Are You a Disciple or a Loiterer?
About this sermon
In “Are You a Disciple or a Loiterer,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about costly discipleship, the cross and Christ’s blood, family discipleship. Drawing especially from Luke 19, Luke 14, Luke 23, Matthew 16, the teaching emphasizes that following Christ requires self-denial, obedience, and perseverance rather than passive association with religion. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin.
Chronological teaching outline
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Odle focuses on the condition of the heart. The message argues that the inner life must be healed, guarded, and brought under the truth of God’s word. It connects this with the conviction that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on the cross and Christ’s blood. The message argues that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin. It connects this with the conviction that following Christ requires self-denial, obedience, and perseverance rather than passive association with religion. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on costly discipleship while working through Luke 19, Luke 14. The message argues that following Christ requires self-denial, obedience, and perseverance rather than passive association with religion. It connects this with the conviction that faithfulness in the home requires instruction, loving correction, protection, and a consistent Christian example. The practical emphasis is to practice patient, truthful love in relationships and conflict.
Odle focuses on salvation. The message argues that salvation is presented as God’s work in Christ that produces a changed life and continuing faith. It connects this with the conviction that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. The practical emphasis is to respond with honest repentance and concrete obedience.
Odle focuses on the authority of Scripture while working through Luke 19, Luke 23. The message argues that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. It connects this with the conviction that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin. The practical emphasis is to remain watchful, grounded in Scripture, and ready to obey Christ.
Odle focuses on faith while working through Matthew 16. The message argues that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. It connects this with the conviction that the sermon relates Israel’s place in Scripture to the unfolding prophetic picture. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on Jerusalem while working through Luke 19. The message argues that Jerusalem is presented as a biblical and prophetic focal point in God’s purposes. It connects this with the conviction that following Christ requires self-denial, obedience, and perseverance rather than passive association with religion. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on prayer while working through Luke 19, Isaiah 57. The message argues that prayer expresses dependence on God and prepares believers to hear and obey Him. It connects this with the conviction that salvation is presented as God’s work in Christ that produces a changed life and continuing faith. The practical emphasis is to seek God in prayer and act on what Scripture requires.
Odle focuses on costly discipleship. The message argues that following Christ requires self-denial, obedience, and perseverance rather than passive association with religion. It connects this with the conviction that prayer expresses dependence on God and prepares believers to hear and obey Him. The practical emphasis is to seek God in prayer and act on what Scripture requires.
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- 0:00:01
lord of idolatry means of selfish desires and selfish plans or chains of lust chains chains of wickedness lord they're gonna drag it's going to drag us down lord you said that we were to lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beside us lord this is a day for that to be done lord let us all in here believe that there is power in the name of jesus that there is power to not only be forgiven of sin but to break the habits to change to repent to really follow [Music] to really follow you lord it's in jesus name let me pray i want everyone to turn to luke chapter 19 this morning i'm just completely going with what god is laying on my heart because um i have an extremely heavy heart this morning and i didn't know why and as we were worshiping there and praying there um i believe the lord showed me why so i want everyone to pay attention this morning if you need a bible there's some extra bibles up there on the shelf right there but i want you to see it my heart's heavy this morning for several reasons but i want to read this first in luke chapter 19. now this is when jesus was riding into jerusalem on the on the donkey and everyone was praising him and a week later of course he would be crucified and many of the same people who said blessed is he is comes in the name of the lord hosanna many of the same people who were praising him and worshipping him the week that week the very next week were crying out crucify him you know the mob is fickle it's one of my favorite lines from the gladiator movie when she says lucilla to her brother the emperor the mob is fickle brother and boy i'm i'm heavy in my heart because you know what i'm tired of seeing christians fickle i'm tired of seeing christians one minute say they love jesus and the next minute they're playing games with god and this is a grieve it just grieves my heart because i'm
- 0:03:01
