Spiritual Growth Lessons
from Christian Ambassadors
Counting The
Cost - Part 1
by Sharon K. Griffee
Luke 14:27 (NIV) - And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple.
Did you know that it is possible to be a follower of
Jesus Christ without being a real disciple? To be someone who follows from a
distance, but not be a real soldier of the king? By the time you finish
studying this lesson you should be able to identify where you are today in your
spiritual journey.
A real disciple of Jesus Christ must be able to bare
up under the weight of the cross (Luke 14:27 KJV). At the first sign
of trouble a disciple would not think of dropping the cross and disappearing
from the scene. A disciple would continue to carry the cross, even over rough
terrain, because of their loyalty and willingness to sacrifice personal
gratification, to meet the daily challenges of sacrificial love for Christ. The
sacrifice of a real disciple is never given grudgingly, because of their great
joy and satisfaction in fulfilling the desires of Christ. The number one goal
of a disciple is to seek [go after] a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah 29:13(NIV) - You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
What does it mean to seek God with all your heart?
Jesus gives us a clue. When the Pharisees asked Jesus which of the commandments
was the greatest, he told them the first great commandment is that each of us
should love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and
with all our mind (Matthew 22:37). The only real reason to seek God, is because
we love him. Every part of our being must first love God. If we are seeking God
for some other reason, then we are simply not going to be rewarded with His
presence. Our impure motives would automatically separate us from ever coming
into a close, personal relationship with him. Make no mistake, only those who
love God with a pure heart and keep his commandments, can ever truly know him.
Matthew 5:8 (KJV) - Blessed are
the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
The pure in heart love God unselfishly, and will do
whatever it takes to keep his commandments.
When we love God with all of our heart, with pure motives,
we do not think of him as a distant God, who is there simply to serve us. We
don’t think of Him as a God whom we pray to and worship, thinking he will grant
us all of our requests. On the contrary, when we love God with all of our
heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind, our only desire is to serve him;
not be served by him! Because we love God and want to please him, we seek to do
the things that would bring joy and happiness to him.
We don’t do things for God, nor do we make promises
to him for the purpose of getting something in return. If our approach to God
is with a bargaining attitude, we might say, “Now, Lord, if you will do this
for me, I promise to do that for you.” God doesn’t need our favors. He wants
our love! Bargaining with God shows our selfishness rather than our love. It
shows our desire to buy God off, rather than to repent. It shows our
unwillingness to face the issues of life with our God-given strengths.
If love of God is our motivation, we leave God free
to love us, and either bless us or withhold blessings from us, according to his
infinite wisdom. If we are not yet ready, the Lord may withhold a particular
blessing from us until we have demonstrated through a changed heart, that we
are mature enough to handle it. It matters little to a disciple, whether the
Lord gives or withholds a blessing, because a disciple knows they are loved,
either way.
I John 4:19 (KJV) - We love
him, because he first loved us.
Distant
followers of Jesus show signs of spiritual immaturity by constantly testing
God’s love for them. They measure his love by the blessings they receive. They
say, “Now, Lord, I know you are a God of love, so I’m counting on you to bring
a blessing to me. I’m counting on you, Lord, to remove these obstacles from my
life. I’m taking a faith stand, Lord, that you’ll make the road ahead smooth,
so I won’t have any more difficulties.”
No, faith should not be mistaken as a kind of
spiritual “formula” that we use to somehow bind God into blessing us with a
life of ease. Jesus made it clear that anyone who wants to be his disciple
would not be protected from having to go through some difficulties in life;
there would be a cost to following Him. A disciple must bare up under the
weight of the cross. He must face the daily problems of life as a true soldier
of the king. Rather than using his faith as a spoken “formula” to try and
manipulate blessings from God, a disciple will use his faith in God to go through the storms of life. True faith
words originate from a pure heart, not from a person’s vocal cords!
Luke 9:23 (NIV) - Then he
said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Daily denial
of self is the cross of a disciple. Meeting life with Jesus every day, means
doing things for him others would shrink back from; but it is in doing those
things, that a disciple finds their greatest blessings.
A few years ago I awoke earlier than usual, so I
might talk with the Lord about a concern. I wanted to know why Christians were
having as many difficulties dealing with the problems of life, as the people
in the world who did not know Jesus.
My answer came in the form of a vision. As I was preparing this lesson, the
Lord brought that vision to my remembrance for the purpose of sharing it with
you. The vision only lasted a few seconds, but I saw enough to understand the
spiritual significance of the choices we make.
That morning, as I sat on the edge of my bed to get
up, the room suddenly faded into the background. I saw a vision of Jesus
portrayed as a majestic, royal figure. He was dressed in a gleaming white robe
with a long flowing train, similar to the train that trails behind a bridal
gown. Jesus was walking down the road at a steady pace, looking straight ahead,
as if his course were predetermined. I was in awe of the magnitude of his
stature, of his holiness, as he gracefully passed by.
I quickly glanced over the entire length of the long
train he was dragging, and I was surprised to see a group of small children
sitting cross-legged on the tail end of his train. They were talking and
laughing amongst themselves, oblivious to their surroundings, as Jesus
dragged them along. It was as if they were in their own little world. It dawned
on me that these small children, were not children at all, but were representative
of “immature Christians” who had found shelter (on his robe) from the storms of
life.
It became painfully clear to me; although Jesus had rescued
them (by grace) from the darkness of the world, they had not gone on to
spiritual maturity, to “seek Jesus with all of their heart”. In fact, they had
no personal relationship with the one who had saved them from their plight.
They were content to fellowship with one another on the back of His robe,
while Jesus drug them along, doing all the work.
Jesus didn’t rescue us from the world, just to give
us a free ride (on the train of his robe), while we treat him as our personal
valet, ordering him daily to bless us. Jesus is calling us to grow up (stand up
and walk)! He is calling us to take up the cross, and become a real disciple.
Are you willing to pay the cost of self-denial?
Questions for personal or
group study:
1. What is the number one goal a disciple goes
after?
2. How does the daily denial of self, bring the
greatest blessings to a disciple?
3. Why does all of our heart have to be involved in
finding God? What does the spiritual condition of our heart have to do with
knowing God?
4. For what purpose do immature Christians use their
faith as a spiritual formula? How do real disciples use their faith? For what
purpose?
5. Analyze your prayers. In what ways do our prayers
show our spiritual maturity or lack of it? How might studying the words we use
in prayer, help us to grow toward greater spiritual maturity? Are we using
prayer to counsel God, or to seek his counsel?
6. What is the relationship between a bargaining
attitude and repentance? (See: Luke 18:10-14) Why does it matter little to a
disciple whether the Lord gives or withholds a particular blessing?
7. Based on the “vision” in the lesson, what do you
see as the dangers that could come to immature Christians who stay too long on
the robe of Jesus?
8. Jesus Christ stands at the door of our hearts,
knocking for admittance, asking us to yield our lives to him and become a part
of the fellowship of his disciples. Where are you today in your spiritual
journey?
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