Are you willing to pay the cost?
Are you willing to pay the cost?
Many years ago I looked at refinancing my home. The finance company was offering me a great deal that was supposed to lower my payments and allow me to pay off my house in less time. The finance company took my information on the loan that I had at the time, then plugged in the amount of my pay off plus a few standard fees that they told me about and showed me what my new payments would be based on that information. My payments would indeed be lower and my house would really be paid off in less time. I examined everything carefully and was ready to finalize the deal with them.
However, when I went to finalize the deal they brought up some more fees that they had never mentioned to me when they made their first proposal. Some of these fees were quite large. They said they would give me a large discount on these new fees if I could pay the new fees right then. Otherwise, they would be all too happy to add the full cost of the new fees to my new loan. This second proposal would have made my monthly payments higher than what I was already paying! Not only that, my house would not be paid off any sooner. They had not disclosed the true cost of refinancing to me until I was ready to sign the contract. They had dealt deceitfully with me so I walked away from the deal.
I had already learned one simple rule the hard way before this. Sticking to this rule that has saved me thousands of dollars, countless headaches and endless heartache over the years. That simple rule is this: Never do business with anyone that does not tell you the true cost of their product or service up front.
The Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) in like manner said to find out the true cost up front before deciding to follow Him. If you are building something then see if you have enough money to finish it before you start (Luke 14:28-30). If you are going to get in a fight then see if you are able to win and are willing to pay the cost of winning before you start fighting (Luke 14:31-32). The Man of Truth says before you commit to anything find out what it costs and ask yourself one simple question:
Are you willing to pay the cost?
If you have ever taken a marketing class or attended a sales seminar or closely examined a contract or even paid close attention to commercials on television, then you know that this is not how the world does things.
The sales process that the world uses is as follows: First, you make a big deal of all of the benefits of what you are selling. Second, when the buyer has gotten excited about the purchase you try to get a commitment from them without discussing the cost if possible. Lastly, you when you can put it off no longer, you tell only as much of the cost that that the law requires you to tell the buyer and then try to make that cost seems as small as possible. If there are any conditions of the deal that might later add to the cost of the deal then you bury those details deep inside the contract in small print. This makes it hard for the buyer to be aware of the true cost until well after the contract has been signed.
There is nothing up front or honest about this sales process. It is the sales process of the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan aka The Devil). If Father of Lies told his children the true cost of remaining in the House of Lies, then no one would remain in his house. If you do not leave the House of Lies and come into the House of Truth, then there is literally Hell to pay (Revelation 20:15).
The Man of Truth not only tells you to find out the cost before deciding to come into the House of Truth but he also tells you the true cost of coming into the House of Truth. This sales process is up front and honest. This is the sales process of the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD).
So what is the cost of being a Child of Truth that lives in the House of Truth with the Man of Truth?
First of all, it can cost you everything in terms of relationships that you have with other people, perhaps even your own family. You must love the Man of Truth enough to leave your family and friends behind if they will not follow the Man of Truth (Luke 14:26). In fact, your family and friends might even turn against you for following the Man of Truth (Matthew 10:35-37). They might even hate you so much that they seek to have you killed for following the Man of Truth (Mark 13:12). Even if your family also follows the Man of Truth, it is still certain that someone will hate you for following the Man of Truth (Mark 13:13). You may be forced out of the congregation that you worship with by the religious professionals that run it (John 16:2). You cannot follow the Man of Truth without being making enemies. If you are not making enemies, then you are not following the Man of Truth (John 15:18-19).
Are you willing to pay the cost?
Secondly, you must be willing to do whatever the Man of Truth tells you. You can only follow the Man of Truth by doing what he says (Luke 6:46). You must be willing to carry whatever cross that the Father of Truth gives you to carry (Luke 14:27). You must give up everything that you want in order to carry the cross that you will be given (Luke 9:23). It does not matter if what you are given to carry seems heavier than what another is given to carry, you must be willing to carry whatever you are given in order to follow the Man of Truth (John 21:22). The Man of Truth will not lay on you a burden that is too heavy for you to carry (Matthew 11:30).
Are you willing to pay the cost?
Lastly, you must surrender your entire life to the Man of Truth. You must be willing to leave everything to come into the House of Truth (Luke 14:33). It may cost you all of your money (Mark 10:21-22). It may cause you to be beaten, killed, crucified or ran out of town (Matthew 23:34). You may be killed by the religious professionals that are not following the Man of Truth (John 16:2). Your time, your talents and your treasure will no longer belong to you because you were bought with a price and no longer belong to yourself (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Are you willing to pay the cost?
If you try to follow the Man of Truth and try keep control of your own life, then you will lose your life. You can only follow the Man of Truth by total surrender of your life to him (Luke 9:24). If you try to only follow the Man of Truth part time he will spit you out because you make him sick. The Man of Truth would rather that you follow the Father of Lies full time than for you to follow him part time (Revelation 3:15-16). It is only reasonable that you should give your entire life to the Man of Truth since he gave his entire life for you (Romans 12:1). The Man of Truth bet his life on you and you must bet your life on him. You must be all in to win life with the Man of Truth.
Are you willing to pay the cost?
In order to come into the House of Truth you must surrender everything to the Man of Truth because you believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth.
