Every step of faith by the men and women in the Bible has always involved a measure of risk. Those who are averse to risk will never venture forth and those who do not count the cost will lose everything. There is a balance between taking risk and minimising foolish ventures. There are steps to take even when one exercises faith. And the steps of calculating costs to minimise risk is not anti-faith but part of the faith process. Before any venture of faith through open doors which God give, we must take sequential steps. The first and foremost is to count the cost.
Step One – Count the Cost
In speaking about discipleship, our Lord Jesus teaches us to ‘Count the Cost’ before doing anything. In building a tower, one must sit down first and count the cost of building the tower and determine whether one can finish it (Luke 14:28-30). A king going out to war also must sit down first and consider whether he has enough men to fight the war and win it, otherwise the best course is to ask for conditions of peace (Luke 14:31-32). The main point of Jesus is the ability to finish what one has started or to go forth and win a war. Completion of what is started is at the crux of the whole matter. Never begin something you cannot finish, never start a journey which you cannot complete. There is nothing wrong nor anything against the exercise of faith to calculate the cost and see if one can complete a project. Jesus applied it to those who choose to follow Him and become His disciples, that one must follow Him to the end and pay any price it cost to keep following Jesus all the days of our lives.
Faith is not foolishness that does not know what is at stake nor is it leaping before hearing from God. Faith is not the lack of natural considerations nor the ignoring of our intellect and capabilities of working things out using natural means. Faith can sometimes surpass and go against natural calculations but they are taken upon considering the costs and with the understanding of what is at stake. Of course, it is not supposed to just rely on the arm of the flesh or the natural abilities that we have. It does take those into consideration. Neither is it just dependence on our natural mind and intellect for then we would not be expecting a miracle from the Lord or supernatural provision from God. The purpose of counting the cost is to obtain natural knowledge of what is required and then see if it is the best course of action. Faith is not blind. It sees in the spiritual what is not visible in the natural (Hebrews 11:3). Over calculation and dependence on pure natural methodology can hinder faith but it does not mean that one does not count the cost.
Since Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith, when we calculate what is possible with what is already given, then what is lacking can be provided supernaturally by God, as long as we understand and heard clearly that the path ahead is what God wants us to take. It is against all natural odds to cross the Red Sea, to cross the Jordan at its peak, to go against an enemy army that is far superior to what one had. God has always got His people to go against what is normally impossible in the natural. But the people going forth knew what they were doing and knew the risks involved. David as a lad, knew that if he did not slay Goliath, he would be dead. Joshua’s army was less equipped than the armies of Canaan but God used hailstones and hornets to aid their conquest (Exodus 23:28; Joshua 10:11). There were more who died by hailstones than by the sword. The calculation of costs is not so much to rely on the natural as to be a measurement of whether some things can be completed in the natural, and where they cannot and it is God’s Will, to know and appreciate how much of a miracle that God has wrought; thus bringing worship and thanksgiving to God for His gracious intervention.
Step Two – Always Grow Internally and Grow Externally
It is the law of life to grow and to increase. Only that which is dead, decays and reduces. In growing, plants scatter their seeds through many ways, some of them risky and some of them ingenious. Through offering fruits for consumption, plants ensure that animals and humans which consume them spread their species far and wide. Through many methods of spreading its seed, via wind or sea, plants take risk and ensure that their species continue to reproduce. Our Lord Jesus demands that we be fruitful and multiply; every branch that does not bear fruit is taken away (John 15:2). The method to bear more fruit is in abiding in Jesus and submitting to His pruning so that we can bear more fruit (John 15: 1-5). Without abiding in Jesus, the branch becomes withered and is cast out and burnt (John 15:6). Fruit as we understand it would be both the growth of Christlikeness in our lives and also disciples made through our lives. If we do not go out and teach, we will not be able to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). If we do not give up the weights of worldliness or sin that ensnares us, we will not be able to run the race of transformation in Jesus and heavenly rewards (Hebrews 12:1-2). If we do not crucify the flesh and its passions and desires, we will not be able to grow into Christlikeness in all the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24). There are things to give up, things to let go, things to forsake and Godlike things to hold on to, to pursue to reach out into and receive. The performance of such will require risk taking and advancement in the walk of faith.
Living in Australia, I see a number of various types of eucalyptus trees. In one of the Canberra suburbs where I live, we went through a period of drought and you can see one of the special capabilities of some species of eucalyptus trees. When there is insufficient water, the gum tree chooses certain branches to be cut off the supply and you literally see a whole branch dried up on the tree, while the rest of the tree continues growing new branches and spreading forth its leaves. Overtime, the dried branch dies and drops of the tree. Sometimes out of fun, I would reach out to a low branch while walking my dog, and break off the dried branch and use it as a stick to walk or to play with. We all only have the same 24 hours per day in our lives, and have to make our choice as to what we do to grow and increase in our lives. This involves choice of reading, choice of friends, choice of prioritising of our time usage, etc. Over time, these choices will make us into who we become. Also involved is the choice of what we think and feel each day. Yes, our thoughts and feelings also consist of the spiritual warfare that is present in the world (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). While some look only at outward appearances, we should be concern also with inward appearances (2 Corinthians 4:18; 10:7). We can choose what we think, what we feel and what we do each and every day (Philippians 4:6-9).
