Why True Discipleship Will Cost You Everything—And Why It’s Worth It

Woven into the very fabric of this life for Jesus is the facet of commitment. It is a deep, life-changing, heart-developing commitment that is required of us as servants of the Lord. There is no less than a full giving over of oneself in holy commitment.

As the church in decades past has moved toward self-help and self-will, we have stepped away from the core concept Jesus embraced, lived, and taught. In our efforts to produce disciples, we have left out the foremost ingredient that Jesus preached. We want men and women to feel loved, cared for, and to have a sense that life will become better; and all of these things are true. However, at the center of it all is a core truth and anchor of our souls that, if neglected, will produce nothing more than frivolous disciples who are bent on following their own way rather than following the Master.

Jesus called each of us to a commitment so holy and all-encompassing that we would follow Him to the point of death. The fact that each of us must come to the point where we are willing to die for the Lord is the foundation of our ability to have a relationship with Him, built not upon what we gain, but upon who He is and what we are willing to give Him.

You cannot escape the level of commitment that Jesus requires. It is much more than a desire of His heart for us; it is the block that stabilizes every other stone. We often read of the Apostle Paul’s “pressing on” toward the goal, which makes for a great message about never giving up. However, we fail to realize where this ability to move forward in life really comes from. His strength was rooted in sacrifice, and his might was built upon the weakness of surrender.

Surrender to what? To the Lord. To follow Jesus so closely that all other loves are lost in the beauty of His presence. To follow Jesus to the depths of a relationship that demands nothing less than “all.” Paul came to understand, probably better than most, the relational dependence of commitment and the sacrifice it demands.

Paul speaks of this in the book of Philippians.

Philippians 3:7-11 NKJV

[7] But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

Friend, can I ask you what you have counted as “loss” for Christ? Have you laid aside the intentions that were valuable to you? Have you sacrificed your wants and even your needs on the altar of your relationship with Jesus Christ? It is not a life that finds its own way that becomes most valuable. In stark contrast, the life of greatest value is one in which its possessor willingly lays it down to gain something far more precious.

Paul understood that the God-kind of life comes with a hefty price. His life in us grows as we give. As we give of ourselves, He takes more and more of our hearts until we become consumed by Him. The ultimate goal is that Jesus owns it all. All that I am and ever hope to be are sacrificed to the will of the Father in full commitment, and until we can come to this place, we have not yet arrived at the point of our highest calling and fullest potential.

The Apostle Paul understood that commitment comes from knowing. It is in the knowledge of Jesus and in the experience of His actual presence that we develop a commitment that gives all.

[8] Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

To fully commit to one thing means that I must leave behind all the others. I cannot hold onto what has been most dear to my heart and still count Jesus as the most precious One to my soul. He must become my One Thing. He must become my first love. He must become the One who has access to my heart in ways that no other will ever possess.

This is part of the great secret of commitment and the reason why we never seem to progress past a certain point in our walk with God. Paul wanted to be “in” Christ.

[9] and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

The law represents what we can do. It illustrates how well we can serve God through our own self-effort. Commitment, on the other hand, means laying down my life in pursuit of something greater than what I can accomplish on my own. For the believer, commitment means giving our all, and in that giving, we gain immeasurable access to the Lord that comes in no other way.

[10] that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, [11] if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

This is the same message that Jesus preached. Commitment is the message of the Gospel and the missing ingredient in our inability to host a move of God. If we desire to host a move of the Holy Spirit that covers sin, destroys addictions, and breaks down idols, healing families and individuals while changing hearts, it begins with committing to die to ourselves so the life of Jesus can flow.

Jesus offers only resurrection life. By definition, this means that He comes into people who have chosen to die.

Scripture says something profound about this gospel message in First Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV

[18] For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The cross is the implement of death but the source of life. For those who do not yet follow Jesus, this is impossible to understand. You cannot conceive it in your mind. That’s why we don’t try to simply persuade others about the love of God; instead, they must be introduced to the presence of Jesus. When you come into His presence, you begin to feel His love, and it transforms your heart. What once seemed foolish now stands as the highest wisdom you could ever know. It is the power of God to transform, and it comes through the sacrifice of commitment.

Hear the gospel that Jesus preached.

Matthew 16:24-26 NKJV

[24] Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. [25] For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. [26] For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

The message of the gospel is commitment unto death that births life.

The paradox is that we cannot fully commit to this kind of sacrifice on our own. It only comes with the help of God. Therefore, the Lord requires something of us that we are unable to fulfill unless we remain in relationship with Him. It is His Holy Spirit that enables us to sacrifice all we are in order to obtain all He is.