just going to say this very plainly there are some of you sitting in this room if you were to die today you are not ready you are not on your way to heaven and that grieves a pastor's heart when he knows that to be true and most of the time even though i know it i don't say anything about it because i figure the way i preach something ought to get through but the fact of the matter is and steve hill used to say this all the time at the brownsville revival he said you can go to hell with a choir robot you can go to hell with a baptismal certificate hanging on the wall you can go to hell as a deacon as an elder as a pastor you can go to hell going to church every sunday giving your tithes and helping in the church and you can still be lost you can still be a person who's never really denied self taking up the cross and said i'm gonna follow jesus no matter what that means for me whatever i have to lay down whatever i have to do whatever sin i have to quit whatever thing god says for me is not his will i won't do it and what he shows me is his will i will do it you know this week i was thinking about this message and the thought or the title kind of came in my mind are we disciples are we just loiterers are we just hanging around the cross or have we actually taken up the cross and really started following jesus so many people think that they are saved and ready to die simply because they hang around the cross they hang around christianity they go to church they sing songs they might pray a little bit in their car on the way to work they might read a scripture here or there or better yet not really read any but just might post one or two on facebook but they've never really understood that jesus said if you don't deny yourself and take up the cross and follow him dying to your will dying to your plans dying to your dreams and desires dying to what your flesh wants dying christianity is about three crosses and i'm going to cover those in a minute there are about three crosses last week i talked about jesus's cross but then there's our cross that we each must take up our own cross and what that means is what is god's will for us god's will for me now i'm not talking about what's written what's written in here is god's will for everybody
- 0:06:02
we're all required to do what this book says but then there are things that we are specifically individually called to do trey you're not called to do the same thing i'm called to do paul you're not called to do the same thing i'm called god has a plan for you he has a plan for each of you and the question on judgment day will not be did you hang around the cross it will not be did you go to church it will not be did you sing in the choir it will not be were you did you think you were a good person the issue will be did you take up your cross and do the will of god for your life did you walk with him did you know him did you obey him did you love him more than anything in this world and that means any person that means any desire any dream any sin any lust any money any job did you love jesus christ supremely and were you willing at any moment any time to take up your cross and do anything that he asked you to do no matter what it cost you if it cost you getting fired from a job if it cost you losing someone in your life that was close to you if it cost you losing friends or family members getting mad at you were you willing to take a stand for what was right for what was written in this book and then to go and do what god tells you to do listen to me most of the time what god tells you to do is not going to be popular with people around you if it is it's probably not god and this is a burden on my heart so many people hang around christianity they hang around the cross but they never get on the cross and and let let god crucify them they never take up that cross and follow him you know that's what leonard ravenhill used to say there was one thing you knew about a man who was carrying a cross is he wasn't coming back he wasn't going back to the world he wasn't ever going to be the same again he was going to be nailed to that thing and he was going to die too many of us put our hands to the plow and we look back you know there's one short verse it's the second shortest verse in the bible the first one is jesus wept you want the second shortest verse in the bible remember lot's wife you know what her problem was here she was living in the most wicked city in the world full of sexual lust full of lusting after money full of all of the fine things that this world has to offer and god tells them i'm destroying this place for its wickedness and when i get you out of here don't even look behind
- 0:09:04
you and an angel not even a human being an angel has them by the hand and is dragging them out of sodom and she looks back why did god turn her into a pillar of salt destroy her right then not just because he told her not to look back he was trying to save her from what was in sodom and even in the midst of him trying to save her she in her heart was longing to be back well how many christians christians say they want jesus [Music] they say they want jesus but they're still longing for sodom they're still longing for their own ways their own lust their own desires their own dreams they don't take up the cross and follow him so they're not disciples and you know as we were my heart was heavy and as we were singing i just the tears started rolling down my face because i'm realizing how many people even though they have the same bible i have people don't understand these verses now i know i said turn to luke 19. i want you to mark that spot because we're going to come back to in just a second but i want you to back up to luke 14. i want you to see what jesus said about taking up the cross it's not just about believing jesus or the apostle james said the devils believe and tremble it didn't make them saved amen are you in luke 14. i'm going to go down to this in verse 25 and there went great multitudes with him and he turned and said to them if any man come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters and yea his own life also he cannot be my disciple let me stop there for a second now god's not talking about hating your family but what he's talking about there is in comparison to how much you should love the lord and be willing to lay down even those relationships at times to do his will there's a lot of things that you're
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