Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Cost of Discipleship Pt.1

Amen! Let's turn to Romans 12. Romans, chapter 12, a passage most of us are very familiar with. It's interesting in this 12th Chapter that as the Apostle's bringing admonition to the Church, He is talking, here, about something that so important for us to realize on a daily basis, and that's the worth of our worship. In fact, worship in the Old English is from a word called 'worthship'. Worship is giving God his due praise and the honor that is due His name. The declaration of His worth, or its value, to us. So, when we come together and honor Him in our praise service like this morning, we come and magnify Him and talk about how good He is, and how great He is. That is the worship. The Scripture then makes it very clear that we're to worship God in spirit and in truth.

Now worship today has bands that are playing and a lot of different methods that people use. In many of the congregations they wave banners, and march, and dance, and many different things. There is nothing wrong with that type of an expression if it is truly in the Spirit and not something that man has fabricated. In fact, there is a great time to worship God in those ways. We understand that the words in and of itself, in worship and praise, have to deal with an outward expression. Shouting and in some of the renderings it talks about dancing and spinning before God--Like the Tasmanian Devil. The Tasmanian Saints--and the worship of the Lord in spirit and in truth. I like what I heard a guy say years ago when he was talking about worship. He said, "If we have a God who is worthy of our worship, then lets make our worship worthy of our God." So we're going to talk about a different type of worship today. It's not going to be singing or dancing, spinning, leaping. It's all fine.

We're going to talk about the presenting of our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable worship. Our reasonable service, is what King James says. That service is really talking about the service of the priesthood, or the offering up of the sacrifices. How many of you know that there were requirements upon the sacrifices that were brought to the Lord? You just couldn't bring anything you wanted as an offering to God. There were requirements that were made. There were different specifications made between the poor and the rich many times that were specified; but there were always the understanding that what you brought to God was your best. The best of the little pigeon that could be brought, or whether it was a bullock. Those things were between the different status that they had financially among us; but it was the best they had. It was all they could afford. The question we want to ask ourselves this morning is: Are we bringing God our best? Are our lives being lived out before Him, daily, the best we can do it? Because, you see, that is our worship. The Scripture says we are epistles read of men. We've all heard the phrase spoken many times: "We're the only Jesus that some people are going to see." You know, there is a lot of truth to that, because Jesus spoke and said, If they hear you, they've heard me. If they reject you, they've rejected me. The very call of Jesus upon Paul when was persecuting the Church and the bring light shown around him on the road to Damascus and he was smitten to the ground. The voice spoke from heaven and said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" "Who art thou Lord?" "I'm Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecuteth." Paul was persecuting Christians and Jesus took it personally. We are the Jesus that the world is looking at. What kind of representation are we making of Him? The Scriptures says that as believers we are Ambassadors of God. How do we carry ourselves in this world that we're sojourning in. We're only pilgrims passing through. We're in the world, the Scripture says, but we're not of it. So here we are. Are we distinguishable? Can people tell that this isn't your home? Do they understand that you're a sojourner? That your treasurers are not here on earth, but they are in heaven where moths cannot corrupt and thieves cannot break in and steal the Scripture says. How different are we? When the world looks at your life, what worth do they put on your God?

We know that in the world--how many of you have ever been down to "Embassy Row"? Anybody ever been down by "Embassy Row"? Isn't it interesting that even some of the poorest countries build these great mansions for their ambassadors to live in? What is that all about? Well, it's representation, isn't it? These people are representing our country. As believers, when we're here as ambassadors representing God, what is it that we're showing forth in the representation of the kingdom of God that we've been sent to declare in the midst of a crooked and a perverse generation? Paul says in Romans 12:1, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." So as he is speaking here, of course, we are coming back to the symbolism of the Priesthood offering up the different sacrifices and he says, "I don't want someone else to offer you; I want you to offer yourselves." You're the priest of your house, of your life. I want you to present your own body, holy and acceptable unto God. Entirely, in its entirety. God is not interested in a part of your life. He won't take a part of your life. Those who are trying to serve God in our day with a fragmented approach and wanting to give Him certain segments of their life, and certain segments of their time. Representing the kingdom of God is a full-time job, isn't it? When you go out to work on Monday, you're not there working for your employer.

