The Cost of the Kingdom | The Last Kingdom – Week 7
Most people don’t reject Jesus.
They respect Him.
They believe in Him.
They’re grateful for what He offers.
But many quietly live with an unspoken arrangement:
Jesus handles my eternity…
I handle my life.
We trust Him for forgiveness.
We trust Him for heaven.
But when it comes to decisions, priorities, relationships, money, and direction—
we assume those still belong to us.
So faith becomes something we add to our lives…
not something that reorders our lives.
And that feels normal.
Because everything in our culture has trained us to believe
that freedom means self-rule.
You decide.
You control.
You define your life.
So when we encounter Jesus, it’s easy to treat Him like a guide—
helpful, wise, important—
…but not in charge.
The problem is…
Jesus never described His mission that way.
He didn’t come offering advice.
He came announcing a kingdom.
And a kingdom only works if the King actually has authority.
Which means the invitation of Jesus is more than belief—
it’s allegiance.
More than agreement—
it’s surrender.
And that’s where the tension begins.
Because following Jesus sounds beautiful…
until it touches the places we protect most.
Our independence.
Our identity.
Our relationships.
Our security.
Our plans.
That’s why in Luke 14, Jesus says things that feel almost unsettling.
He talks about family.
Possessions.
Even your own life.
Not because those things are bad—
but because those are the places we most often build our identity and loyalty.
And Jesus knows something we often avoid:
Your heart is never neutral.
If He doesn’t have the throne…
something else already does.
Approval.
Success.
Comfort.
Control.
Money.
Expectations.
Something is shaping your decisions.
Something is driving your stress.
Something is defining your worth.
And whatever holds that place—
is your functional lord.
That’s why Jesus turns to the crowd and says:
Before you follow me…
count the cost.
Not to push people away—
but to wake them up.
Because He doesn’t want admirers.
He calls followers.
People who don’t just like His message—
but surrender to His leadership.
And here’s the truth we often miss:
Jesus isn’t introducing surrender into a free life.
He’s exposing the reality that you’re already surrendered to something.
The only question is—what?
And that matters…
Because every false lord eventually takes more than it gives.
Approval will exhaust you.
Success will never satisfy you.
Control will keep you anxious.
Money will never make you secure.
Even good things—like family or ambition—
can become crushing when they sit on the throne.
But Jesus offers something different.
Not just forgiveness—
but a new center for your life.
A King whose authority brings freedom, not fear.
Whose leadership brings rest, not exhaustion.
Whose rule restores instead of consumes.
So the question isn’t:
Do you believe in Jesus?
It’s:
Who is actually running your life?
Because whatever sits in that seat
is shaping everything else.
Your choices.
Your priorities.
Your identity.
And Jesus doesn’t stand beside that throne offering advice.
He stands before it…
asking for the seat.
Because following Him is free—
But it will cost you control.
It will cost you self-rule.
It will cost you the illusion that you were ever in charge to begin with.
But what you gain…
Is life under a King who is actually good.
So here’s the invitation:
Stop admiring Jesus from a distance.
And decide—
Will you follow Him?
Discussion Questions:
Where do you most feel the desire for your life to matter - career, family, reputation, faith, something else? And how do you usually try to pursue that?
When you look at Jesus’ example in Philippians 2 and John 13, what suprises you most about how influence works in teh Kingdom of God?
What might it look like this week to follow Jesus’ strategy of humility and service in one specific area of your life?