For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:17, 18

Over the last few days we have been laying out the idea of being willing to count and pay the cost in order to have God’s will and blessing accomplished in our lives. If you have missed these writings you may read them at…

https://josephelonlillie.com/2015/01/04/pastor-wrinkles-paying-the-asking-price/

https://josephelonlillie.com/2015/01/06/the-place-to-pay-the-price/

https://josephelonlillie.com/2015/01/06/pastor-wrinkles-pay-the-asking-price-pt-2/

Let’s advance these thoughts a little shall we?

Yesterday we concluded by asking…

What is the present word of God for your life?

Everyone reading this blog has both a rhema word and the logos word from the Lord concerning their lives right now. You discover those words by going to the Lord and asking Him for them and by reading the Scripture.

I can tell you one thing, though, whatever the word for your life turns out to be there is going to be a price to pay for that word to be fulfilled in your life.

Last week our youth pastor delivered a sermon regarding salvation as a work of grace done by God’s hand alone. You can do nothing to earn your salvation you can do nothing to make yourself more righteous. Jesus paid it all on the cross and the only way to Heaven is to accept Jesus’ sacrifice and ask Him to forgive your sins. You will never earn your way into Christianity or Heaven or relationship with God. Jesus does it all.

That said as Jesus comes and adopts you into the family, that act puts into motion certain principles which are going to affect you for the rest of your eternal life.

Christianity is obtained freely You don’t pay for your salvation by good works. But there is a price that comes with being a Christian. Getting into the family is free. God will adopt you if you want to be adopted.  But being in the family costs. That’s because our family, this family of Christians, is committed to accomplishing a certain job in this world and because this family, the family of Christians, has a group of beings who have decided that they hate us just because of who we are. Paying the price doesn’t get us into Heaven. Christians are already going there. Paying the price is a result of us receiving the gift in the first place. It’s part and parcel of the gift. With this gift you get: eternal life, all the powers of the Holy Spirit, direct access to the throne of God and constant fellowship with Him and you also get some very powerful enemies who have power in the world to cause harm and who are set against you to stop you and your success.

That is why Jesus said, “whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14

This is not because the cross earns us the right to be saved but because the cross is part of salvation. Jesus didn’t purchase Christianity without a cross and Christians cannot live Christianity without a cross.

Whatever your rhema Word is this year. Whatever God is telling you about your future there is going to be a price for that future with Jesus.

Do you know what the cross Christ is calling you to bear looks like?

Today we continue with our rehash of Sunday morning’s sermon at Cornerstone Church Winchendon MA entitled, “Paying the Asking Price.”

If you missed the first part of this share go to:

https://josephelonlillie.com/2015/01/04/pastor-wrinkles-paying-the-asking-price/

Today we begin discussing the difference between “rhema” and “logos”. If you get to the end and wonder how it all ties in don’t worry. I will wrap it all up in a neat package tomorrow.

As I enter 2015 God has led me to begin praying about His Rhema Word for this year of my life.

You know what a Rhema word is don’t you? The word Rhema means “word” and it is used in I Peter 1:23-25:

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word (Logos) of God. 24 For,

“All people are like grass,

   and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

   but the word (rhema) of the Lord endures forever” 

And this is the word (rhema) that was preached to you.

Now, there are two ways God speaks into a man’s life. He uses a lot of different methods but there remain but two types of “words” that God speaks into a man’s life. There is the “Logos Word” the unchanging word which is Scripture. From the logos, Scripture, we are to draw all of our right understanding of God, the way He operates in the world, His moral way and the strategy we are to live by on a day to day basis. The logos is the same for everyone because the Scripture is the same for everyone.

We cannot change it or say “This part of Scripture is for me while that part of Scripture is not for me.”

God is God, unchanging. His Word is His word, unchanging. The ten commandments, are my ten commandments and they are your ten commandments. Jesus sacrifice on the cross is my way to Heaven and it is your way to Heaven. The “logos word” applies to everyone.

But the “rhema word” is God’s present word for my life. It is the voice of His Holy Spirit telling me prophetically what my year is going to be about. The “rhema word” comes out of the “logos word.” The rhema never contradicts the logos. Further the logos tells me how I am to walk in the present word of God, the “rhema word” of God; But the “rhema word” can be different from person to person; So for instance God might be telling you that this year is going to be a year of celebration and restoration while he might be telling me this year is going to be a year of great battles and great victories. While he might be telling the sister across the room that this is a year of loss but sustaining grace. Different rhema words for each one of our situations but in the midst of all those different “words” the Bible tells us how to live each of them out. The way I live as a Christian is defined by Scripture whether I am walking in celebration, battle or sustaining grace. The rhema word tells me what is about to happen. The logos word tells me how I am to live in the midst of what is going to happen.

A few years ago the Lord told me I was going to go through a year of loss but He gave me Scriptures from the Bible about how I was to walk through that loss. He told me I was to “set my face like flint” from the book of Isaiah;

He was telling me “Don’t allow your emotions to take control.”

He also told me to, “walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and refuse to be afraid.” Psalm 23

His Word assured me if I did I would find He was with me every step of the way.

The rhema told me what was going to happen the logos told me how I was supposed to live through it.

What is the present word of God for your life?

Here is the first excerpt of today’s sermon “Paying the Asking Price”. These are the Scriptures we will be launching from.

Luke 14:15-35

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

16Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

19“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

20“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22“ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”

The Cost of Being a Disciple

25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”