What price are you willing to pay?

Is there one thing the Lord has asked, or is asking, you to do?Are you being obedient to do what He is asking?No matter how insignificant or seemingly foolish it might be, will you/have you done it?If so, what was the fruit of your obedience?

I'm reminded of F.B. Meyer's guidance to a young D.L. Moody "If you are not willing, confess that you are willing to be made willing. Hand yourself over to Him to work in you, to will and to do of His own good pleasure."I often find that I'm not willing but am willing to made willing and as I've honestly prayed this prayer the Lord God of heaven has consistently answered this prayer. In the western world, I believe we often equate the idea of surrendering to Jesus as opposed to the actual act of surrendering. That's been true in my heart anyway.Okay, here goes the Q&As...Is there one thing the Lord has asked, or is asking, you to do? There's generally more than one thing. I find there's a number of things, most of them by outward appearances seem to be insignificant but in my heart this comes to mind quite often "For who hath despised the day of small things?"For example, right now Jesus is after my right to defend myself. When I am attacked verbally or in some other way, do I run to defend myself or do I say no Jesus, I'm simply going to trust you. If I'm really a servant of Jesus, I won't defend myself but I can leave that to the Master. It's been one of the more painful things that Jesus has dealt with me on to date because it's been such an idol of mine. There's a host of other things. I found that when this walk began in earnest, He dealt with me on one or two things at a time but now it's wide open and much broader than I imagined.Are you being obedient to do what He is asking? Honestly, in some things yes and some things no. The 3:20 a.m. wake-up call is difficult particularly after a long day but Jesus is dealing with this love of comfort in my heart. He's doing the work and He is dealing with the occasional slothfulness in my Spirit.No matter how insignificant or seemingly foolish it might be, will you/have you done it? Yes, there have been a number of "foolish" things I've done and I'm certain this is just the beginning. I'm a very shy person who prefer in my flesh not to say anything. I can identify with Rees Howells life but thankfully I haven't had to do anything quite as radical as he did. Not yet anyway. I know Isaiah had to walk around naked for three years but I'm hoping for others' sakes this won't happen. :-(If so, what was the fruit of your obedience? When I've done explicitly what the Lord required, I've seen others come to Jesus or to literally flee from me. In my own heart as I've submitted my will to His, I've had this incredible peace in my heart. It's not an emotional feeling but rather His presence. This is simply a by-product of obedience.On the other hand, when I failed to do what was asked, God's presence has left me. He's told me to repent and if that didn't happen quickly I experienced some type of judgment from God.His discipline is a fearsome thing and not enjoyable but it does certainly produce a fruit as stated in Hebrews 12:11 "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."Interesting questions Josh. Blessings to you.

Amen, I also pray, He will make me willing in all things.Great Post.

Brethrenwhat price indeed are we willing to pay for Christ? The Apostles and believers of old paid with their lives pretty often, all but 1 apostle was martyred. ultimately are we willing to die for what we believe? i think not and it's plain to me that any discomfort for Christ is far from the minds of most so called "believers" let alone martyrdom. If Christ was whipped, mocked and nailed to a cross what right have we to expect or think we deserve anything less? In truth, Christianity in it's purest form invites persecution and martyrdom. The Lord showed me that the world has gotten worse since the days of Christ and has greatly influenced the "gospel" we preach nowadays. the tendancy is to preach a gospel which leaves one's life pretty much intact as opposed to the violent obliteration of one's life before Christ. Once one has come to Christ truly, one can in no way remain the same as before because the Spirit of God will strive with that person so that he/she is conformed to the image of Christ. This is the killing of self and self is not one to go down quietly...As it pertains to our brethren in Asia who are suffering for the sake of Christ, the Spirit of God enables them to endure all these things. A reason and i think the main reason why this whole persecution idea is hard to swallow is that most "believers" have no idea who Holy Spirit is and what His role is in the Godhead and our lives. if we would submit to Him there would be nothing we'd be unable to endure nor a price to great to pay in the service of Christ. Rest assured brethren that as it was in the beginning of the Church age so shall it be in the end, there will be persecution of Christians wherever we may be found, even here. many "brothers" will jump ship, unable to drink of that cup of suffering but blessed undeed are those who do endure and are vigilent till the end. Lord purify us with fire!!!AMENThe Lord dealt with me about what price i had to pay in His service and at first i wanted no part in it. this was because i assumes that i had to pay this price of my own strength which i could not. in time the Lord showed me that the work He had for me in its entirety was not dependant on my own strength (praise the Lord) but that the Spirit of God would see to it that the Lord's will is done and therein is the key brethren.