Many years ago I looked at refinancing my home. The finance company was offering me a great deal that was supposed to lower my payments and allow me to pay off my house in less time. The finance company took my information on the loan that I had at the time, then plugged in the amount of my pay off plus a few standard fees that they told me about and showed me what my new payments would be based on that information. My payments would indeed be lower and my house would really be paid off in less time. I examined everything carefully and was ready to finalize the deal with them.
However, when I went to finalize the deal they brought up some more fees that they had never mentioned to me when they made their first proposal. Some of these fees were quite large. They said they would give me a large discount on these new fees if I could pay the new fees right then. Otherwise, they would be all too happy to add the full cost of the new fees to my new loan. This second proposal would have made my monthly payments higher than what I was already paying! Not only that, my house would not be paid off any sooner. They had not disclosed the true cost of refinancing to me until I was ready to sign the contract. They had dealt deceitfully with me so I walked away from the deal.
I had already learned one simple rule the hard way before this. Sticking to this rule that has saved me thousands of dollars, countless headaches and endless heartache over the years. That simple rule is this: Never do business with anyone that does not tell you the true cost of their product or service up front.
The Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) in like manner said to find out the true cost up front before deciding to follow Him. If you are building something then see if you have enough money to finish it before you start (Luke 14:28-30). If you are going to get in a fight then see if you are able to win and are willing to pay the cost of winning before you start fighting (Luke 14:31-32). The Man of Truth says before you commit to anything find out what it costs and ask yourself one simple question:
Are you willing to pay the cost?
If you have ever taken a marketing class or attended a sales seminar or closely examined a contract or even paid close attention to commercials on television, then you know that this is not how the world does things.
The sales process that the world uses is as follows: First, you make a big deal of all of the benefits of what you are selling. Second, when the buyer has gotten excited about the purchase you try to get a commitment from them without discussing the cost if possible. Lastly, you when you can put it off no longer, you tell only as much of the cost that that the law requires you to tell the buyer and then try to make that cost seems as small as possible. If there are any conditions of the deal that might later add to the cost of the deal then you bury those details deep inside the contract in small print. This makes it hard for the buyer to be aware of the true cost until well after the contract has been signed.
There is nothing up front or honest about this sales process. It is the sales process of the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan aka The Devil). If Father of Lies told his children the true cost of remaining in the House of Lies, then no one would remain in his house. If you do not leave the House of Lies and come into the House of Truth, then there is literally Hell to pay (Revelation 20:15).
The Man of Truth not only tells you to find out the cost before deciding to come into the House of Truth but he also tells you the true cost of coming into the House of Truth. This sales process is up front and honest. This is the sales process of the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD).
So what is the cost of being a Child of Truth that lives in the House of Truth with the Man of Truth?
First of all, it can cost you everything in terms of relationships that you have with other people, perhaps even your own family. You must love the Man of Truth enough to leave your family and friends behind if they will not follow the Man of Truth (Luke 14:26). In fact, your family and friends might even turn against you for following the Man of Truth (Matthew 10:35-37). They might even hate you so much that they seek to have you killed for following the Man of Truth (Mark 13:12). Even if your family also follows the Man of Truth, it is still certain that someone will hate you for following the Man of Truth (Mark 13:13). You may be forced out of the congregation that you worship with by the religious professionals that run it (John 16:2). You cannot follow the Man of Truth without being making enemies. If you are not making enemies, then you are not following the Man of Truth (John 15:18-19).
Are you willing to pay the cost?
Secondly, you must be willing to do whatever the Man of Truth tells you. You can only follow the Man of Truth by doing what he says (Luke 6:46). You must be willing to carry whatever cross that the Father of Truth gives you to carry (Luke 14:27). You must give up everything that you want in order to carry the cross that you will be given (Luke 9:23). It does not matter if what you are given to carry seems heavier than what another is given to carry, you must be willing to carry whatever you are given in order to follow the Man of Truth (John 21:22). The Man of Truth will not lay on you a burden that is too heavy for you to carry (Matthew 11:30).
Are you willing to pay the cost?
Lastly, you must surrender your entire life to the Man of Truth. You must be willing to leave everything to come into the House of Truth (Luke 14:33). It may cost you all of your money (Mark 10:21-22). It may cause you to be beaten, killed, crucified or ran out of town (Matthew 23:34). You may be killed by the religious professionals that are not following the Man of Truth (John 16:2). Your time, your talents and your treasure will no longer belong to you because you were bought with a price and no longer belong to yourself (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Are you willing to pay the cost?
If you try to follow the Man of Truth and try keep control of your own life, then you will lose your life. You can only follow the Man of Truth by total surrender of your life to him (Luke 9:24). If you try to only follow the Man of Truth part time he will spit you out because you make him sick. The Man of Truth would rather that you follow the Father of Lies full time than for you to follow him part time (Revelation 3:15-16). It is only reasonable that you should give your entire life to the Man of Truth since he gave his entire life for you (Romans 12:1). The Man of Truth bet his life on you and you must bet your life on him. You must be all in to win life with the Man of Truth.
Are you willing to pay the cost?
In order to come into the House of Truth you must surrender everything to the Man of Truth because you believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth.
Labels: Commitment, Discipleship
posted by The House Of Truth @ September 01, 2012
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