November 28th: Saturday, 2:00 P. M.
Hymn 36, App. L. F. Prayer
Counting the Cost.
Luke 14:25-3525And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 30Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 31Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. 33So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. 34Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? 35It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Luke 14:25‑35)
In this scripture is brought before us the importance of counting the cost. We all have to pay a price for these blessed and precious things we have been receiving.
It is a grand thing to be here at this conference; to be among so many of the Lord's dear people; to have His word before us, and it is easy to be occupied with these things at this time, because we find those about us are occupied with them. But when we get back home, to our farm, to the office, or whatever may be our occupation, we are going to find that we shall have to pay a price to maintain these precious truths.
Isn't it well, with all these blessed things we have in Christ, to consider the price? Our Lord says here, "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple." We value things by the price we pay for them; by the effort they cost us.
We have heard the story of two boys, the father of one bought him a horse, and the boy soon tired of it; but the other boy made himself a horse, and he valued his horse so much more than did the boy who did not have to labor for his. So if we really have to give up something, or put forth some toil or labor for a thing, we value it so much more.
If some one showed you a ring he had bought at the Ten-cent store, you would not think it was worth very much. You would immediately decide that the band was just a little piece of brass, and the set, of glass; but if, instead, he told you that he had bought a ring from a high-class jewelry store, and that is cost $500.00, you would conclude that the ring was of the very best gold, and had a set of the very finest quality in it.
The thought of counting the cost, as it were, seems to pervade this chapter, even in what comes immediately before, where we have the parable of the great supper. One man thought his farm of more value than God's supper; another, that his five yoke of oxen were worth more.
When this servant had gone out with the wonderful invitation to that supper, and had invited all of those who were bidden, saying "Come, for all things are now ready," and different ones refused to come, then He was sent out again, and His master tells Him, in the 23rd verse, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled.
In the 22nd of Mat. we have the Lord's servants, such servants as you and I, and we may go out to poor lost sinners, and tell them of the Savior and His love, and invite them to come to him, but that is all we can do. In Luke we have only one Servant who is the Holy Spirit, and He compels them to come in. You remember the following lines,
"Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there's room,
While thousands make the wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?
'Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly forced me in;
Else I had still refused to taste,
And perished in my sin."
God told us such a sweet story that we could not remain outside; He has told us of the blessed One Who came from those heights of glory; laid all aside; was born in Bethlehem's manger; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and yet, what grace was revealed in that blessed One. He was full of grace and truth, ready to bless everyone with whom He came in contact. When others went to their homes, we are told that He went to the Mount of Olives. He led' a lonely life down here, yet every step of it was for blessing to man. Then we see Him set His face as a flint, go on the cross, to be forsaken there. Then we have heard of how He went to Calvary's cross, and ere He went to that cross of shame we see Him there in the garden, where He sweat as it were great drops of blood. We hear His prayer, "Father, if it be possible, le this cup pass from Me." Then we see Him gloriously triumphant, bursting the bands of death, ascending up on high. As we have heard that sweet story, a wonderful story, and we have been attracted to Him, our hearts have been won.
The Lord rises from the feast (verse 25), and a great multitude go with Him, and He turns, and tells them what it will cost them to really follow Him.
"If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."
These are strong words; what does He mean? We learn from other scriptures, that husbands are to love their wives. This does not conflict with the Scripture before us. The first place belongs to Him. Who is so worthy of our love as Himself? Our love to Him should so surpass that of any in the natural relationship, that there is no comparison.
When the Lord Jesus really fills our souls then it becomes easy, simple, to follow on. So that the first thing the Lord brings before us is Himself, the object, the One that must have the first place in our hearts. So He says here,
"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple."
What is the cross? We know what the cross of Calvary was; there where the Lord was crucified and slain; but we have a cross, too. It is not His cross. On His cross all our sins were borne. They are forever removed, so far away that God Himself can never find those sins, because they are put away as far as the East is from the West.
The Lord speaks of a cross in the verse just quoted, and what is that cross? A cross consists of two lines crossing each other. A cross is where God's will crosses ours. Our wills are absolutely opposed to the will of God, and if we allow our own will to act, immediately we are going contrary to His will and mind. The Lord Jesus had no will of His own. He said, "I do always those things that please Him." "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me," so we are told in 1 Peter 1:22Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2), that we are sanctified of the Spirit "unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."
Now, it is not that we have commandments. We have the commandments of Christ, and the Lord speaks of keeping His commandments, but there is something that is more blessed than that. He tells us in John 14:2323Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23):
"If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him."
What are His words? They are more than His commandments; it is the whole expression of what His desire is for us. If we would just seek to please that blessed One up there, how happy we would be.
Some of us here are just starting out on our Christian life. Will such be able to say, like the apostle Paul, at the end of their course:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." But we may say, we are not Pauls, but he goes on, "and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing."
