PCI Essentials Part 6 - Cost

What makes Iraqi muslims convert to Christianity? I mean, to a Muslim in Iraq, converting to Christianity is not an easy thing - it’s NOTHING like it is here.

Maybe you’re not aware that there are many converts from Islam to Christianity.

According to a published journal article I read during the week, it was reported in the year 2000, that around 667 muslims were converting to Christianity every hour. That’s 16,000 per day and around 6 million per year.

And the source of these conversions are primarily due to the efforts of Christian missionaries who are sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

So, once again, what makes millions of muslims convert to Christianity every year?

Because, to convert to Christianity, in many middle-eastern or African countries could mean certain death. For many it means being captured and executed. For many it means fleeing for your life…and yet millions of Muslims are converting to Christianity - ready to face death for a life with Jesus.

The article I read during the week was about a muslim from Iraq who converted to Christianity, and because he did, he had to leave his family behind and flee. They disowned him and he ended up fleeing to Kurdistan.

And my question is, what would make someone make the move to be a disciple of Jesus, knowing that it will mean that they have to leave their family and friends, that they have to flee the authorities and run for their lives and live as a refugee?

I mean, if you take a step back and look at it - that’s a high price to pay just to be a disciple of Jesus. What is it about being a disciple of Jesus that makes someone convinced that they NEED to…that they just HAVE to make this move to follow Jesus - knowing the cost that they will incur? Why would someone do this?

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Well, last year I was talking to man who was a missionary in Iraq, and he told me about these muslims converting to Christianity. And he said to me that they are convinced that dying for Jesus is better than living for Islam.

These people realised that losing their lives here on earth is NOTHING if they can gain eternity with Jesus.

Now that is a real cost to being a disciple of Jesus - and Jesus said as much in Luke 18...

Luke 18:29–30 NIV

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

So let’s say you hear a preacher in a church, and the message is this...

If you believe in Jesus then you will have a great life. You’ll have everything you want. You’ll be healthier, you’ll be wealthier. And you’ll go to heaven when you die and live in paradise forever.

[If you believe in Jesus you’ll be healthier, wealthier and you’ll go to heaven when you die]

Now, there are elements of truth in that statement, but it’s not all true.

But if you think about that statement - it’s selling a pretty decent existence, isn’t it?

It sounds like a great deal to me. It wouldn’t take much to convince anyone that being a Christian - if THAT’S what it means - isn’t a bad thing to do.

And unfortunately, more and more people are hearing a message like this from the pulpit in churches around the country and around the world.

But it’s not the gospel…and people are being fed this false religion disguised as Christianity…and some churches are trying to sell this and make ‘being a Christian’ an attractive thing, but they’re not giving people the whole truth.

But what if you heard this message...

If you believe in Jesus you are in for trouble. It will mean torture for some. It will mean persecution for others. It might mean beatings or imprisonment. It might mean that you are disowned by your family. It will mean spiritual attack... it could mean loneliness, abuse, it could cost you your life…But you will go to heaven when you die and you’ll see the power of God in action here on earth, and you’ll have stored up treasures in heaven, and you WILL be blessed…but it won’t be easy.

Not a terribly pretty picture is it?…

IF YOU THINK THAT THIS LIFE IS ALL THERE IS.

But, as we know, this life is NOT all there is. This life is only the waiting room for the big event. This is the departure lounge. This life is not the MAIN EVENT.

This life is just the lid of the yoghurt pot.

And if this life costs us our comfort but it means that we get to spend eternity with Jesus, is our comfort THAT much a cost?

When Jesus chose Paul do you know what he said to Ananias?

Acts 9:15–16 NIV

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

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Now, once again, what makes people put their trust in Jesus, like these Muslims do every hour, despite knowing what’s ahead of them?

There’s gotta be something more going on here. There’s got to be something Spiritual going on here…because I can understand someone ‘believing’ in Jesus in order to be wealthier or healthier or happier…that makes good sense. There’s a logical deduction behind that.

But it’s another thing someone believing in Jesus knowing that they will face abandonment, persecution, torture and even death…that makes NO LOGICAL SENSE…which is why I’m saying there’s more going on. Because in order to face all this you’ve got to believe in your heart of hearts that there is MORE, that there is BETTER than this life if we place our trust in Jesus.

