Sermon Tone Analysis

Slap Yo Mama

You may have seen hot sauce called “Slap Yo Mama.”

It conveys this idea that the flavor is so good or so hot that it’s gonna make you do something crazy like slap your mother.

Tim Hawkins is a Christian comedian and he has a diddy where he talks about this phenomenon where food makes you do crazy things.

He describes a scene where he’s eating at Cracker Barrel and he asks the waitress about the biscuits and gravy.

To witch she replies, “There so good they make you wanna slap yo mama!” Hawkins goes on to act out what it might look like if that was true and his mom was sitting at the table with him while he eats this amazing biscuits and gravy.

He’s sitting there chewing and glances over at his mom where it starts happening.

The biscuits and gravy are so good they are making him want to slap his mama.

So he tells her, “Mama, you might want to wait in the car.”

So I thought what if this started happening at church?

Not with food but with the sermon.

You know someone asks you how the sermon was and you reply, “ It was so good it made me wanna slap my mama!” Say Pastor Dusty, or Wayne, or Kelly, or Jono, or whoever is preaching is just dropping some truth and it’s hitting you hard.

I mean the Holy Spirit is movin’ and you are convicted.

You happen to be sitting next to your parents and you look over at your mom and you realize you’re wanting to slap your mom because the preaching is so good.

So you lean over and say, “Mama, you better wait in the car and watch the service on Facebook live!”

We’ll see what happens today, but mom’s be on the lookout!

Disciple

So last week Kelly talked about the Great Commissions and how we are to live a sent life in the same way Jesus lived a sent life.

However, Kelly left it hangin’ so that I can talk about how to live a sent life practically.

So we’re gonna talk about being a disciple and what the characteristics are of a disciple.

After all, the mission is for disciples to go and make disciples of all nations.

We are gonna look at several texts today where Jesus himself talks about what a disciple is.

Count the Cost

WARNING!

We’re coming in hot!

All I can say is, “Mama… you better wait in the car!”

This definitely is a shocking verse, but thankfully Jesus isn’t telling us to literally hate our loved ones.

This wouldn’t make sense with all of His other teachings about loving others.

After all, He tells us to

love one another, your neighbor

love your enemies

honor your father and mother

We’re given instructions how to love our husbands, wives and children

The 2nd greatest commandment is love your neighbor as you love yourself

Whew!

No haters!

Instead our love for Jesus is to be so great that when it is compared to our earthly loves, it would appear as hatred, or loving less.

And this makes sense because when Jesus asked what the greatest commandment was he answered saying:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

So every person we hold dear, including ourselves, must make way for Jesus.

We aren’t to neglect our responsibilities as sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands or wives, but our first love must be Jesus.

As we love Him and walk with Him, He will teach us how to love others.

That’s a pretty high cost, but wait there’s more!

Right after Jesus tells us we must love Him above ourselves and all our loved ones, He goes on to say:

At the time, the people listening to Jesus would have really understood the imagery of carrying their cross.

Leon Morris and his commentary on Luke, explains it well:

The follower of Jesus must deny himself (not just his sins, himself; he cannot be self-centred).

There is nothing self-indulgent about being a Christian.

The disciples had probably seen a man take up his cross, and they knew what it meant.

When a man from one of their villages took up a cross and went off with a little band of Roman soldiers, he was on a one-way journey.

He would not be back.

Taking up the cross meant the utmost in self-denial.

So, to be a disciple of Jesus we must take up our cross, deny our self, which is our old self and it’s sinful nature, and put it to death spiritually.

We know this isn’t a one time deal and we know our old self won’t go quietly.

That’s why we are instructed to do it daily.

The cost keeps going up.

Continuing in Luke 14:28 Jesus then uses two parables to help explain:

Jesus makes it clear from these two parables that we have a choice and we need to consider the cost before we decide.

Part of counting the cost is recognizing the structure of the relationship going forward.

The Relationship

In the same way a disciple is below the teacher, and a servant below the master, we are to remain subservient to the teacher and master.

We are to let Jesus, in the words of Carrie Underwood, “Take the Wheel.”

However, I think we often get it reversed.

My plans, my ideas, my best of intentions

My wife, my kids, my family

My career, my name, my reputation

Then we invite Jesus to come along and bless them.

We must keep the orientation of the relationship correct.

Our old self wants to get back in the drivers seat, but as disciples, we are to daily take up our cross, and put the old self to death.

There’s another part of the cost that we need to be aware of and that is persecution.

Persecution

Continuing on with Matthew 10:25:

Beezlebul is the name of a demon.

This name is also referenced in Matthew 12:24 when the Pharisees accuse Jesus of performing His miracles by the power of Beezlebul.

So Jesus, in full disclosure, lets them know that if He’s been accused of operating under the power of demons, then expect the same treatment.

Following Jesus will not be a walk in the park and we should expect persecution along the way .

So we’ve got a good picture of the cost of following Jesus.

Verse 33 of Luke 14 sums it up:

I don’t know about you but looking at all of this, what the cost is, is overwhelming.

There’s no getting pumped up on emotion and adrenaline, and making the decision and seeing it through.

We can’t drink a spiritual On the “Rock Star” energy drink, that will get us through.

It’s not a decision to take lightly.

The cost is too great!

We cannot pay it.

Or, in our sinfulness, we don’t want to pay it.

But consider the alternative.

Can we afford not to follow Jesus?

The answer is obviously “no” because we are dead in our transgressions without Him.

So on the one hand, the cost is so high, how can we ever pay it.

And on the other had, we know we can’t afford to NOT pay it.

This is where our Lord and Savior comes in!

Jesus talked about receiving power in Acts 1:8

When we count the cost and say “yes” to Jesus then we receive the power through the Holy Spirit to pay the cost!

Hallelujah!!!!! We’ll talk more about this later.

So real quick, let’s take a minute and count the cost.

Count the Cost

Are there loved ones that you love more than Jesus?

What things are you holding onto?

What plans, ideas, dreams do you need to surrender?

Are you being persecuted?