Holy commitment is birthed from living in the secret place with God. Commitment is presence-based. When you know Jesus, you will desire to follow Jesus. When you know Jesus on the deepest levels, you will pick up a cross alongside Him and carry it up a hill, knowing that the end of your journey leads to what appears to be loss to the world, but in the losing of one life, a greater life is gained. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Please hear a prophetic word the Lord placed in my heart about this:

“In the secret place is where I reveal Myself and give My heart. My desire, My creativity, the answer of My heart is given to My people in the secret place. I long to reveal My heart to My people. In the revealing of Myself and My presence, commitment rises because My people come to know Me for themselves. They sense My presence, and taste My power, and know that I am real. When a man walks with Me, he knows Me, and once you know Me, I have your heart.”

Please understand, salvation is free. Jesus paid the cost. But there is a deeper level in the Lord that we are called to. I want you to remember that it is not what we DO for the Lord that matters to Him most. Our heart, given to Him in relationship through prayer, seeking His face, devouring His word, and the release of His Holy Spirit and presence into us through worship—these are the facets of relationship that He cares for most.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus describes what matters to Him—relationship.

Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV

[21] “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. [22] Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ [23] And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Remember, the Apostle Paul teaches us that knowing Jesus requires the sacrifice of commitment.

There is a high cost to obtaining the anointing of the Lord upon your life in greater and greater degrees.

Not all will pay or be willing, but those who come close to Him will find the treasure of their hearts.

This commitment comes from sacrificing our time, our efforts, our desires, and anything else that would keep us from simply being with Christ. Remember that Scripture declares about the apostles: people took note that they had been with Jesus.

What we must come to understand again is that commitment to Jesus will cost us our lives. Whether we live or die, it always costs us our life. The Bible declares this plainly in the book of Philippians.

Philippians 1:19-21 NKJV

[19] For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, [20] according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. [21] For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Jesus is again asking for His church to rise up with boldness in this hour. We are to begin desiring His presence more than we ever have before. He is releasing Kingdom power to do Kingdom work, and it begins with relationship. To become a vessel used by the Lord—one who truly inherits the goodness of God to the greatest degree—will require nothing less than death.

The gospel of eternal life begins with sacrificial death. Jesus showed us how this works. In His hour of deepest need, Jesus chose to spend time with His Father in prayer. He gathered His dearest friends and said, “Watch with me.” In this sacred moment, Jesus poured out His life to the Father in a way that was deeper than ever before. Essentially, Jesus died to His own will before He could be used as the vessel that would purchase our freedom through His sacrifice.

The Gospel of Luke records this private moment between the Son and His Father.

Luke 22:39-46 NKJV

[39] Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. [40] When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” [41] And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, [42] saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” [43] Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. [44] And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. [45] When He rose up from prayer and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. [46] Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

When the scripture uses the word “agony,” it refers to “the trembling excitement and anxiety produced by fear or tension before a wrestling match or a fight” (CWSB commentary). The Strong’s Enhanced Dictionary defines it as a struggle for victory, encompassing gymnastic exercise, wrestling, and severe mental struggles and emotions, agony, and anguish.

These are the emotions that Jesus expressed in sacrifice to His Father. His personal sacrifice of commitment produced His highest calling—the sacrifice He became on the cross, dying in our place for our sins. The Bible says that Jesus became sin for us.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

[21] For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The Passion Translation of Scripture sheds even more light on this precious verse.

2 Corinthians 5:21 TPT

[21] For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with Him.

Our union with Jesus begins with His presence being revealed in our lives, giving us the strength to lay down our lives for Him. Just as the angel strengthened Jesus, the Holy Spirit reveals the presence of Jesus to our hearts, empowering us to do the impossible—submit to death.

Full commitment means: We die to ourselves. We die to our wills (as Jesus did). We prepare our hearts to be obedient unto death to receive the crown of life. Sometimes death comes naturally and flows from a long, faithful life. For others, this death comes at the hands of persecution as they preach the message of the Gospel. Still, others will simply lay down their wills in pursuit of something far greater—The Lord Himself.

Commitment is the message of the Gospel.

Commitment is the price of relationship.

Commitment is a continual death to self and a continual birthing of life toward God.

I feel the Lord asking:

“Will you lay down everything so that you can follow Me? Will you pick up your cross? Will you allow My presence to draw you into a place of sacrifice that releases My highest purpose for you? Will you commit to coming into My presence, through prayer and My Word, until I form Myself in your heart and your will dies so that My will can live?”

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