Many Christians today--they propagate the fact that we as Christians, we have these great responsibilities to our employers to do an excellent job and we're responsible then to give them eight hours of work for eight hours of pay. We have that responsibility to our employer. No we don't! We have that responsibility to our God. Amen? When we're out representing God and doing everything as unto the Lord, we're going to give them nine hours of production for eight hours of pay; because we're going to work ten time better than anybody else. They're going to be able to trust us. We're going to be someone who does everything that we do--we do it as unto the Lord. I'm not working for my employer; "I'm working for Jesus." How many of you think that will give you a little better attitude on the job Monday? "I'm here representing Jesus. This is my ministry, praise God! These are the people that God has called me to reach." Let me ask you something about that. If you really believed that, then you'd approach it very similar to those of us in the priesthood do. You see, I've been placed here by God, and I'm going to be here and do my job whether I get paid for it or not. Some of you say, "Praise God, I'm going to cut back on my giving, then." You can't! You're not giving to me, you're giving to God. It's the Lord's. You're honoring God with your substance with the first fruits of all of your increase.

You see, I'm here. Whether I get a dime or not! If the economy goes bust, I'm here. God has placed me here. I'm here serving Him. What would it be like if you went to work thinking, "I'm here. God placed me here to reach these people, to be a light to the world. I'd be here if I wasn't being paid for it." You say, "Phewie! I'm out of here in a heartbeat if these guys don't cut my check." Who are you working for? Did God really give you that job? Did He send you there? Is that your mission field? All I'm doing this morning is trying to stir our hearts into seeing that we're all epistles, and we're all the visible representatives of the Kingdom, and we're here serving the Kingdom and not ourselves. There are people to be reached and influenced by our lives. We were given the diverse talents that we have so we can invade different parts of society. That is why we all have different skills. Everyone has to be reached. God moves us into different areas with this Gospel message: The declaration of the Kingdom being at hand. Then we live our lives out in service to Him, the people in that arena begin to see us as ambassadors representing an invisible kingdom. Are you presenting your bodies living sacrifices, holy....

That word "holy" is interesting. The word "holy" really has to do with separate. It can't be profaned. Our lives are holy lives. "Holy" just means that it can only be used for one thing. All of the different articles within the Temple and within the Holy Place they called, whether it be the candle stick or whether it was the different aspects of worship, the laver. These were all consecrated. They were holy. You couldn't take the alter and barbecue on it and have a party Saturday, and then bring in your holy offerings on Sunday. You could only worship at that alter; it couldn't be used for secular things. We are holy, we are not secular. Our lives are holy to God. Now, we involve ourselves in temporal, secular things because we are in the world but we are not what? Of it! We're holy! We're separate. We're set apart only for God. My life is only for God. Now, being only for God, I can still move in the secular, in the temporal, but I'm only for God. I'm not for the world. I'm not a friend of the world. If you're a friend of the world, you are the enemy of God. You love the world, you hate God, the Scripture says. So I'm holy. I'm separate, I'm distinct. I'm not my own, I'm bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus. As I go out into the highways and byways on Monday, I'm not a secular person Monday through Friday. I'm an ambassador of the Kingdom of God. I'm representing His miraculous ability to take a stony heart and make it a heart of flesh and to take old things and cause them to pass away and to make all things new, praise God. I'm able to go into a world when everyone is in turmoil and anxiety and I can be at perfect peace, for my Master said, "Peace I give unto you, not as the world gives" (John 14:27). We stand resting in His presence and His ability, declaring that "though a thousand may fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand, it will not come neigh us" (Psalm 91:7). Making the decree that "I've been young, and now I'm old and I've never seen the righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). "If God is for me, who can be against me?" (Romans 8:31 Holy. Sacred. I'm not my own. Are we approaching our vocations that way as we go into the highways and byways? How many are having a the tendency to get caught up in all of this turmoil--"My secular job and my secular responsibilities"--and we lose sight of the fact that these are only vehicles to reach a peoples who are lost and need to be reconciled to God? You're not out there working for yourself; you're out there representing the Kingdom of God. Therefore, whatever the remuneration, the recompense of it is, we can rejoice in that. That is what causes us to keep from being covetous, to stop being jealous of other people, because God has placed me and God has gifted me. Whatever the remuneration is I am laying up treasures in heaven. Those are the treasures that really count.

Now, for this to really happen, there must be, Verse 2 of this 12th chapter, the renewing of the mind. The world's programmed us to think one way, and God's kingdom operates on another set of standards. Proving what is the perfect will of God, it is that reasonable service.

