Counting Costs and Keeping a Balance

"Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" ~Luke 14.27-28

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." ~Ephesians 5.15-17

Christ warned his followers to count the cost of becoming a disciple before they committed to following Him. But I think that it is just as important to continue counting the cost after salvation. When I look around me, I see so many Christians who have forgotten what the cost is all together. We're here on earth to do the will of God even if it means using every last breath and every last step.

Why should we go to such extremes for our faith? One reason is that the cost of indifference is immeasurably high. Jesus said in Matthew 12.30 that "whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." The time and energy we waste is more than just our loss; it's God's loss of a valuable tool. We also live in a dead and dying world. Since we are the representatives of Christ, we must do all we can to reach the lost before their time and our time runs out on this earth.

"Making the best use of the time," Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians. This means weighing opportunities and alternatives. I like to think of it as Opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is a term in economics referring to the return on an investment of an opportunity that was passed by in relation to the return on the investment of an opportunity that was taken. It's basically the difference of profit after comparing the opportunity you pursued with the best alternative. And in other words, if you could be serving God in a better or more efficient way, then everything you're not doing is a loss to you and to God. How we serve God is just as important as when we serve Him.

We've seen that it is still valuable to count the costs of living for God, but what about God's will and omnipotence? If God is powerful enough to do whatever He wills, why bother to do anything at all? Because there are two different wills of God. An excellent example of this is found in 2 Peter 3.9: "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." Obviously what He wishes is not what happens (not all come to repentance). So either God has no control (or restrains His control) over His creation, or He has an expressed will and a hidden will.

God gave us the Bible to live by. This is a good example of God's expressed will. But we don't always "live by the Book". And yet Solomon writes in Proverbs 16.9 that "the heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." God still expresses His will to us so that we can be effective tools for Him, but God is still in control when we've messed up. Our hope for this grace is found in Romans 8.28: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." This is the hidden will of God, that He establishes the steps of men and works everything to the good of those who love Him.

As fallen humans, we'd like to think that we can do everything by our own power and scheming. But the truth is that God give life, breath and energy to all living creatures and nothing we do is done without God's approval and planning. In Job, we can read that even Satan has to check in with God and receive approval for his ideas. It's easy for us to move because of our own thoughts and motivations, but it's a lot harder to obey someone else and to accept situations we don't understand or planned.

And this is our challenge as disciples of Christ. We must find the delicate balance between initiative and contentment. If we lapse too far to contentment, we'll become slothful and disobedient to the commands of God's expressed will. If we fall too far to the side of initiative, we err because we will think that we are moving on our own strength alone. Sometimes God asks us to wait and have faith. Sometimes God asks us to do something hard and that also takes faith. But we must always keep counting the cost of indifference and opportunity. The days are evil and our time here is short.

Song Spotlight: Keep Quiet by Barlow Girl


Lyrics:

Oh the things I’ve sacrificed
So that I could bring you to this world
I want them to see you in me
But your name just keeps them far from me

So I’ll keep quiet
Let’s hope they see I’m different

Jesus Jesus why’s your name offensive
Why are we so scared to tell this world you’ve saved us
When all of the hope of the world’s in your name, yeah
Why are we so scared to say yeah
Oh Jesus
Oh Jesus

If I avoid to speak your name
Tell me would you do the same to me
If relevance becomes my goal
Tell me will I lose you to its hold

But if I keep quiet
They’ll never see I’m different

Jesus Jesus why’s your name offensive
Why are we so scared to tell this world you’ve saved us
When all of the hope of the world’s in your name yeah
Why are we so scared to say yeah
Yeah Jesus
Oh Jesus yeah

I’m sorry I’ve cared about my name more than yours
I’m so sorry how could I hide you anymore
But if I keep quiet
They’ll never see I’m different

Jesus Jesus why’s your name so offensive
Why are we so scared to tell this world you’ve saved us
When all of the hope of the world’s in your name yeah
Why are we so scared to say yeah
Oh Jesus
Oh Jesus yeah
Oh Jesus
Oh Jesus

Oh…

Generation MOVE: The Object and Purpose of Our Faith

The Object and Purpose of Our Faith

"By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." ~Hebrews 11.5, 6

Faith must have an object. When I sit down in a chair, I'm proving my faith in the carpenter who built the chair. The carpenter is the object of my faith. If the chair holds me up, then I gain assurance that the carpenter knew what he was doing when he made the chair. I might even go over to a book-shelf he also made and place some valuables on it. And the carpenter rewards my trust in him and in his ability by continuing to construct solid furniture.

In Hebrews 11.1 Paul writes, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Just like the example of the chair, we can have conviction that God is faithful by trusting Him and setting all our hopes in Him. From ages ago, we can look back and see how past generations trusted Him and were not disappointed. Our hope is in the promise that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8.28). Even though we can't see what God is doing through a difficult situation, we can trust in that hope because of our conviction that God is faithful.