I read a quote recently and I will paraphrase it now...and if someone else has heard this quote before and I have it written down incorrectly please correct me..."its easier to follow Christ amidst persecution and adversity than it is wealth and prosperity". Spoke volumes to me. Someone mentioned Brother Yun earlier. He once said that the western church has an entirely different cross to bear than the persecuted church. I believe the the crux of that is in the quote above. Are you willing to sacrifice all...and violently pursue Christ?

"its easier to follow Christ amidst persecution and adversity than it is wealth and prosperity". I've heard this from a number of others I've conversed with from other countries but I'm not so sure it's true. I'm reminded of what Abraham said, "Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" It seems to me that suffering does something to a believer that is glorious and this passage of scripture caught my eye the last time through the scriptures in 1 Peter 4:1-2: "1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God."I would encourage you to download part of the video from Christians in China. It's an amazing video, particularly the one entitled "The Seeds of Blood." The Cross - Jesus in China

I would encourage you to download part of the video from Christians in China. It's an amazing video, particularly the one entitled "The Seeds of Blood." The Cross - Jesus in ChinaMy mentor is a missionary in China.He trains house pastors. I will be going there in April for two weeks (Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing). We have had numerous conversations on the western church compared to the persecuted church. I believe the persecuted church has "easier" in that Christ is all they have. The western church is too blinded by the world and prosperity. Let me clarify when I say "easy"... I don't mean your physical livelihood. I am referring more to living the Christlike life. To the persecuted church, Christ is "everything". To the majority of the western church its Christ "AND". When Christ is everything to you, your sole means of living and reason for living its easier to follow after him in discipleship. But when your life is consumed with Christ AND something else (more often than not the AND comes first) it makes it more difficult to live a Christlike life (victorious over sin and the self life, obedience etc,). Just my opinion.

You put this in a form of a question, What price?I like that. When we read the gospels Jesus asks questions alot. Apostle Paul when on the road to kill christians Jesus appeared to him and said:WHY?Over my life and OUR own lives theres a WHY? Why do we live the way we do, Why do we say the things we say, Why dont we seek more, What price?WHY do you call Me Lord, Lord..? This word WHY is on my mind alot. Why arent WE paying the price??

Thank you Conqueror,I've heard this from those I've met from other countries, particularly China but it never quite made sense to me. I sense the Jesus plus (whatever it might be) days are nearing an end in the Western world. That's certainly coming to fruition in my own life and I know that Jesus is faithful.Thank you for sharing. Did you see the China Soul video?

brethrenin truth i am not willing to give anything nor pay any price for Christ. However it is the Spirit of God working in me makes sacrifice possible. no man can freely sacrifice anything to God unless led to do so by the Spirit of God.