Tragically, we have to step back and answer this question. I think many of us are found wanting when we answer the question. Am I doing my best? Can I say that I am presenting my body to the best of my ability, this living sacrifice? If the answer to that is, "I really don't think so," then the world has seen the value that you've put upon your God. The parable of the Lord, of course, we've all heard it so many times, the pearl of great price. What do you do to obtain that pearl? You liquidate everything you have, the parable tells us. It doesn't matter what it costs me; I've got to have that pearl. In the secular, many of us have gone after things with that kind of a tenacity. I've got to have that. Some of us has done that as it pertains to relationships. Samson did it, didn't he? I have go to have that woman! He got her - and a hair cut. There are certain things we feel we have to have and no matter what the cost is we're going to pay it to obtain. What about the worth of our God and our representation of Him.

As we look at the Scriptures and we see the call on the different lives of individuals, we see that this life and this journey that you and I have been called into is, from the natural, not an easy road. There is nothing easy about daily dying to self, being crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me. So we realize, then, that the worth of our worship is going to be measured by the degree of our commitment and our sacrifice. It is going to cost us to give worth to our God. There is work involved in this thing. There are all of the aspects of diligence, the character of sobriety, that are necessary for us to be true worshipers of God. The preparation of this sacrifice requires effort! Not only effort in the preparation of the sacrifice, but in the obtaining of the sacrifice.

Now, we all know that the sacrifices that were to be brought to God had to be pure. They had to be without blemish. Scripture says that's the kind of bride that Jesus is coming for. Amen? He is coming for a holy bride without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. We serve a holy God, and He is not going to accept profane offerings. "Profane" is an interesting word. We seem to think that "profane" is just absolutely without worth and that "profane" is speaking of that which is at the place of depravity with no good in it. But "profane" is an interesting word, as you look at it. It has a couple of renderings. One of the renderings for the word "profane", it speaks of a wedge. You know what a wedge is? A wedge is when you find that little crack and you put the wedge there and begin to tap on it. What does it do? As it begins to expand, pretty soon we know--if it's wood if you ever split wood. That wedge, then, of course, takes that little flaw--you find the access by that little flaw and the wedge comes in and begins to magnify that until the place of tearing it apart. Profane is anything that is giving place to that wedge. It's the insertion of the wedge. It's allowing that wedge to be inserted to where now that that was holy has been defiled.

Now, dirt or dirty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? All we have to do is walk into some peoples' homes, and that becomes obvious. Some peoples' homes--no Christians, of course, we're talking about other people. Christians wouldn't do this; but some peoples' homes you go over to visit and you need a front-end loader to begin to access.

We have what's called "clean rooms". I'm not talking about our homes, I talking about society. Clean rooms are for things--the engine builders, they have these clean rooms. Most people have the concept that engine is like your engine. You open your hood up and you look and there is dirt, and grime, and muck, and dead bodies and all kinds of stuff that is in there. But really, engines aren't supposed to be dirty and oily. Mechanics aren't supposed to be up to their elbows in stuff. It's that people haven't properly maintained these things.

Proper running engines don't do that! They're tight and clean. Everything is sealed. When they put them together the tolerances are so close that they don't want any kind of dirt or anything that would foul these whatsoever. Even more than the engine builders, you come to a lot of the microchips and all of these things, now, and you go into those clean rooms. How many of you are now out of your sphere of cleanliness? There should have been some hands. I've been to some of your houses. We now realize that none of us live in that kind of environment, do we? Some of you drive the rest of us nuts by trying to keep your house that way, but it's not practical.

Anything beyond absolute perfection--God is perfect, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all--begins to profane. We have to be aware of that. Every time we go into the world we're defiled and vexed, so we need to cleanse ourselves, as Jesus told us, by the washing of our feet, the washing of the water of the Word. We have to refresh ourselves in prayer and study. We have to come and refocus on all that the world has tried to vex us with so that we could stay on that straight and narrow path. Yet we're called to be holy, absolutely separate! Don't misunderstand. I want to go over this again. It doesn't mean that you have to stay home and pray 24-hours-a-day. You have a job. You need to go. Your job is an evangelist. You're out there as the light of the world, the salt of the earth. Being holy doesn't mean just going to a monastery somewhere. Being holy, then, is an attitude, isn't it? It's a heart commitment. It's an understanding that we're not our own, that we're brought with a price, that every decision and every ministry that we meet forth is done for the glory of God.

