Time to Pay Up

Our generation is in jeopardy of not realizing the value of what we have been given. We are living in houses we have not built, we are gleaning from vineyards we have not planted, and we are eating from fields that we did not plant.

1 Corinthians 6:20
20 For ye are bought with a price…
KJV

The Lord paid a price for us because we are most valuable to Him. He did so because it’s in His nature. His perfect love will not allow Him to be cheap about His purchase, therefore He paid for you and I with the highest payment He could give – His very life.

It is that aspect of God’s character that we must go after – the willingness to pay a price for something of value to you. Think about it, if something is valuable enough to someone, they will pay any price for it. Money is simply a means to an end. It’s what people to use get the “stuff” that they want. Therefore, when the desire for a particular thing is great enough, no price is too high. People will pay almost anything if they want something bad enough.

So what can we glean from that understanding? We can see that the value we place upon something is determined by how much we are willing to pay for it.

Ask yourself this question, have I paid a price for any of the spiritual heritage that has been handed to me? Have I paid a price for any of the foundation that I am standing upon? The answer will most likely be “no”. This is because it was the blood, sweat, and tears of the elders of past generations that have brought us to where we are today. We have been given a rich spiritual heritage.

We are blessed by truths that men have died for.

We attend a beautiful church that we did not build or pay for.

We have received opportunities in ministry because our spiritual forefathers have pioneered the way for us.

So what happens to our attitude about something that we have not paid for? How do we view things that have not cost us anything? With the help of God Almighty, we will not let slip the things that have been committed to our trust.

Look at the Apostle Paul’s admonishment to the church of Thessalonica:

2 Thessalonians 2:15
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
KJV

The disciples paid a full price as well.

Luke 5:27-28
27 And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.
28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him.
KJV

Matthew 4:19-20
19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
KJV

The disciples left “all” to follow Jesus, and they did it immediately upon the call of Christ. The moment they heard the words, “Follow me”, they acted. They walked away from both family and careers to be used of God. This would not be the last time they would pay a price.

• Peter ended up being crucified upside down.
• James was killed with the sword.
• Andrew was crucified
• Bartholomew was beaten then crucified. Some say he was flayed to death by a whip.
• James, the son of Alphaeus, was stoned to death or was thrown off the Southeast pinnacle of the temple and landed 100 ft. below. History records that when they discovered that he survived the fall, they clubbed him to death.
• James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded
• John was boiled in oil and when he did not die was exiled to the Isle of Patmos
• Judas (not Iscariot) was stoned to death
• Matthew was speared to death or killed with a sword
• Mark was dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead
• Luke was hanged
• Philip was crucified
• Simon Zelotes “the zealot” was crucified
• Thaddeus was stoned to death
• Thomas was speared to death
• Matthias was stoned and then beheaded
• Jude, the brother of Jesus, was killed with arrows
• Barnabas was stoned to death
• Paul the Apostle was beheaded

95% of the great heroes of faith that we read about in the New Testament paid for their ministry and their revival with their lives.

I read about the Apostolic forefathers from our modern times:

• Brush arbor meetings with sawdust floors

• Pentecost used to be on the “other side of the tracks”. People were laughed at, mocked, and ridiculed for being Pentecostal, Oneness believers.

• I’ve heard stories of C.P. Kilgore, James Kilgore’s father, taking his wife and 10 children with him to preach. They would sleep in old mechanic’s garages on pallets on the dirt floor between services.

• Or men like Mark Baughman, who evangelized in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Pulling into towns to preach with only 50 cents in his pocket. Preaching on street corners, or in tents, staying up all night praying, and working all day bailing hay in the heat, and then going to church to preach at night. They would walk miles to go to prayer meeting and have to come home in the dark without a car.

• Or Bro. Arthur Downing preaching with patches on his suit because he couldn’t afford a new one.

• These men had revivals without AC, or sound systems, or vehicles, or nice buildings. They had revival that was built upon personal sacrifice, prayer, much fasting, and a genuine outpouring of the Holy Ghost.

Our generation is a thankless one. We live in a time where people believe the world owes them something, and they walk around with that attitude. This spirit and attitude cannot be allowed into the church, and especially not into the lives and hearts of this generation of ministry.
There is some truth to the statement that you do not value something much unless you have paid for it yourself.

The best way for us to learn to value what we have is to begin paying a price for it…now. Because if we have not paid for something, that means we do not yet own it.