ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE?

ADVERSITY HAS ADVANTAGES
TIMES OF GENERAL CALAMITY AND CONFUSION HAVE EVER BEEN PRODUCTIVE OF THE GREATEST MINDS. THE PUREST ORE IS PRODUCED FROM THE HOTTEST FURNANCE, AND THE BRIGHTEST THUNDERBOLT IS THE ONE ELICITED FROM THE DARKEST STORM. (CALEB COLTON).
WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT THE DOOR TO OPPORTUNITY SWINGS ON THE HINGES OF OPPOSITION. AND DON'T EVER FORGET THAT PROBLEMS ARE THE PRICE OF PROGRESS. THE OBSTACLES OF LIFE ARE INTENDED TO MAKE US BETTER NOT BITTER.

ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE?
I HAVE COME TO REALISE THAT THERE’S NO SUCCESS WITHOUT PAYING THE PRICE. LIFE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE SMOOTH SO I MUST LEARN TO COPE WITH THE LOWS’ AFTER EXPERIENCING AND ENJOYING THE HIGHS’.
Text: Matt 8:28-34 & 2 Sam 24:24
Here Jesus is in Gadara, as it is called today. The people living here were from the tribe of Gad. In the Old Testament, when the land was being divided up among the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Gad stayed on the wrong side of the Jordan River. What happened to them? They went into the pig business, which, as Jews, they should not have done. Once you disobey the Lord, the next step of disobedience is not so difficult. Before long you are walking out of His way and His will altogether.

When Jesus entered into this country, He was met by two men possessed with devils. “Devils” is an unfortunate translation. The word properly and literally is demons. These were dangerous men, demon-possessed men.
29 – 34. What have we to do with thee …? They reacted with resentment at Jesus’ intrusion into their realm, meaning “What is there in common between us?” Their reference to Him as the Son of God indicates that the demons were fully aware of who Jesus was, and their question about being tormented before the time also indicates that they were aware of why He had come to earth. While the demons seemed to understand that they will ultimately come under the judgment of God, here their concern seems to be that of a premature suffering (Gr basanizoµ). The reference to a herd of many swine draws attention to the fact that they were being kept illegally by Jews who were living in this gentile region. Swine were considered unclean by the ordinances of the Mosaic Law. The whole herd … perished. This is Jesus’ only recorded miracle that was destructive in nature. The fact that Jesus granted the demons’ request was because of His concern for the man. The spiritual principle in this incident is that those who are deliberately disobedient (as was the case of the pig-breeders) deprive themselves of divine protection and place themselves at the mercy of the forces of evil. Certainly, losing the herd of pigs, which was unlawful in the first place, was insignificant when compared to the man’s gaining his deliverance.
The entire city turned out to see what had happened. There is an impressive statement in Mark that, upon coming to Jesus, they saw the demoniac "sitting and clothed and in his right mind" (Mar_5:15). Here was their opportunity to recognize true values, the value of persons above the material, and to rejoice with those who were delivered. But the loss in their business, the destruction of the herd of swine, was too great for them to see the movement of God in their midst. Consequently, they made a choice between (1) their way of life and (2) the person and ministry of Jesus; they entreated Jesus to depart from them!

This is a graphic illustration of the choice between the values of the kingdom and the materialism of the world. The pigs had perished and what did it matter to the people that two men were made whole if their economy was now in recession? This is human selfishness in its most blatant expression. But it is not foreign to our times, for the needs of the Third World, the plight of the hungry and starving, (especially children), do not appear to be as high on our agenda as safeguarding our own economic privileges, spending millions to reach the moon, trillions on arms and weapons of mass destruction all in the name of defense and security. And this is true of the church, where we speak so deliberately about "protecting our security" without a commensurate concern for the well-being of our brothers in other parts of the world. It was Bishop Zulu of Zululand who said in Pretoria, South Africa, "What is wrong with the Church today is that she has something else on her agenda which she has elevated above the will and person of Christ."
- Jesus came on the scene and found a serious problem – two men possessed with demons

terrorized an entire community.
- Jesus saved this city from that constant threat by setting these men free,
- But Jesus received an unusual level of rejection. Leave our city, in other words “Save us/solve our problems but don’t interfere with our pigs.” Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Be willing to pay the price. It will cost you to follow Jesus with all your heart, but HIS grace is sufficient for you.