Cost of The Call — Part Three

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

31    But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Unless we will identify with Jesus and follow His steps we will never share in His glory. The power of God is released into our lives in proportion to the price we will pay. The degree to which we will empty out self is the degree to which we will experience His fullness. Let me try to paint you a picture of the willingness of Jesus to pay the price of doing the will of God.

We have all read the story where right after he predicted the disciples’ denial, Jesus went to Gethsemane. Here we see Jesus becoming sorrowful and deeply distressed. He asks Peter and the two sons of Zebedee to stay awake and watch with him in prayer. Jesus went just a little farther and fell on His face and cried out.

Matt 26:37-46

37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

In verse 37, the word translated sorrowful, is a much stronger word in the original text. It means pressed down with great anguish or overwhelmed with great anguish. I would imagine this was produced by a foresight of his great sufferings on the cross and in paying the price for all our sins.

Let’s dig a little deeper into this picture. I cannot even start to grasp what emotions and thoughts must have been going through the mind of Jesus at that time. It is not clear but He must have had emotions running rampant on all fronts. In a very real sense He was all alone. His own disciples were all sleeping except for the one who was coming to betray Him. The others were not there for Him in the sense of praying for support, for endurance for what He was going through. They were not standing in the gap — asking, praying for strength for Him. They were not even preparing themselves for the danger that lay ahead of them. In one sense, what they were feeling was so great that they could not bear it. Out of this emotionally overloaded situation, they naturally fell asleep. But regardless, Jesus was on His own.

We see that Jesus fell on His face and cried out. "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt". We see that the human part of Him naturally shrank from what was to happen and looked for a way out. Yet He chose to pay the price and do the will of the father. Three times the human side looked for a different way. Jesus prayed three times but each time ended His prayer the same way — with a statement that He would submit to the will of God. We seek deliverance in tough times but like Jesus we, too, must submit to the will of God.

We can be confident that in all trials God is wise, merciful and always wants the best for us. We must come to that place where like Jesus we will say, "God, not my will but Yours be done." There is nothing wrong with us crying out to God, asking Him to deliver us, asking Him to allow us to skip certain times that are not fun. As much as this is true, we also must be willing to go through every trial that God has before us if that is His will for that specific time. It is during those tough times where God works self out of us. I am well aware some of these times are not fun, in fact, they can be downright terrible times. But hear me, and please, hear me well. It is because God loves us so much that He takes us through those times.

God knows the consequences that will come from trying to walk the Christian walk while keeping or holding onto things of the world. These things hinder our growth and many times cause us to become deformed. They stunt our growth and cause us to become dysfunctional. It is much better to deal with this garbage and get it out of us so we can walk in His fullness. There is no other way to walk in the fullness of God.

Can you start to grasp what our attitude must be during these times? Tough as it is, we can chose to respond with praise and thankfulness for what God is working out of and into our lives. This is a lot more beneficial than whining, "Why me Lord? What have I done? I try. I am not a bad person. This is just not fair". You can probably add a lot more to this list of things you say. But praise God that He loves us enough not to leave us with all the junk that is in us.

In Luke 24:44 we have another look at the verse we read in Matt 26:39. I think it shows us a little more of the intensity of the moment Jesus was facing.

Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

There are a couple things that we must come to grips with. The first is that as surely as much as the human part of Jesus would have preferred another way, He was willing to drink all of the cup of suffering. Jesus willingly chose to drink from this bitter cup. Jesus, although being totally innocent and free from any taint of sin, chose to take upon Himself the punishment and pay the price for our sin.

I don’t think we can comprehend the impact of all of this sin coming upon One Who knew no sin. Many times this is just the beginning; many times there are more hardships. This is when we experience the next level of warfare. What cup or lot in life is before you? What road does God desire for you to go down so that others may come to know the fullness of Jesus? How many of us, like the disciples, think that after we have left all, that is the end if that section. They must have been thinking, "Now we get to the good times", when in fact its only the beginning. Too often we give up a little to then ask now what can we have. We must bring the verses of Matt 20:22-24 into the picture to get a proper concept of what is to come and to better understand what cup we must drink.

Matt 20:22-24

22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

24    And when the ten heard it, they were moved

 

So often Christians want to participate in the glory but never really understand that we must cry out for His grace so we can bear the cross for it stands in our way of getting there. How often do we say things and never really understand what we are saying? As with the disciples in ways, our actions show we want to sit by His side or in other words do great things for Jesus. We just want to do it without having to come to grips with the cost to get there. We want this and we want that but will we pay the price to have these things?

We are quick to look at the prize and then, without realizing what our commitment must be, head out to get it. But then we get discouraged when the times get tough. When we do not understand the cost, we often get discouraged and some even quit running the race.

Will you keep your end of the agreement to walk in the call? Will you be able to finish the journey? Do you get angry when asked or even challenged about the cost of the call? Are you operating in pride or fleshly ambition? Are you willing to be baptised with the baptism of Jesus?

