Are You In or Out?: Serving Jesus Isn’t Cheap…

You’ve probably seen these people, the ones that are so on fire for God, serving on every team possible, and worshipping with full abandon. Then, you start to see them less and less, until one Sunday, they’re gone. Unfortunately, sometimes, you never see this person, only to find out later that they’ve walked away from their faith and passion for God. Why does this happen? What causes a genuine disciple to say “I’m out!”?

When It Costs Too Much

The Rich Man (Mark 10:17-31)

When the rich young man came to Jesus and asked how he could be saved, Jesus answered that he should fulfill the law. His response was that he had done so since he was a boy. But then Jesus went a step further and told him to go and sell everything he had and give it all to the poor, take up his cross, and follow Him. 

I find it so interesting that verse 21 says that Jesus looked at him and loved him. He wasn’t looking down at him with arrogance or disgust. Jesus could read his thoughts and see the true intentions of his heart. He wanted this young man to be a part of the team! Jesus didn’t hit him with a list, just one thing—it was the one thing that was keeping him from following wholeheartedly. His riches. His natural possessions. His comfort. He was asking the young ruler to completely trust in His provision, not his own. 

Instead of selling it all, he went away sad. It wasn’t that he couldn’t give it up, it was that he wouldn’t give it up. It cost too much. 

But it really wasn’t that Jesus was asking too much, it was that he didn’t want to give up his natural possessions. His possessions owned him, rather than the other way around. And Jesus let him walk away. 

In Bible times, wealth was seen as a sign of blessing and of God's favor on your life. But Jesus was trying to get him to see that it wasn’t the main thing. Possessions on earth are not necessarily bad, but they are also not an indication of your walk with God. You can have all the stuff in the world and your heart can still be far from Him. 

Jesus promised that if we would give up everything for Him, he would bless us—not with physical possessions, but with people. They are the true treasures! And interestingly, He also promised that we would receive persecution. This was part of the reward—that we would endure persecution for His name.

I don’t know about you, but my mind doesn’t see persecution as a reward, but it is. It was an honor for the disciples to endure hardship for the Lord after He ascended. 

Is It Worth It?

This is probably one of the saddest verses in the Bible. This young ruler chose his riches, comforts, and powerful position instead of having true riches in Jesus. 

He settled.

When the Message is Too Hard

“Feed on Me” (John 6:56-66)

Jesus had just gotten done feeding the 5,000 when he spoke this very hard message. Right afterward, he gave this teaching, saying “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.” Many people stopped following Him. Jesus wasn’t worried about natural food. He was talking about the spiritual nourishment that comes from abiding in Him. He goes on to say that He is the Bread of Life. It is only in Him that we find true nourishment and fulfillment. 

Once again, He didn’t make the teaching more palatable for the people. Just as he didn’t chase after the young ruler and try to convince him to follow Him, he did not dumb down the message. He asked them if they were offended. He revealed the conditions of their hearts. 

These people wanted a Messiah who would give them what they wanted but didn’t change them into the people he had created them to be all along! Changing is uncomfortable. It takes work. You have to lay down your selfishness, greed, pride and ungodly responses in order to become more like Him. 

After He gave this teaching, it says that many of them refused to follow Him any longer, or “they followed him no more.” They didn’t want to pay the price that being a disciple requires. We have to decide if we are going to get offended by Jesus’ message, or stay anchored when the going gets hard. 

When Disappointment Seem to Outweigh the Blessings

Have you ever had a disappointment that changed the course of your life forever, when something happened and it didn’t turn out the way you thought it should? Maybe a tragedy shook your faith, a leader you respected failed, or a fellow Christian betrayed you. People often ask, if God is a good God, why would He let this happen? 

Westling with Disappointment (John 21:2-3)

After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter and five of the other disciples went fishing. Peter and John returned to what they knew (while the other four, who were not fishermen, followed right on their heels.) These other four had no idea what they were doing, but they figured it was better than their prospects now. They had endured the greatest disappointment of their lives, after Jesus was killed. They must have wondered if the last three-and-a-half years was worth everything they had given up. Your disappointment can drag people out of God's will, because you’re stepping out of God's will. 

The disciples looked back on the “good ol’ days” of their lives—before they left their jobs, families, and comforts. They were persecuted, reviled, and had watched their Savior be killed. I’m sure their lives seemed so much easier before they were called by Jesus.

But God never called them to go back, He called them to keep moving forward. When you try to go back, it never works the same. You’ve been ruined for the ordinary, because you’ve tasted the extraordinary! 

Even though their temptation was to return to what they had known before, Jesus met them in their disappointment. Your disappointments don’t disqualify you for God's future promises, unless you walk away and say “I’m out.” 

Don’t go back. Your failures don’t define you. Jesus can turn victims into victors and tragedy into triumph. Jesus is waiting on the shore of your life to refresh and recommission you. Jesus always remains faithful, even when we falter. 

Jesus loves you. And because He loves you, He’s not going to lower the bar. Will you stay when it costs too much? Will you stay when the message is difficult? Will you stay when you don’t understand and are living in the midst of disappointment? When you push through every trial and difficulty, you are building endurance. Nothing is ever wasted. 

1 Corinthians 15:58 TPT

“So now, beloved ones, stand firm, stable, and enduring. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures.”

Choose to stay, because Jesus is worth it all.