Are we looking for that blessed Savior to come and take us to be forever with Himself? It is not only for the apostles, but it is for all those who love His appearing.
There is nothing more beautiful in all the world than the, finish of a life that has been spent for that blessed One. But though we start out well, we are in danger of making a sad finish,—as in Jonathan's case. We are told, Jonathan loved David as his own soul. Some of us love the Lord Jesus Christ, don't we? But when it came to following David in his rejection, Jonathan went back to Saul, the enemy of David. What is the last we see of our beloved Jonathan? He is slain with Saul at Gilboa, and his body is buried with that of Saul at Jabesh. Jonathan might have shared the glory and honor with David. Jonathan had had a good start, but a sad finish. He did not count the cost.
There is only one way we can count the cost, and that is to count it with the One who is able to pay,—the Lord Jesus Himself. You see, there come times in our lives, times of special stress, times when there is special exercise, and special difficulties lie in our way. What are we to do about them? Perhaps it is a question in business, or in our social life, or in our religious life. Which way are we to turn? What are we to do? There is no middle ground, we have to make a decision, but there is one way we can count the cost, and be sure of the right answer; It is by getting into the presence of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
We have to go over and over this matter of counting the cost. It is the going on and on that really counts. And if there is anything that Satan hates, it is to see a child of God going on and on with Christ. How he loves to deprive us of that privilege! Our Lord Jesus tells us in John 15:99As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. (John 15:9), "Continue ye in My love".
Well, to put it in a practical way, how should we begin the day? We should begin it with the Lord. We should end it, too, with the Lord. But it is especially important I think, early in the morning, like the children of Israel in gathering the manna, to get into the Lord's presence, and just to have a portion of His Word; to commend ourselves to Him, and seek guidance for what is before us for the day.
"Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees."
Satan does not want us to be before the Lord, and he will persuade us to take a little more sleep, just another nap, so that we shall have time merely to catch the car, and thus Satan accomplishes his end. But if there is real purpose of heart for that One, can't we arise just a little earlier? Can't we just take time for a little season over His Word.
So the important thing is not to count the cost the wrong way. In Luke 14:31, 3231Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? 32Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. (Luke 14:31‑32) we are told of a king going out to fight against another king, and he sits down to calculate a little; "Here is a king that has just twice as many soldiers as I: what are my chances with an army of ten thousand, against an army of twenty thousand?" The outlook is not very favorable, so he sends out a messenger and desires conditions of peace. Before the enemy has come near, he has surrendered to him. That is exactly what Satan likes,-to make us come to terms before he ever gets in sight. Haven't we often done this? Before ever the enemy had come, we had made peace? So our one safeguard, as we have seen before, is to count the cost with the right One.
Then He tells us in the 34th verse that salt is good, but suppose salt has lost its savor, why, it is worthless, fit only to be cast out. Another place in the Word tells us, "to be trodden under foot of men." The Christian, if he becomes untrue to that blessed One, is the most worthless, the most useless thing in the world. What is more contemptible in the eyes of men than a Christian who is enjoying the things they enjoy, who is being robbed of his own joy and happiness, as well as being robbed of his testimony! A poor Christian like that is the most useless thing imaginable.
Salt is good, and the only thing that holds this world together is the fact that there are Christians here in this world.
Now, once more as to our surrender of heart to Him. We need to surrender all we have to Him, and there is need of constant surrender, and, as we have seen here in these meetings, how blessed it is to know that One Who came down from heaven; to know that Man Who came here to men; to know Christ, the One who was anointed of the Holy Ghost, to know that blessed One, the eternal One, as our Lord; but, 0, how sad, knowing Him as Lord, and not to go on with Him. Paul said, when he was struck down, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" We are told, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." So we need to go on. Paul, at the end of the journey, could say, "Yea.... I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."
A story comes to mind, told of a missionary working among the Indians in the far North. One day he was impressing the importance of receiving Christ, and telling something of that blessed One. An Indian chief was seated in the rear of the room, and as the speaker went on presenting Christ and His glory, this Indian came forward, and he laid down his tomahawk before the speaker, and said, "Indian chief give his tomahawk." Then the Indian sat down, and as the speaker went on to tell more of the Lord's glories and of His love,—what He had done for sinners,—directly he came up again, and laid down his blanket, saying, "Indian chief give his blanket to Jesus." Then as the speaker went on, presenting His glory, the Indian was seen to leave the room, and shortly after he returned leading his pony, came in, and said, "Indian chief give his pony to Jesus." As the speaker went on telling of that blessed One, of His perfection, finally the Indian chief kneeled down, the tears trickling down his bronzed face, and said, "Indian chief give himself to Jesus." Ah, dear friends, you have been told of one who gave himself to Jesus.... have you done that?
Hymn 55, App. L. F. Prayer.