 

Baptism is an ordinance by which we join ourselves to the Lord in covenant and communion. So is suffering for Christ. This whole process can be exciting if we start to get a better picture of what we will go through, in the whole process of following Jesus. Baptism is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace;" and so is suffering for Christ, for unto us it is given.

Phil 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

The second important thing is to drink of the same cup that Christ drank of, and to be baptized with the same baptism that he was baptized with. Christ went before us in suffering, and in that, as in other things, left us an example.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

We, like Paul, are to be partakers of Christ’s sufferings, and fill up that which is behind of them; we must therefore arm ourselves with the same mind, and learn to walk in His grace. We must expect suffering, and not look upon it as a hard thing to suffer well. We are able to suffer cheerfully, and in the worst of times still to hold fast our integrity. What can we afford to part with for Christ? How far will we give Him credit? Could I find it in my heart to drink of a bitter cup, and to be baptized with a bloody baptism, rather than let go my hold of Christ?

Now let us sit down, and count the cost of dying for Christ rather than denying Him, and ask, "Can we take Him up on these terms?" We have all read about the trials and the losses that Job went through. Let’s focus for a moment of last part of Job 2:9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. 10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

We must be willing to bear whatever comes our way. Let us have the confidence in God that no matter what comes our way He will use it for our own good. Too often if God uses something we don’t like to bring change in our lives, we grumble and complain. We rejoice when blessings come but get bent out of shape when trials come. We learn more in the valley than we do up on the mountain top. It takes more faith to go through rough times than it does in good times. Is not the bottom line that we are blessed to even breathe the air? Are we not blessed just to have a Saviour? Try to grasp this thought: Can we agree that everything is His? If so, why do we get so upset when He takes some of His things from us? Are they not His to begin with? It does not matter if it is friends or material things — let us be thankful for the loan and the blessing they have been. I believe that as we learn to surrender to Him what is His anyway, we will learn to live a more fulfilled life.

What right has a sinner to complain when God withdraws His favour, or other things that the sinner has been using? What claim do we have on God that He should never visit us with bad times? Just so you don’t get this all out of context, I believe that God wants the best for us. He wants us to prosper and walk in all He has. It seems to me that there are times when we do not listen, as well as times when God has a much higher purpose. Regardless of which it is, we do go through some rough times. It is after the trials that we say thank you for then we sometimes see what God has accomplished through them. Can you be like Job and still remain faithful when your world falls apart?

What are some more of the steps to help us remain true to the call and able to be willing to pay the price?

1 Our eyes must remain on the mission — not on self. Only God-directed plans work. Those of self or the flesh end in disaster. We need to examine our own hearts and honestly ask the question if the plans of God or self? As we will follow the footsteps of Jesus for our lives, we will start to see the plan and purpose unfold in a much clearer state. If we never take the steps we will never see the bigger picture.

2 We must avoid the shortcuts. It is when we take shortcuts that we get into trouble or unbelief.

3 We must stay out of our natural understanding for it will lead us stray. We cannot trust Him with all of our own heart unless we are submitted to doing things His ways. We must invite God to be part of every decision we make.

Prov 3:5-6

5     Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Again the scripture we read earlier Luke 22:42 shows us that Jesus emptied himself of everything.

John 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

We must have the loyalty and obedience that springs forth from our love of Jesus. If we do not obey Him, we are chargeable of the count of treason. Those found guilty of treason have no part in what Jesus has to offer. To be found guilty of treason means we have not only rejected Jesus but the one that sent Him as well.

Here is a quick rabbit trail for you. Jesus passed the test of temptation. If He passed the test, so can we — as we walk in His power and wisdom. Again we must stay out of the natural intellect if we are to complete the mission.

Matt 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

In closing, let me leave you with a few thoughts. There truly is a price to pay in walking or responding to the call of Jesus. In our own strength we cannot pass the test. But as we will learn to walk in the strength of Jesus and truly follow His ways we can and will come through to victory.

We all have a place in sharing the good news of Jesus. We all have a price to pay. I think that we need to allow God to breathe His life and His understanding into many areas that we call Christianity. In many areas, that maybe without realizing it, we have allowed the world or the flesh to bring meanings that are contrary to the Word of God.

What so many call Christianity today is nothing but a poor imitation of what Christianity truly is. We make all kinds of excuses about why we cannot be sold out or why we cannot pay the price. Even some leaders allow us to continue in this deception by saying things like "Jesus understands. He will give you thousands of chances", etc. While I agree that God gives us many chances and His desire is that we would not perish — there is an end to His patience. He will not allow rebellion to His ways to continue for ever. We never really know when we will cross the line of no more chances. Let us stop playing Russian roulette with our lives.

Let’s highlight an area that we have talked very little about. It is an area that is so important and so vital in learning about the cost of answering the call.

Phil 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

This verse is talking about more than just knowing about Him. The same power that rose Jesus from the physical death is the power that raises us from the spiritual death.

We are to identify with Jesus in His sufferings and death. We shall participate in or experience what Jesus felt. He took upon Himself our sufferings so we must participate in His for us. To truly know Him, we must become fully acquainted, not only with His nature and His character, but also with the salvation that He worked out for us. We must learn to know Him in an intimate way.