As we can read from Hebrews 11.5, Enoch was taken up to Heaven by God because he pleased God. The most direct way we can please God, is to trust Him completely. This means trusting what He tells us in His Word and then exercising faith by moving on it. One thing that he tells us, is to be a light to the world (Matthew 5.14). In Matthew 5.16, Jesus says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

The purpose of our faith is to please God and to be a light to men. But in order for the world to know what the object of our faith is, we need to be vocal about Who we trust in. If we are commanded to be a light to men, then we must be absolutely certain that they understand the Gospel, which is the good news about the first Light of the World. Evangelism must accompany a God-pleasing faith just like faith requires an object and a movement.

This is how the world will see how our movements are different from any other self-motivated acts of goodwill. Static beliefs don't require a god to exist, whereas faith does. The object of static belief is the person themself and any movement will obviously proceed from that person alone. Self-motivated actions end in self-pleasing results, but God-motivated actions end in God-pleasing results, fulfilling the object and purpose of our faith. God must be the motivation for our faith and the object of our faith.

Song Spotlight: Move by Thousand Foot Krutch


Lyrics:

Look, listen to my voice
If you're making the choice
Tell me all the girls and the boys
Either scream or rejoice
Let's make that noise
Either move or we will all be destroyed

[Chorus]
Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
Move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking it

Can you hear me? Stop, look, listen to my voice,
It was never my choice to feel all alone
This is my home
Back up , you don't know if you've never been here,
You've never been to the place inside, I face my fears
It takes everything I am

[Chorus x2]

If you come near me, stop, look, listen to my voice
If you're making the choice tell all the girls and the boys
Either scream or rejoice
Let's make that noise
Either move or we will all be destroyed
Back up and let go if you've never been here,
You've never been to the place inside, I face my fears,
It takes everything I am

[Chorus]

I come crashing to the floor
And I know there must be more like me
I've seen this all before, I can't carry this anymore, break free
Breath, and leave until the storm is over
'Cause underneath, there's a diamond passing over
So breath, let's leave until the storm is over,
Because I want to take you away

[Chorus]

Notices: Want to get serious about evangelizing? Here's an event for you:

Street Evangelism Day

Date: Saturday, May 31, 2008
Time: 11:00am - 8:30pm
Location: Badeer's house 20850 South 134th Street
Hickman, NE 68372
City/Town: Lincoln, NE
Contact InfoPhone: 402.788.2569 (ask for Preston, tell him you heard about it from Gen. Move)
Email: contact@upwardm.com or upwardmomentum89@hotmail.com

We meet at the Badeer's house at the start time and then we'll get ready, talk, and basically make sure we're all on the same page....Then we leave for Lincoln, wherever is best to evangelize. We will end at 5.

Generation MOVE: Intro & Static Beliefs

Intro: Generation Move is a counter against static beliefs and rising indifference towards faith in today's young Christian culture.

Verse:

"So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

~James 2.17

Topic: Static beliefs

Everyone has beliefs. However, most people believe what they want so that they can continue to live a certain way. Very few people continue to live a certain way because of what they believe. Beliefs are necessary when convenient, but unnecessary when inconvenient.

Faith requires movement on a belief. I could believe that a chair can support my weight, but if I don't sit down in it, I'm not exercising faith. Faith is the willingness to act and live a certain way because of what one believes. If a chair I sit on regularly always holds me up, then that chair is worthy of my faith, or faithful. But if I don't sit down on it, then I'm insinuating that the chair is unworthy of my faith. Whatever belief I have about the chair isn't worth anything because I'm unwilling to risk sitting down in it. Beliefs aren't proven by anything else unless you move.

God is worthy of our faith. He has proved Himself faithful generation after generation. So why don't we move a lot more on His faithfulness? We hold static beliefs that allow us to keep living our protected lives day after day. Our faith is small and so our movements are limited. Sure, God still uses us, but just imagine the wonderful things we could be doing for God instead of the small, mediocre ones we attempt now! The patriarchs of the Old Testament were known for their faith, and look what they accomplished:

"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith."

(Hebrews 11.7)

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, 'Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.'"

(Hebrews 11.17-18)

"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward."

(Hebrews 11.24-26)

"By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned."

(Hebrews 11.29)

Lets be the generation that moves. Wouldn't it be awesome if people looked back at our lives and remembered us for our faith? Be active in your community. Find a place where you are outside your comfort zone and risk something for Heaven. People are dying while we're living static beliefs that have absolutely impact on our lives and on those around us. Move!

Song Spotlight: Dare You To Move by Switchfoot



Lyrics:

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next

[Chorus]
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
Tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

[Chorus]

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before

God bless,
~Curtis~

Notices: We want to hear from YOU. Email me at upwardmomentum89@hotmail.com if you're interested in having your Move story published in an issue. How has your faith moved lately? I'm hoping to do some interviews in the future, so stay posted about that. If you have any requests or personal questions that are not directly related to an issue, please email it to me.