And thank God there is.

But while we’re here in this life, being a disciple of Jesus defies logic. It’s not all roses as a Christian - Jesus says it comes at a cost, and he says it in our passage today...

Mark 8:34–36 NIV

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

And this is the upside down kingdom of God that we’ve talked about before.

Jesus said that in this world you will have trouble. He said that we need to carry our cross. He said we need to deny ourselves. He said that blessed are those who are persecuted and ridiculed.

He has warned us that being a true disciple of Jesus isn’t easy.

And we looked last week at the courage we need to go into the world and tell people about Jesus and the fact that it is a scary place. We are going as sheep amongst wolves.

But the thing that keeps us going in this is what Jesus also said in our other passage which we had on the screen earlier...

Luke 18:29–30 NIV

Because for those Muslims who have left home, wives, family, parents, even their children behind because they have trusted in Jesus Christ, Jesus promises them that they will receive many times as much in heaven…but not just in heaven, in THIS AGE TOO.

This is the upside down kingdom of God - it’s illogical. It sounds almost crazy…that to be successful in life we need to give UP our lives.

To actually LIVE we need to DIE - to die to self, to deny self, to say ‘no’ to ourselves and our own comfort. But when we do, we actually experience life like never before.

And like I said last week, I think the reason why so many people aren’t experiencing life like never before is because they are afraid to let go of the life that they currently have. And they’re holding onto it, like a toddler who doesn’t want to share his toys. They’re maybe not convinced that there is a better life ahead than the one they have right now.

People are happy to carry a cross around their necks, but not to carry the cross like Jesus meant us to…to face the ridicule and shame and scorn that Jesus meant by that statement.

You see...

It’s only when we let go of our lives do we really live.

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In the video that we’ll see on Wednesday night, there is a lady who talks about how her life changed when she gave everything up for Jesus. And there was a point in her life when she held on to her business, but she knew she had to give that over to Jesus too…and so her Christian life cost her in many ways, but when I was watching the video, I didn’t see anything of cost in her story...

…All I saw was the abundance of life that she had and the joy that she had. She even said that when she gave over her business to Jesus, amazing things happened.

Let me say it again...

Perhaps, the reason why so many people aren’t experiencing life like never before is because they are afraid to let go of the life that they currently have.

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Amazing things ARE waiting for us. Amazing life IS waiting for us…but don’t mishear me, it comes at a cost.

You don’t get something for nothing. The best things in life are NOT free - the best things in life come at a cost…and it’s when we give up all areas of our lives to Jesus THAT’S when we start to experience a different kind of life.

And so the question then becomes…What are we holding on to?

And also, Are we prepared to let go of whatever it is in order to receive the blessings that Jesus has for us?

Are we prepared for the cost of discipleship?

Cos let’s face it - we’ve got it relatively easy…We aren’t leaving family members or fleeing for our lives here in Northern Ireland. We’re not really under any persecution or abuse.

Ok, maybe we get a bit of verbal abuse for being a Christian, but even then IF we do it’s not that much.

So in the context of Northern Ireland - what is OUR cost of discipleship?

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Well, apart from it costing our lives and our comfort, in the Essentials video, there are 3 other costs that are covered. And the minister speaking in the video says, and I agree with him, that if these aren’t a cost to us then perhaps we can’t truly call ourselves disciples of Jesus - we can’t really call ourselves Christians.

The first is Time.

Being a disciple requires us to spend time with the person we’re following. A Disciple is a learner, so as learners we need to make time to learn from our Rabbi Jesus.

How much time does it cost us to be a follower of Jesus?

Maybe you’re really busy. You’ve got children and work or just a busy life. I used to think that too…but I had time to check Facebook or watch TV or faff about online…So I DID have time - I just didn’t spend it with Jesus.

How much time is being a disciple of Jesus costing you?

I know weeks where I could do with more time - and there are times I feel like I don’t have time to sit and spend time with God…but those times when I do, it’s almost like time stands still and I find I have more time than I initially thought.

It’s like, by giving of my time, God makes me more efficient with the time I have left. It’s really strange…but I believe that’s how God blesses us for giving up something for him.

