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Thursday, November
8, 2007
Count the Cost
Luke 14:26-28 If
any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple. (27) And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after
me, cannot be my disciple. (28) For which of you, intending to build a
tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have
sufficient to finish it? (KJV)
At first glance
one sees the word hate and asks themselves what about this loving God I
have heard so much about? The word hate means to love less, so basically
the question being asked is ‘what are you going to pursue from this point
on, the things of God or the things of man?’ What is it that may be
hindering my walk? Or as the Lord is asking, ‘who is it that may be a
hindrance to my walk, is there someone close to me that is not close to the
Lord, and has no desire to be close to Him, which if not dealt with could
pull me under as well?’ Are there some close to you that have more of an
influence on you than God does? Someone you may love as well that is not
willing to follow the Lord, and may be holding you back from moving forward?
Luke 9:24-25 For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his
life for my sake, the same shall save it. (25) For what is a man
advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? (KJV)
What are you
willing to do to inherit eternal life? Jesus Christ went to the cross and
died for the sin of the world, so that we could inherit eternal life. If we
are going to follow in His footsteps, there are certain things as well as
certain people close to us that we need to die to, if we are going to
inherit eternal life also. So what profit is it to you to hang onto the
things or people of this world, if it costs you an eternity separated from
the Father? Time to do an internal inventory, the turmoil in your life,
something that is not sitting right with your spirit man, maybe someone so
close to you, and yet so far from the things of God.
Matthew 10:34-36 Think
not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a
sword. (35) For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and
the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother
in law. (36) And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. (KJV)
Just because you
got saved and decided to live for God, doesn’t automatically mean that
everyone else close to you is going to make the same decision. In this case
one doesn’t need to look to far to find there is opposition already, as
verse 36 points out, right in one’s own household. So if there is not peace
anymore, if you are finding opposition close to home, you need to take the
time to hear God on what to do, then count the cost for what you need to do
to stay close to Father. Don’t take it personal if others around you don’t
have the same interest as you do for the things of God, but heed the
warning.
Matthew 12:47-50 Then
one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without,
desiring to speak with thee. (48) But he answered and said unto him that
told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? (49) And he stretched
forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my
brethren! (50) For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in
heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (KJV)
We are adopted
into the family of God, a new creation in Christ, old things are passed
away. The Lord Himself when asked to identify His true family in Christ
gave an answer based on the spiritual and not the physical lineage. Do you
know who your true family is, those that are willing to take a stand for
the word of God, no matter what the cost?
Genesis 12:1-3 Now
the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy
kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (2)
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy
name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (3) And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed. (KJV)
We wonder at
times, ‘Lord why don’t you use me more, or does my walk seem stagnant, like
walking a treadmill, exerting energy but not moving forward’. To those that
God uses, to those that much is given too, much is required as well. So if
the Lord is calling you as He did Abraham, and wishes to bless you also,
will you be willing to do whatever it takes to please Him, or will you stay
put and try and please man instead? It doesn’t matter who it is or how close they are to
you, if it is not healthy to you spiritually, if it is not building you up
but rather holding you back, move on or Father will move on and find
someone else to bless as well.
1 Corinthians
15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. (KJV)
I don’t see the
word might, maybe, or possibly in the sentence above. Evil companionship
will corrupt the good that was started within you, unless you do what is
required to stop it and cut off those lines of communications.
Those of you that
are bound and determined that a husband or wife are going to make you
complete, seal the deal, are setting yourselves up for a big fall if you
end up with a deadbeat. I have seen many literally toss the dice, hoping
that the person they become infatuated with will turn into a Christian
someday, rather than making it a requirement before they say ‘I do’. There
is a big difference between who God joins together, and what we consider a
suitable mate. So watch out, that person you just can’t live without, may
be just a tool of the devil to keep you from a true and intimate relationship
with God as well.
It’s an eternal
price to be paid for those that end up deceived. Count the cost.
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