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27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.28. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?Luke 14:27-28. There is a powerful lesson here in a few words from Jesus. First in the time that Jesus lived, a man bearing a cross was going to his death. I thought your cross was accepting affliction, disappointment, pain, sickness, and grief that comes in one's life. Wrong, this would be trying to earn salvation in place of Jesus's sacrificial death. Jesus is saying you can not be His disciple (a learner) if you are not on His road. Jesus is saying that when you're a disciple, you're on a one-way trip. No turning back. You have become a dead man to the world, and it's ways. It's more than saying a prayer. It is a life that has been yielded to Jesus and His ways. We are walking letters of Jesus. What kind of Jesus do people see in us. Do we look dead to the world and alive in Jesus. Jesus is not looking for fans, He came to make disciples, soldiers that fight against sin and hell. Jesus' story about the tower is to consider what being a follower of Jesus means. What is it going to cost. What must you leave behind. Like the people laughing at the man who could not finish the tower. Are those who say they love Jesus but still live with the old nature of sin. Attention, this will not be rewarded. This is Holy Week, Jesus died to remove sin. He said we must be holy as the Father in heaven is holy. Are we holy? Is Jesus living in us? Jesus only rewards a 100% commitment, anything less He will cast out of His presence. Amen.