Thursday, May 16, 2024

What Will It Cost?

In keeping with my previous post, I would like to share a few more thoughts on being prepared for the final days. Again, whether we live to see the last days and return of Christ or not, we will all appear before God anyway, so we must be ready for that day 

Jesus tells us to count the cost in Luke 14:25-33. I think this is foundational for us. Just like the individual in Christ's example could not finish what he started, we need to be aware of what it means to follow Jesus. I am afraid that many make a quick decision that does not last when the going gets tough. What will you or I do when our world falls apart around us? If we have truly counted the cost, we should not be surprised when difficult times come 

I would like to focus on five things that Jesus touches on concerning the cost of discipleship.
1. Our wills
2. Our comfort 
3. Our possessions 
4. Our families 
5. Our lives 

In Mark 8:34-38 we read this,

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, " If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
"For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.
                                Mark 8:34-38 NASB

1. If we are to follow Jesus, and make it all the way to the end, our wills must be surrendered to Him. We can't have a divided allegiance. Jesus won't take a part of us, and let us have the rest. There is a saying, and I don't know who said it, but it goes like this, "Either Christ is Lord of all, or He isn't Lord at all."

That is hard. But to deny ourselves means literally that. We say no to our plans, purposes, comforts, in order to follow, and do what Jesus desires us to do. To enlist in the army involves a giving up of a right to yourself to do what your commander asks of you. Likewise, we are in God's service, and it's not about us. 

In the New Testament we run into the idea of a "bond servant." Someone who had entered into this was now no longer their own. They had no plans of their own, no will of their own, no purpose other than to do their masters bidding. Ideally their master took care of their needs, but they lived for him. Likewise, a man carrying his cross is a "dead man walking." He no longer has any will of his own. It is completely out of his hands now. All of his plans are gone.

So, our wills must be surrendered. It is Jesus who is in charge, it is His will that we obey, no matter how hard it is. Of course, we can trust Him completely, as He will never leave us or forsake us. He is our helper, so we do not need to be afraid of what man may do to us (Hebrews 13:5-6).

2. Our comfort can hinder our following Jesus. Imagine being without electricity, plenty of food, a good vehicle, a nice house. You fill in the blank. What if Jesus called you to go to a place where those things were unavailable? Imagine the hardships that people all over the world now suffer for the sake of Christ. We have so much here in America. It can be hard to fathom what others go through who lack many of the things we take for granted. What we enjoy today here in the land of plenty might be gone someday. We have no guarantee what the future holds for us. Then what? 

In response to a scribe who told Jesus that he would follow Him wherever He went, Jesus said, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head (Matt 8:18-21).
To follow Jesus we must expect hardships. We cannot let our comfortable lifestyles hinder us from going wherever Jesus leads us, and enduring whatever He allows in our lives as His disciples.

3. Our possessions can become great stumbling blocks as we follow Jesus as well. In Luke 14:33 Jesus demands the forsaking of our possessions if we are to follow Him. If we are not our own, it follows reason that our things are not our own either. How many people will turn back over a treasured possession that they refuse to give up? 

In Matthew 24:15-18 Jesus warns about the coming abomination of desolation. At that point in time in Judaea, everyone must flee, there will be no time to get your things before you go. I remember years ago, before I was saved, trying to figure out how I could last through the tribulation while holding on to some of my most treasured items. I thought Jesus command here in these verses seemed a little ridiculous. That in a nutshell is the foolishness of covetousness. Preserving your things will cost you in the end. 

There was a fire a century or so ago that wiped out several towns, not far from where I live, killing many people. The story is told of a train waiting on the tracks to take fleeing people to safety. People were coming with their things. One lady pushing a treadle sewing machine, another a piano. The fire was literally right behind them, the rails were red hot from the heat. When the abomination of desolation occurs the last thing on our minds at that point should be our possessions. Don't let your stuff anchor you to this earth.

4. We love our families, and for most of us we would do anything for them. But Jesus warns us not to let family keep us from following Him (Luke 14:26). 
This verse seems harsh to many, and Jesus doesn't want us to literally hate our families. He is making a point. Who does our allegiance belong to? A disciple wanted to bury his father first. Jesus told him to "Let the dead bury the dead. You come follow me." (Matt 8:21-22). Again, Jesus is making a point about our allegiance to him. Remember the command to honor our parents? Jesus upheld that command. We are expected to love our enemies, how much more our families! How many people have refused the call of God on their lives because they put family ahead of God? That is the point. To follow Jesus will naturally bring division to many families (Matt 10:34-39). Again, in these verses we see the concept of carrying the cross, and losing our lives for Christ. Jesus here states that if we love family more than Him we are not worthy of Him. And back up a few verses and we find that in times of persecution betrayal will come from the members of one's own household (Matt 10:21). 

5. And finally we must embrace the fact of martyrdom. We may be called to physically lay down our lives for the cause of Christ. Jesus assures us that persecution goes with discipleship (Matt 10:22-23, John 15:18-21). Millions of Christians have suffered and died for the sake of Jesus, and multitudes are yet to die in His service. In Revelation we read of "souls under the altar" who were slain because of the word of God, and the testimony they maintained (Rev 6:9). The truth is there will be a number too large to count, of people from every tongue, tribe, and nation, who will suffer and die for Jesus during the great tribulation (Rev7:9-17). Popular teaching denies this, but scripture paints a picture of those who are victorious over the beast through death, and how do they overcome this onslaught instigated ultimately by Satan?

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
                        Revelation 12:11 NASB

That is key. They did not hold their lives so dear as to renounce their faith, even when faced with death. Countless Christians have made this same choice between life and death. Compromise or faithfulness. 

It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him; 
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
                       2 Timothy 2:11-13 NASB

Here the choice, in the greater context of the hardships suffered by the apostle Paul, is set before us. 

So this is hard. Remember Peter? His bold declaration to die with Jesus, only to deny Him a short time later. We need to make a firm choice, but not a rash choice. Our sufficiency is not of ourselves, but our strength comes from God. 

Again, do not fear what man can do, but rely upon God. Remember that this life is temporary, and death is the doorway into the eternal. To die in Christ is to enter into an eternity with Him in glory. To live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21-23).

To sum up, now is the time to count the cost, to make our resolution to follow Christ, by God's grace, no matter what may come. When dark days are upon us, will our lamps be full, or will we be out of oil (see Matt 25:1-13). It will be hard to stand strong then, if we are not prepared now 




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