Paying a Price - Elmer Towns

Lesson 4: Paying a Price by Elmer Towns

Luke 5:27-5:28

A. INTRODUCTION: THE PRICE IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL

1. To have a successful journey through life, you must continuously pay a price.

The flesh wants ease.
The devil wants defeat.
The world wants conformity.

2. You fail to reach your greatest potential when you fail to pay a price.

B. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF PRICE

1. What you accomplish will be measured by the price you pay.
“Jesus said to Matthew, ‘Follow Me.’ So he left everything, including the tax table, and followed Him’” (Luke 5:27-28, ELT).

You can predict the future success of a Liberty student by the price they pay in college.

HOW TO SPOT A WINNER
1. They are committed to excellence.
2. They never settle for average.
3. They pay attention to detail.
4. They are consistent.
-John Maxwell

2. Everyone does not pay the same price. Every one of us has a different cross to bear. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:22).

Rod Loy. “Don’t ever desire someone else’s accomplishment unless you have first discovered the price.”
The martyr pays the death price, the invalid pays the suffering price, and the slave pays the hard work price. My price ___________________?

3. The greater your desire in life, the more it will cost you. “To whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48).

Those who want to be more godly and do more for God will pay a higher price.
Many pastors and businessmen want all the perks, and leisure of a job, but they don’t want the responsibility of long hours and hard work.

John D. Rockefeller. “I believe every right implies a responsibility, every opportunity has obligations, every possession a duty.”
Excellence costs more than average.

4. There is a price tag to everything worthwhile. “Strive to enter in at the narrow gate because the road to destruction is easy and broad, most people choose the path of least resistance. Choose the straight and narrow gate which few enter” (Matt. 7:13-14, ELT).

Choose the pain of discipline and sacrifice or you will get the pain of regret.
There are no victories at bargain prices. –Dwight Eisenhower
You have the same time as everyone else, so pay a price to get the most out of your time.

5. When you complain about your price, you will eventually quit paying it.
“But Jesus said unto him, ‘No one, putting his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:62).

You can master your emotions or they can master you.
Never wait till you feel good to pay the price, but pay the price and you will feel good.
When you don’t reach your potential, it’s always a payment issue.

I need to make the following payment: ____ money, ____ time, ____energy, ____ pleasure, ____ sleep, ____ relationship.

6. Your talents do not determine success in life, but the price you pay.

The price of obedience. “Hezekiah . . . did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God” (II Chron. 31:20).
The price of sacrifice. “In every work that he began, in the service of the house of God, in the law, and the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart” (II Chron. 31:21).
The price of finishing. Hezekiah prayed through and remained confident.

I need to pay the following price: ____ pressure, ____ criticism, ____ isolation, ____ physical pain, ____financial sacrifice.

7. You will be criticized for paying the price.
You are being criticized 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
You are being ridiculed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
You are being resisted 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The secret is persistence.

HOW TO HANDLE YOUR CRITICS
Out last them
Out love them
Out live them
Out give them
Out work them

One of the greatest reasons why people fail, criticism.

8. Your price never decreases. Every time you succeed, the next challenge gets harder, the criticism gets sharper, and the trials get hotter.
God never promised life would be easy. He promised peace (John 141:26), power (Matt. 28:19-20), and inner satisfaction (John 7:37-38).
Life is stair stepping. There is a bigger price for more glory and accomplishment.

9. Your price will increase when you desire to get better, stronger, or closer to God.

People look for the lottery, they need learning.
People look for a quick fix, they need fitness.

All of life is preparation for the next step up. “When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.” –John Wooden.
All of life is arriving. “A time comes when you need to stop waiting for the man you want to be and become the man you want to be” –Bruce Springsteen.

10. You cannot make up tomorrow what you failed to pay for today.
You cannot give 150% tomorrow if you give only 50% today. You can never make it up. Its lost.
We over exaggerate yesterday, and over estimate tomorrow; we underestimate today” –John Maxwell.
Sad to see someone with nothing to give today, because they didn’t pay the price yesterday.

If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at etowns@elmertowns.com and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.