Count The Cost Then Count The Blessings
I recently shared a part of my testimony during a message my husband Josiah preached. The heartbeat from my part of the tag team effort was for the church to truly "Count The Cost". We both were overwhelmed at the response from the church to that message. You must understand that when you decide to follow JESUS you become a disciple. Your ways are no longer. Everything becomes about His ways. His dreams rather than your dreams. His preferences above your own. You surrender every desire over to the Lord and His desires take over.
Your appetite begins to change and the things that you used to think tasted good don’t taste good anymore. Yet, in the same moment, you start tasting and seeing that the Lord is good. Perhaps you never planned it, but you start hungering and thirsting for something more…RIGHTEOUSNESS. You start living the way that Jesus lived. He sanctifies and sets you apart for His good pleasure. You are HIS and HIS alone and because of this He becomes yours and yours alone.
Once you have counted the cost and made the decision to surrender EVERYTHING you will be amazed how soon after you begin counting your blessings. It is overwhelming to consider the great lengths He will go, what He will do and what He so lavishly gives.
You become an heir to the riches of His glory. You have now inherited His kingdom and now everywhere you go, you carry the Kingdom. Wherever the King is honored and put in His rightful place on the throne, there His Kingdom will be.
Jesus said it in:
Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV)
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here! ' or 'See there! ' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
How can we not live a life of pure joy knowing that His Kingdom is within us? How could we live a live of mediocrity knowing the God of the universe sits on the throne of your heart and wheverever you go there His Kingdom truly is?
Imagine Faith Chapel full of Kingdom carriers coming together! Imagine the blessings He has in store for us and to get to others through us. I see a church that has counted the cost, become true disciples who live a life of radical obedience and begin praising and thanking God daily for what He is doing in the lives of every one around them! This is already happening to some degree but more is on the way.
Engagement:
THINK DEEPLY ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU TO COUNT THE COST. TO SURRENDER DAILY. Everything you care about, hold tightly, worry about, fear, dream about. Widdle it all down to the most intricate details of your life. Are you willing to surrender it all to Him? Have you counted that cost? If not, ask the Holy Spirit to prepare you to get to that point. He will! Perhaps write down the top 3 things keeping you from full surrender and begin targeting those in prayer. If you are already there than be ready to be filled with an abundance of blessings. Once they start showing up, write them down! Others will need to hear the encouraging things He'll be pouring out on you. Count those blessings!
Ephesians 3:20-21. NASB Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
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