The rich young ruler is a great example of doing good things but not being holy.

Turn over to Matthew for just a second and let's take a look at that. Matthew 19, Jesus is ministering in verse 13. They bring the little children and He lays his hands on them and prays for them, "...for of such is the Kingdom..." The little children wanted to come and worship and this disciple said, No, don't bother the Master. The Master said, True worshipers are never a bother to me; and in fact, there is no purer worship than that of a child. They're not coming to con, they're not coming to make an investment, they're not coming to appease. Kids so many times just speak innocently the truth. They look at you and say, "What's that big bump on your nose?" You know, that big wart that somebody has. Most of us adults would be very discreet, you know, and a little kid goes, "What's that big bump on your nose?" Innocents! Sometimes they are malicious, mean; but many times it's an innocent approach. He said, "I want you to come innocent, and I want you to come dependent. I want you to come not for what you can get out of me, but because you recognized my worth." The worthship of Jesus, the little beholds how great He is. His majesty, He speaks like nobody else speaks. That He loves like nobody else loves. I just want to get next to this guy. This guy is neat! Don't bother the Master. Suffer the little ones to come unto Me, and He laid his hands on them and prayed for them. The true worshipers in spirit and in truth will receive that from the Lord.

Someone was standing back and watching all of this, then came to him and said, "Good Master [verse 16], what good thing shall I do that I might have eternal life?" We're not saved by works. We're saved by faith, grace, the manifest works. What do I have to do to be saved? What good works do I need? Jesus responded in a very interesting way in verse 17. First, he said, "Why do you call me good? There is none good but God. Are you recognizing me as God? You should, for I and the Father are One. But, if you'd have eternal life, keep the commandments," verse 17. Which ones? Now we know that there were myriad commandments. We have, of course, the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Then, most derived off of that that came in through all of the Levitical ordinances. Then as the Talmud began to come forth, you have more of man's renderings and interpretations. Really, there is only one law and that is to love the Lord God with all of your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus responds and He says, "Let me tell you what you need to do: Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself." And the young man said unto Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth, but I'm not right, man. My heart's not right. There is something wrong. I'm not at peace. I don't have the assurance of my salvation." Now that is a pretty bold statement, I think, to be able to say, I've kept all of these commandments ever since I've been a young man. As a young man I broke all of those commandments. I broke all of those commandments since I was a young man. I knew what I lacked. I knew I was damned and going to Hell, as a young man. Believed in God, and so bound by self, ambition, lust, pride that I wouldn't bow my knee. Here is a young man that says, "I've tried to live a good life. Really, if you look at me and the community was to vote, I would be voted Citizen of the Year; but I know I'm not right. I'm still lacking eternal life." Jesus responds to him and says, "If you will be perfect" There is the issue this morning: perfect before God, perfect worship. What is the cost of true discipleship? The disciples are those who are being taught and representing the Master. Here comes a man wanting to enroll in Discipleship Training. He said, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" You see, that is what Discipleship Training is all about: the instruction to obtain eternal life. "What does it take to get eternal life?" You have to keep the commandments. Which?" "These." "I have; but I'm still not right." "Well, if you want to be perfect there is one thing thou lackest." "What is it?" "Go sell what you have and give it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven. Come and follow me." But when the young man heard that saying he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Most of us here don't have great possessions as it measures up to our society; but we do have great possessions as it measures up to the rest of the world. We're the elite in the world. Wealthy in the world's standards. Not in Washington, DC's standards, but by world standards. And Jesus responds and says, "It's hard (verse 2) for a rich man to enter into heaven. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God." When His disciples heard it they were amazed. They said, "Who then, can be saved?" Jesus, listening to them said, "With men it's impossible, but with God all things are possible." Peter responded and said unto Him, Lord, "we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" Legitimate question, in light of the teaching of the Master. What did this young man lack? Well, it was interesting that what Jesus cited to him was the last half of the Decalogue. We talked about that before. If you read these commandments, they were all the last half of the Decalogue. Man's responsibility to man. He said, "I've served man. I've been fair to men. I've treated everybody fairly. I didn't bear false witness and I haven't taken another man's wife. I haven't stolen from anybody. I've treated everybody fairly." Jesus then asked the question, "Okay, now I see what worth you put upon men. What worth do you put on God?"