Is there one thing the Lord has asked, or is asking, you to do? Are you being obedient to do what He is asking? No matter how insignificant or seemingly foolish it might be, will you/have you done it? If so, what was the fruit of your obedience?In my walk with the Lord He has faithfully put His finger on one thing at a time, and kept it there until I obeyed. For me, being led by the Spirit has meant a sequence of "knowing" and then "doing". The light of revelation shines on some hinderance to the flow of Life (knowing). Then all that is required is the removal of the hinderance (doing). Sounds so simple, even as I say it now, but I tend to make it difficult and drawn out sometimes. Other times obedience is immediate and easy. As I look back on it I am thrilled to see the loving hand of God in my life.To give a few examples, one area was smoking, God put His finger on this one just a few weeks after being born again and by His grace I obeyed immediately and haven’t touched one since. The fruit of the obedience wasn’t so apparent at the moment but as I look back on it there was a peace and joy that filled me and a precious sense of growing fellowship and communion.Then God put His finger on the need to make some past wrongs right. In my mind I was ready to obey right away and even spoke with my wife about what needed to be done that same day that the Lord put His finger on it. But then I procrastinated, I began to come up with all kinds of reasons why I shouldn’t do this and before I knew it I was convincing myself that this was just condemnation from the enemy instead of the loving hand of a chastening Father. The fruit of this disobedience was especially manifest in the prayer closet, a coldness in prayer and therefore a weakened desire to pray. Just a loss of some of that precious fellowship and communion when one walks “in the light”. The Lord was patient and persistent and kept His finger there until I obeyed, which I finally did and the cloud was lifted, praise God, He is good!This process continues daily, a series of "knowing" and then "doing", like steps leading upward to the mountain of God, a path of progress if you will. Often I just ask the Lord in prayer for a simple willingness to walk in the light of what He reveals to me. And like the man with the withered hand who stood up in the synagogue in willingness when Jesus told Him too stand, I am then given the strength to follow the next command, "stretch forth thy hand", and I am healed.In Christ,Ron

Thanks for sharing Brother Ron,Sounds so simple, even as I say it now, but I tend to make it difficult and drawn out sometimes. I've been there brother and find myself there now in some respects. In my own heart anyway, I've found that I've made this excuse simply because I didn't want to do it His way. Lord can't you see it's too hard! :-( Can't you just cut me slack? At times, I've spent some woodshed time where He doesn't speak to me when I read the Word or in the prayer closet simply because I wouldn't submit a particular thing to Him. The most painful chastening is when God doesn't speak to me. Look what it cost Abraham. After he gave birth to his precious Ishmael, God didn't speak to Abraham for 13 years.Isn't it amazing that He knows how to deal with our hearts? It's never precisely the same way but the effect is always the same if we obey. When I obey God quickly, I'm sometimes overwhelmed by this incredible joy, which totally contrary to my natural self. I'm amazed by all the different ways He deals with His children but He knows how to get to the root. (Jeremiah 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?) Only God knows our hearts!But then I procrastinated, I began to come up with all kinds of reasons why I shouldn’t do this and before I knew it I was convincing myself that this was just condemnation from the enemy instead of the loving hand of a chastening Father. The fruit of this disobedience was especially manifest in the prayer closet, a coldness in prayer and therefore a weakened desire to pray. Just a loss of some of that precious fellowship and communion when one walks “in the light”. The Lord was patient and persistent and kept His finger there until I obeyed, which I finally did and the cloud was lifted, praise God, He is good! I've done this so much brother but he's always faithful. It's His work, not a work of the flesh. The procrastination in my own heart is most times an unwillingness to honestly deal with what He has put His finger on and then the condemnation follows. (e.g. You're never going to make it, etc.)When the Holy Spirit pulls away, I sometimes pout but I thank God that he doesn't allow that much any more. Well if you're going to be that way God, I'm not going to pray and I have fled the prayer closet in anger. Then He calls me back to repentance, sometimes in rather painful circumstances.The victories over sin are the victories of Jesus and He is so gracious, beyond measure. I'm so glad that He doesn't bend but rather that He bends me to conform to His will. That was the great cry of the Welsh revival "Or Lord bend me!" That doesn't negate the fact that this process is oftentimes painful and messy.Thanks for sharing Brother Ron. It's exciting to see what Jesus is doing in your life. Look out brother, he's about to increase the frequency of this process in your life. That's just my sense.It goes from the "external" things (e.g. smoking was one for me, overeating, etc.) to the sins of heart and restitution is a key component in all of this. For example, I borrowed some money in 1990 that I had to repay last year.Blessings to you Ron. I praise Jesus for the work He is doing in your heart. Sorry I rambled a bit, which I didn't intend to do. :-)

Thanks for sharing Brother Ron,I'm thankful that you shared your experiences in this thread also. It's a joy to see Him working in your life and it's comforting to know the Lord is working in similar ways in others.In Christ,Ron