord" will receive joy and renewal from him (Isa. 40:28-31; Matt. 11:28; Luke 6:38). So we keep presenting ourselves as a whole offering to the Lord (Rom. 12:1-2; cf. Lev. 1:9). Like the Macedonians, if we give ourselves first to the Lord, all the rest will follow (2 Cor. 8:5).

Through the Week

• Read — John 2:13-17; Deut. 6:4-9; 1 Chron. 28:9-10; Rom. 12:1-13; Rev. 3:14-22
• Reflect — Ask yourself, “What dark corners of my heart have I not considered lately?”
• Request — Pray, “Prove me, O Lord, and try me. Test my heart and my mind” (Psalm 26:2).
• Respond — Confess to God all that has held you back, then reflect on the words to "I Surrender All."
• Reach Out — Ask someone, “What do you find most encouraging when your passion gets low?’