John asked an interesting question in his First Epistle. He said, "How can you say you love God whom you haven't seen, and you can't love your brother whom you have?" (1 John 4:20) Jesus is approaching this from another thought. What He is saying is that its obvious that you have been able to put worth on men, and thinking that by serving men and by works its going to make you acceptable unto the Lord; But only one thing makes us acceptable to God, and that is by putting the right worth on Him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart!

The First Commandment is: Thou shalt have no other gods. When He makes that statement, do you think that He is talking about Molech? Do you think He is talking about Ashtoreth? Do you think He is talking about Buddha and Mohammed? He's talking about self. You'll have no other gods before me.

Turn back just a couple of chapters, real quickly, and let me show you something. Matthew 10:32, Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father...but whosoever denies me before men..." That denying before men is seen in a lot of different ways. The most absolute denial is the one we see of Peter. Do you remember when the maid came up and said, Aren't thou one of these. He said, I don't know the man. That's one way to deny Him. He said, "If you deny me, I'll deny you before the Father." Most of us has never done that because of intimidation by men and fearful of our own lives in persecution. Throughout history and around the world a lot of professed Christians have denied Him in that very manner to save their own skin. What are you going to do when you're faced with that some day? Has! "I'll tell you what I'm going to do, man. Everybody else may forsake Him, but not me!" Wrong answer! What are you going to do in that day? Well, if that's the wrong answer, what's the right answer? "Thou knowest, Lord," is what Peter said later when asked, "Do you love these more than these?" "I don't know, Lord, thou knowest. Help me. Give me the grace to be faithful. Give me the grace to love you more." It's not by self-effort; it's by self-induced death. Recognizing our lack of worth gives us a greater understanding of the magnitude of His worth. "If you confess me before men, I'll confess you before the Father." You have to understand, Jesus said, verse 34, "I didn't come to bring peace. There is going to be conflict. If you're going to be a disciple of mine, if you're going to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, if you're going to be my ambassadors, you're going to be hated for my name's sake He said, They didn't hear me, they're not going to hear you. I didn't come to bring peace. I come to bring a sword. A man's enemies are going to be those of his own household." Those are not the real popular verses in the Bible. Then verse 37 says, "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." He's setting his worth, isn't He? He said, "You want me to declare my worth? I'll tell you what my worth is, what I expect your perception of my worth to be. It's the total devaluing of self, then you'll understand my worth. You're not your own, you're bought with a price. There is to be no other gods before you: mothers, fathers, houses, lands, sons and daughters." So we step back this morning and ask ourselves about our worship and our sacrifice.

Keep your marker here in Matthew. We'll be back to this passage in just a second. Turn over to II Samuel. In II Samuel we have the judgment of David in numbering the people. Now why is he under this judgment? Well, by numbering the people, he was moving in disobedience to God. He was numbering for a number of reasons. One is he was able to boast in it, to rely in it. Fear was part of it, because of the foes that was being faced. To make sure whether or not they were able to measure up against this. So all of these motives were impure. All of these motives that got David's eyes off of God and onto his own strength, his own worth, his own ability.

He devalued God by looking to the arm of the flesh. Boasting in our own strength, boasting in our own numbers, when it is God that makes us strong. There was the decree of judgment upon him. He said, "What kind of discipline do you want?" David said in verse 10, "Lord, I have sinned, I've denied you, and I ask you to take away my iniquity. I've done foolishly." We're in chapter 24. I'm sorry. There are a lot of verse 10's in there, aren't there?

In Chapter 24, as he is speaking, he said, "I've done foolishly, I've sinned and I just want you to restore me. The word of the Lord came to him through the Prophet, in verse 12. He said, "Choose of these three things: You can have seven years of famine, three months of fleeing before your enemy, or three days of pestilence. David said, I'm in a great strait." I should say so. There are grave consequences to our sin and to our exaltation. "I don't really know what to do. My sin is bringing this on my family. What's going to best for us? I've sinned, and now there are consequences to my family. Help me, Lord, to make the right decision. Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hands of man."