We need to experience and allow our minds to be renewed in totality. In this process our mind’s eye is raised far above this world to the things of God. As our minds are renewed, we will have the confidence that Jesus was truly raised from the dead. This mind set must go beyond the simple mental assent or agreement. We must know that we know — for as this takes place our faith will be elevated. We must come to that place where we desire His truth to flow through us with power to bring change to every area of our lives. As His life and reality flow through us unrestricted by doubt and sin, the very bands of death from the old life it will break off our lives. The biggest hindrance to this process is self and its partner doubt. As we submit to the things of God, self dies and its brother doubt will flee.

Death has no sting to those who walk in the fullness of Jesus. When the sting of death is defeated, the excitement of His resurrection builds in us and we start to grasp what is available to us.

We can face the whole process in identifying with the sufferings that Jesus faced for us. It is an honour to suffer with Jesus. Can you grasp how, as you will pay the price, your whole thinking pattern will change?

You will start to look at life and its trials differently. You will come to a place where the bumps in the road do not take you off course. As we come to grips with the whole nature and personality of Jesus and embrace it for our own, we can follow Him wherever He leads us. We can follow, not only out of obedience, but also out of the joy and pleasure of walking with our Saviour.

This whole mind set is so different from those who just want the glory or the perks. It is so different from the motives behind those who will not pay the price.

2 Tim 2:11-12

11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:

12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Let us not lose sight of the truth that we will be treated like Jesus. Let’s stop getting bent out of shape when those who oppose His mission give us a rough time. As we share in the treatment He received when He walked the earth, we will share with Him in His glory in heaven as well. There is a price to pay for walking with Jesus. I am very saddened that many are not told about the cost, let alone the difficulties they will find on the road to Calvary. Too many today paint a picture of what the road to heaven is really like that is wrong and is a down right deception. Yes, we are free to have fun. Yes, we can and should enjoy the trip. But let us never forget the whole trip is designed so that we would die to self and come alive in Jesus. It’s a trip where we learn not only to see but to respond in all situations the same way Jesus did. It’s a trip where we learn to only do what the Father is doing. It’s a trip where we come to that place that when people look at us, they see Jesus — not us. What about it? Will you pay the price? I want to encourage to pay the price for those who do not, the end in eternity is not a very appealing picture.

Another area in paying the price of the call is learning to allow God to bring focus and purpose into our lives. Each one of us has a specific as well as a general role to play. Many times people will fall into the trap of doing nothing because they do not have the understanding for the specific call or function they are to fulfill. During the process of learning about our specific role in life, let us continue doing those general things that are so vital to the foundation of our Christian life. Let us always spend time praying, studying God’s Word and sharing with others what God is doing in and through us. Let us let His light through us. We will never come to that place where we can operate in the fullness of the specific call unless we will make a habit of doing the basics. Part of the basic training is where God teaches us to no longer mix the things of the world and the things of the Spirit together. It is a place where God teaches us the difference between His direction and fleshly zeal. Fleshly zeal gets us into trouble while God’s direction enables His life to shine through us.

Another area that is so important to learn about is God’s timing. A trick of the enemy is to get us onto his timetable instead of God’s. I have seen many a sincere believer running ahead out of a fleshly zeal. I have also seen many in a real sense not even participate because they thought they had all the time in the world. The bottom line is we must be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit. There is a time to rest and a time to get going in our call.

The more of God’s specific vision we understand, the more we will stay on course and not be so apt to drift in idleness. God is pouring His Spirit out. Will you respond and pay the price to walk in His fullness or will you be one of the ones who miss out because you would not pay the price to walk in His outpouring? What are you going to do? Is your life fertile ground to receive visions and dreams and prophetic words or have you allowed your life to become a field where little can grow?

Acts 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Some very practical steps to help us on our journey are as follows.

1 Let’s promote God — not self. Let God develop in you the desire to do His will.

2 Empty yourself of the world and its influences. You cannot mix the world with the things of the Spirit.

3 Set your mind on His goals. Press on — do not quit when storms come your way

4 Concentrate and learn to follow His instructions. This requires a whole change in how we look at the situations we find ourselves in.

5 Let the past pass at last. Look forward. Do not spend your whole life looking backwards.

6 Be prepared to drink the cup or walk in whatever your lot in life is. Do it without complaining or grumbling but embrace Jesus in every way.

7 Embrace the fire of God. It will not burn you but is designed to burn out of you all that is not of God.

Let us never forget we were made for God’s pleasure, not God for our pleasure. Too often we get the roles reversed and then nothing makes any sense at all. Let us purpose in our hearts and ask God to empower us so we will be able to pay the price to walk in all that He has for us. It makes no sense to just play Christian or talk about going all the way. Let us cry out that God would give us His heart and His ability to rise to new heights. My friends, we can walk on water and defy the very strongholds of hell. We can become what He has created us to be.

Come and we will walk together and if He should tarry let those that come behind us find that our lives point towards the Father.

At Least That's The Way I See It

Roger