What Is The Cost of Being A Committed Disciple?

1.. You must be born again.  Having Jesus in your heart will be your first step to being a committed disciple of Jesus Christ.  Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, "ye must be born again." 

2.  You must be a baptized believer in Jesus.  After salvation, being baptized is the main, first step of obedience. 

3.  You need to be a tithing member, reading your Bible on a daily basis, praying on a daily basis, witnessing for Jesus whenever the situation arises, and attending church (Sunday School and all church services).  WHY?  II Peter 3:18---a slacker of any of these cannot grow to full maturity in Jesus Christ.  You cannot expect a child to grow without proper nourishment and so it is with the "child of God."

4.  To be a committed disiple after all these things (1-3) are dealt with, there is one main ingredient...giving your entire life, body, family, marriage, etc to the complete ownership of Jesus Christ.  Letting Him be the controller of what happens in your life.  Going to the backseat of the car and letting Him have the wheel.  Then and only then does your salvation, your church, your children, your family, and yes, even your very existence become His completely and you will notice in your life that you will experience less satanic dominance, satanic influence and less satanic resistance concerning your wanting to serve the Lord.  Just tell satan, "You're not going to defeat me in this move of mine to serve Jesus."  Do as Jesus did, "Get behind me, satan."  Start quoting verses (that's why we encourage scripture memorization).  Being faithful to church and to the things of Christ takes hard work, but thre is a great reward if we just follow Him.  Let me challenge you, Christian, fight the good fight of faith---but don't try it on your own---include Jesus---let Him be your first line of defense against satan.  Satan cannot stand against the Master--it is impossible for 'ole slippery foot to succeed against God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

----Pastor Fryer