Why is it that we so often make choices to put ourselves in the hands of men? Every time you over-value men's opinions, their wisdom, their standards, your own worth, you've done this exact thing. Why wouldn't you trust wholly in God to deliver you, and preserve you, and honor and esteem His name through exalting you, and to prosper you according to His wisdom? It's the same thing! He said, "I'm better off putting myself in your hands, Lord." The pestilence came, and it wasn't without consequence. Seventy thousand died! Seventy thousand judged, and it wasn't over yet; and the angel comes and begins to stretch out his hand over Jerusalem, the city that God loved, the apple of His eye, to destroy it; and the Lord calls him back and says, "It's enough. [Verse 16], Stay your hand." When David saw the justice of God and the goodness of God in his mercy in allowing a remnant to remain, he said, "I've sinned and done wickedly. But these sheep, the people around me that are suffering the consequences, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, be against me only and against my house." God, being merciful as he is, stays from the destruction of the people, is able to keep his covenant intact and bring the reproof and the righteous judgement necessary on the house of David. It's seen later in a number of ways when he is called a bloody man and desiring to build the house of God was denied. It was left to his son Solomon, but he was given a great task here. We get to see into the heart of this young man. David, as we know his life, this was an interesting fellow. This young man, worshiping out in the desert, watching the flocks for his father; the anointing of God coming upon him to destroy the lion and the bear. The integrity that he showed, not thinking for a moment that there would be any chance of him being exalted into a position of preeminence in the Kingdom of God; but in fact, all of the brothers overlooked, and the Prophet anointing him. God's hand upon him as he goes into the field and fights Goliath for the glory and honor of God. It had nothing to do with helping out Saul. It had to do with the blasphemy against the name of his God. He went out and stood for the worth of his God and destroyed Goliath. His faithfulness opened doors for him, for he had already been anointed king; but he was happy, as the anointed king, to watch flocks and stay under the authority of his father, Jesse. He didn't vaunt himself and say, "Look, Dad, I'm king now. I'm above watching sheep," because God was going to place him at a proper time and a proper order. Are you going to trust God or are you going to go by man's perception? He was a man after God's own heart. David sinned, grievously! His sin caused grievous consequences. The sin against Uriah and Bathsheba, but most importantly God. Isn't that where his repentance was? "I've sinned against you, God." What about Uriah and Bathsheba? Yes, but it was against God. When the prodigal returned home, "I've sinned against heaven and against you."

Now, we're talking about the value that we're putting on our worship, that we're to be giving our lives over as living sacrifices. The question I'm asking is, what kind of offering are you putting up on a daily basis? Are you bringing, as Malachi says, the halt, and the maim, and the blind? God says in the book of Malachi, "you honor your governor, you bring them their due; and you bring me the residue?" Let me ask you something. Do you make sure you go to work fresher than you come to prayer and worship? Let me ask you another question. Would you go to work when you're sick, but you can't come to Church or prayer when you're sick? Do you go to work when your sick, but you can't go serve somebody else in the body because you're not feeling well? That is the true understanding of worthship. Of what we're doing to offer our live unto God, this spiritual service. You see, what it all comes down to beloved, is this: it's going to cost you something.

In this chapter of Samuel, you read on that God then speaks to David and said, "I want you to do something because of this judgement, the pestilence that came and what is ahead. I'm going to have a place to put my name in your midst. I want you to go to Araunah, to his threshing floor, and obtain this for me." Now, where this is located, if you were to go over there today, it's actually on Mt. Moriah, it's actually on the Temple Mount. In fact, some of you that went over there with us years ago as we went down into that particular area where the Dome of the Rock is, many people believe that right in that vicinity is where the threshing floor was--the place of the Holy of Holies. The place of God's visitation and His worship.

So David comes, and he says, I need this for the Lord," and Araunah is taken aback by the King's visitation, and says, "Anything that my lord, David, wants." He said, "It's not about me, it's about God," verse 22. "...let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be [even oxen. I'll provide the oxen and the instruments for wood.] ...The Lord thy God accept thee," he said in verse 23, and the king said unto him, "Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing..."

What is your worship costing you? You see, a lot of us,-"Oh, praise-you. What a blessing! Thank you, brother. Praise God." We just love to have stuff given to us because of our worth, because we are special. If you're carnal, that is your thought processes. Those who are spiritual can't receive things with that being their motive. I've shared with you in the past, many times, different offerings I turned down that people wanted to give us, because the motives were wrong. It wasn't worship to God. If, as His priest, I receive an offering that I know that is worship to God, it's given in the spirit of the Word of God and in honor to Him, as his representative it's received gladly. If it's given with any other motive--I've turned down, I can't tell you things that people want to give "the Lord" that were not acceptable. Some of it I offered to pay for, but I wouldn't accept it at their hands. That is not the judgment that is coming on Araunah here; but it is showing the purity of David's heart. Following the pestilence and the judgement that he had just been through and the reliance on self and in the flesh, he said, "I'd lost the value of my God. That is why I numbered the people. I'm not offering anything to God that doesn't cost me something." It's going to cost you to leave mothers, and fathers, and houses and lands. It's going to cost you to be crucified daily. It's going to cost you, at many times in our lives, to fulfill the call of God.