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The second thing is Treasure. This video is so Presbyterian it HAS to have everything beginning with the same letter. Even the Essentials titles do.

By treasure, they mean our money.

How much is being a disciple of Jesus costing you financially?

People often talk about getting their envelopes in, or paying in to the church. I don’t understand that terminology. I have been to a few houses where the people don’t come to church at all, but they pay their envelopes in.

Let me tell you something…we don’t HAVE to pay into the church…We GET to partner in God’s work here on earth by the giving of our money. Giving to God is a privilege. It’s not a subscription.

We don’t pay into the church to get benefits. We don’t pay into the church AT ALL…and actually, we shouldn’t even consider this a cost, because what we are to give to the Lord isn’t ours to begin with.

Everything is the Lords (1 Cor 10:26). And in the Old Testament God commanded that 10% (also known as a tithe) was to be set aside for the running of the temple. God essentially says, 10% is mine. So it's not a cost - that 10% was never theirs to begin with - it went straight to the temple.

In the New Testament, there’s no percentage, but Paul talks about giving to the work of the church as you prosper, which is actually a percentage.

And so 10% is a good starting point.

But this kind of sacrificial giving will be multiplied back to you…Maybe not financially, but the Lord will never see you short.

Malachi 3:10 NIV

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Perhaps we’re scared to give the proper amount to God because we THINK we’ll struggle financially.

On the other hand, perhaps we’re missing out on much bigger blessings by not giving the proper amount. Have you ever thought of that?

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And then the third cost from the video is Talent.

Because, as we read a few weeks ago, each of us has been given a gift - a talent. We all have skills and abilities that God has given us. And he hasn’t given them to us for us never to use them.

Why would God give us a gift for us not to use them?

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12...

1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

TO EACH ONE…not just to some people - to each member of the body of Christ has been given a gift that the Spirit brings to life in us to be used for the common good.

And as a disciple, being a follower of Jesus costs us the use of our talents…because these God-given talents have been give to us so that we give them away for God.

It’s like our money - God blesses us financially so that we can be a blessing to others - he gives to us for us to give some back to him.

It’s the same with our gifts - God gives us talents not to keep them to ourselves…he gives us gifts SO THAT WE USE THEM FOR HIM.

For some, we need to work out what that gift is - but when we figure out what it is, we need to give it back to him.

But again there’s a cost. It costs us because using our gift for Jesus means that we are not using it for ourselves, and it means we are taking the time to use the gift too…But if we don’t use our gift for the church, then the body of Christ doesn’t work as it was intended to work.

But for those who have given their gifts back to the Lord, there is immense blessing.

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Let me bring up the verse that I’ve brought up twice already...

Luke 18:29–30 NIV

There IS a cost to discipleship. It costs your life, it costs your comfort, it costs your time, your talents and your treasure.

But in each and every example, what it costs you is NOTHING compared to what you get back.

So it costs you your life…so you have to deny yourself and stop thinking about yourself and your own goals and ambitions and focus on Jesus…

The life you get back in return is MUCH better… and it gets even better when you are living forever in heaven.

And so it costs you time - you’ll get that time back and then some!

And so it costs your your money - God will never see you short and he has promised to bless your more abundantly.

And so it costs you your talents - why do you think God gave you those talents in the first place, and those talents will bless others which in turn will bless you.

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So being a disciple WILL cost us. If it doesn’t, we’re doing it wrong - but the point is we get more back than what we give up.

And that’s what I want you to take home today.

With Jesus, you get back more than you give up.

But it’s the giving up that is difficult. I know I like to hold on to my 10% each month. I could do with it. And I know that I could do with the extra time in the day, and I know I would LOVE to be comfortable financially and spiritually. I know I’d love to want for nothing...

And the Devil would like you to be all those things too if it hinders your effectiveness as a disciple of Jesus.

But I also know that by giving I’ll receive in abundance, more…many times over... what I have given up.

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What use is it if we stay comfortable, wealthy, healthy and happy and get everything we want in life, but forfeit our soul?

If this life is all there is then sure, be comfortable, be happy, be successful, be selfish…

But what if this life isn’t all there is and you’ve poured all your efforts into THIS life and you’re going to miss out on the main event...

What then?

Let’s pray.

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