Count the Cost

*This message is from Greg Laurie w/ Harvest Ministries

God's Pop Quizzes

"And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it? . . ."

— Luke 14:27-28


Evangelist John Wesley said, "Give me a hundred men who love God with all of their hearts and fear nothing but sin, and I will move the world." I think that is still true today. God is looking for men and women who will love Him more than anyone or anything else.

God will bring tests into our lives to find out if we are really His disciples, if we are really going to stand tough. It's easy to mouth the concepts we find in Scripture. It's easy to say we believe those things. But what about when we really need to walk by faith and not by sight or by feeling? What about when we need to really trust the Lord? God will bring pop quizzes into our lives.

I remember when I was in school and my heart would always sink when the teacher would stand up and say, "We are going to have a pop quiz today. I didn't tell you it was coming, but get out a piece of paper, because I am going to test you."

God tests us too. So if you are looking for a life of ease with no conflict or sacrifice, then the life of a disciple is not for you. But let me also add that if you don't want to be a disciple, then you don't want to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. Because, as I have often pointed out, this is normal Christian living. And anything short of this is abnormal.