Those of us who have been called into full time ministry, like Matthew of old, as Jesus just walked by and he was sitting at the change table, the customs table; he was a very wealthy man. Jesus just look at him and said, "Follow me." He immediately rose up and left his vocation. I experienced a very similar thing in my call after I was saved. Had a very lucrative future, and God said, "No. I'm separating you to myself. Follow me." You get up from the table and you follow. When he stops by your boat on the seashore and says, "Follow me," you leave your boat, your father, and your nets as James and John did; and you follow.

Can I ask you if your offerings have been blind, and halt, and maim lately? Are we just going through the motions? Are we caught up in a pursuit of the secular and the temporal? Have we not had the energy, or made the commitment or sacrifice to offer our lives holy acceptable unto Him, which is our reasonable service? I'm talking about attitude. We're not talking about serving, as the rich young ruler did, outwardly. We're talking about the inward worthship of God. By this shall all men know when you're my disciples, when you represent my love one to another. See, it has to originate with Him. It's for His glory, it's not for those around us. It's not for own well being that makes us feel better, projecting some type of an image.

As we close for this morning, we begin to think about the worthiness of our worship and the sacrifice that we're giving. God says in Isaiah 1, "I'm not interested in your offerings and Sabbath days, feasts." He said, "I'm looking for hearts that value me more than themselves. Follow me. If you don't love me more than these, you're not worthy of me. I will not receive your halt, and your maim, and your blind. Your life is to be totally consecrated, not secular; that is an acceptable offering." Have you worshipped Him today? Father, make it real to us, in Jesus' name.

We're going to continue with this some tonight as we continue the study. Take a little bit of time and go home and read, again, these passages in Matthew 10 and 19. Spend a little bit of time meditating on that for tonight. Then ask yourself this question this afternoon: What is my worship costing me? What value have I put on my worship? It's not really costing me anything. "I can slip it in here and get a little there..." Then we've shown the value of our God. He is bigger than that. He's more worthy than that. This journey that we've been called to is a war. It's a daily preparation of arraying ourselves with the armor of God and realizing that we're going into a crooked and perverse generation that hates the God that we serve, and eventually will kill us and think they're doing God a service. It's a hostile environment. One thing will protect you in the midst of that, and it's your worship, your reasonable service of daily offering yourself up in total reliance on Him. That alone causes us to stand. Make it real, Father, we ask in Jesus' name.

Let's stand before Him this morning and take a moment as Gary plays for us. We'll allow the Holy Spirit to point out any of the profane areas of our lives. Where are the cracks that that wedge is being inserted? The Bible says to give no place to the Devil. It says to shun the appearance of evil and flee youthful lusts. It says friendship of the world is enmity with God. The Word says you can't serve God and mammon. You can't have two masters. I'm not offering anything to God that doesn't cost me something. Father doesn't want your junk. The offerings could not be profane; they had to absolutely without spot or blemish. If it's not pure worship, it's unacceptable. If it's not the best we have, it's a stench in His nostrils, He says, through the words of Isaiah the prophet. The absolute best we can give Him of ourselves. It's all of you that He wants. It's what He paid for with that precious blood. Let's sing this together as we worship Him this morning. "I Worship You" Let's sing it one more time. Just honor Him this morning. "I Worship You." Hallelujah! Just take a moment and worship Him this morning. Let Him know the love that you have for Him, and the appreciation of His grace and His mercy that lets us access His presence.

Father, take that that we have to offer You and make it pure and holy. Give us the grace necessary, Father, to walk this call out, for You called us. You sought us, we didn't seek You; You sought us, and bought us. Cause us to be ever grateful, Father, to be sober of this call on our lives to represent You as ambassadors and to worship you in obedience. Let men see our good works, our worthship, and honor You, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "He's worthy!" Amen! Go in peace, God's love go with you.

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