Is It Worth It?

Opening Scripture:

Matthew 19:20–29 NLT

“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

This young man who was both observant and obedient to the law of Moses (the 10 commandments) approached Jesus asking what He must do in order to inherit eternal life.

Jesus response to the young man was to be obey the commandments. The gentleman then replies He has always been obedient to the Law.

Jesus acknowledges this and then issues a command to sell all of his earthly riches and come follow (walk) with Him.

The young man was very bothered by this and went away….

Jesus then told the disciples that it is impossible for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.

Peter complained to Jesus about all that He and the disciples had given up to follow (walk) with Him.

Jesus reassured them and us that whenever we give up something for Him we will receive something even better in return.

Through Peter’s complaint it is apparent that he was left with a thought that we all may have at one point in time in our walk with Jesus “Is it really worth it?”

The Cost of Walking With Jesus

Luke 14:25–28 NLT

A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?

At this point and time many were wanting to “follow” Jesus because they heard of and saw the great and miraculous things that He was doing.

Jesus addressed the crowd of none committed followers just as He still addresses them today….

Jesus teaches us that we MUST count the cost of being His disciples (a willing Christina) a committed follower of His.

The moment that we give Jesus our full yes and surrender our whole heart over to Him we broaden the target on our back

Jesus gives us the right to become children of God… The children of God are not of this earth but of His kingdom.

Whatever belongs to the kingdom of God the earth will naturally reject and even hate.

When we give Jesus our lives… be ready to loose friendships, family Members, personal agendas, addictions, habits, just to name a few.

The Why…

Matthew 6:33 NLT

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Jesus and God our heavenly Father doesn’t want us to live miserable lives on the earth or a life of poverty.

God will remove anything from us that will hinder us from coming closer to Him

to be a devoted follower of Jesus we MUST be willing to seek the kingdom of God above everything else. This means seeking the kingdom of God instead of: Money, opinions of other/approval/affirmation of others, feeding the desires of our flesh.

The things of this life can easily trip us up and hinder us from walking closely with Jesus.

When we keep God first, when we walk closely with Jesus the Father will supply ALL of our needs.

In order to be filled we must be emptied.

Carrying Your Cross Daily..

After we surrender all we must then continue to carry our cross daily…

What is your cross? Our cross is that thing that lays heavy upon us, something that we may find ourselves struggling with…

Your cross could be an addiction

Your cross could be fear

Your cross could be obsessive behavior or worrying all the time

Your cross could be your job

Your cross could be your career

Your cross could be you marriage..

Whatever our cross is we are called to carry it with grace as Jesus did on the way to Calvary.

The good news is that we don’t have to carry our cross alone Jesus helps us with it.

Jesus has also given us one another to assist with carrying the cross and the load that it can bare in itself.

Are you ready to surrender ALL to Jesus? Are you ready to accept the cost? Are you ready to carry your cross daily???