In the parable of the talents, the one who had five talents doubled it to ten and the one who had two doubled it to four (Matthew 25:20-23). Both of them were regarded as being faithful over a few things and became ruler over many things, entering into the joy of the Lord (Matthew 25:21, 23). One of them had a wrong perception of the master, that the other two did not, seeing the master as hard, reaping what he did not sow (an impossible scenario as all things are base on sowing and reaping) and gathering where he did not scatter seed (Matthew 25:24). The main cause was that he actually had fear and hid his talent in the ground (Matthew 25:25). His master added the fact that actually, he was wicked and lazy (Matthew 25:26). We have the choice to trust the master’s words against the word of the one talent servant. Since the other two servants never view the master as bad as the one talent, two witnesses versus one, we interpret that the master’s point of view is true whilst the point of view of the one talent servant is incorrect. That means that the truth is that the one talent servant was lazy, wicked and fearful. At the minimum, the master required that the lazy, wicked and fearful servant would have deposited the talent with the bankers and he would have obtained interest upon his return (Matthew 25:27). In the end, the one and only talent that the lazy, wicked and fearful servant had was taken away and given to the one who now had ten talents (Matthew 25:28). The unprofitable servant was cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Definitely, not a place where those who are saved go.
The problem with the one talent servant, besides his laziness, wickedness and fear, is that he is not a risk taker and never bothered to grow and increase what he had. Remaining the same is not growth at all. We must increase both internally in our walk with God and externally in our works in God. Wrong beliefs produce wrong personalities and wrong decisions. That is why it is important to examine our belief system and ensure that it is in line with the Bible. We must adopt into our lives the principle of bearing fruit and growth. This is what our Lord Jesus desires of us (John 15:1-6). When we bear much fruit our Heavenly Father is glorified and we truly exemplify our discipleship in our Lord Jesus (John 15:8). Do not settle for a life that does not grow and increase. Of course, do not rely on your own strength, always rely on Jesus within us and increase in every way in our lives both internally and externally.
Step Three – Hear & Assimilate, Obey & Act on Every Word of God
Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). All Christians know this verse but many do not practice it. Practicing this verse means:
- Every day waiting on God to hear His voice
- Without hearing His voice, one will die (just as one dies without food)
- Daily digesting what God has said
- Daily living our lives acting on what God has spoken
If we are not daily obtaining His word, then we are without food and dying of starvation. And our Lord Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice (John 10:27). And where we cannot hear God clearly, we still have the Bible which by reading one would find the daily nourishment of God’s principles and instructions which would guide our daily life. We should not be like the book of Judges where every man does what is right in his own eyes (Judges 17:5). This was what was done BEFORE they had the law given them (Deuteronomy 12:8). On top of this, we have an abundance of principles and teachings from our Lord Jesus in the New Testament that we can apply to our lives daily. And we have the assistance of the epistles which contain practical applications of Christ’s principles into our daily lives. Thus, whether we can or cannot hear God’s voice directly, we all have an abundance of Scriptures in which the voice of God still speaks through.
With that in mind, it should be obvious that every one who walks with God in every generation in every age, is required to obey God fully as much as we have assimilated God and His Scriptures into our lives. And out of the abundance of hearing God directly or indirectly, we are to take risks, after counting the cost, in order to expand, to grow, to increase, in every aspect of our internal and external life. It is still important to flow through the step of counting the cost, and understanding that to do nothing is fatal in itself; thus, we must arise and take risk after considering all things and go through whatever door God has set for us.
In a time of great famine in Israel as a result of being besiege, such that cannibalism was practiced, four lepers who were at the entrance of the city and also dying of starvation ask themselves the question, “Why are we sitting here until we die?” (2 Kings 6:28-30; 7:3). If they remain in the city, they would surely die of starvation, and if they go to the enemy camp, they risk being killed as Israelites (2 Kings 7:4). In the end, after evaluating their situation (counting the cost), they knew they had a hundred percent chance of dying of salvation by doing nothing but sitting around; but they had at least a slim chance of surviving the Syrian army, if they go there and beg for food. To their great surprise, when they reached the camp of the Syrian army, there was no one there but an abundance of clothes and food for God had caused the noise of a great army to caused them to flee in a hurry (2 Kings 7:6-7). The four lepers had an abundance of silver, gold, clothing and food (2 Kings 7:8). Finally, their conscience made them give the good news to the starving besieged city and the city was saved as according to the word of Elisha (2 Kings 7:1).
In this end time, doing nothing is like the lepers sitting at the city gate waiting to die. For death and destruction will surely come upon all the earth. Thus, God is calling His people to figuratively walk on water, AFTER hearing the command of the Lord to ‘Come!’ (Matthew 14:29). Whatever God has spoken to each of us, let us count the cost, then rely fully on the grace of God to enter boldly through the open door that God has prepared for us (Revelation 3:8). Boldly walk in the works that God has prepared for us before the foundation of the world, relying fully on His grace in us and upon us (Ephesians 2:8-10). Be bold, be strong, for the Lord our God is with us!