Warrior Church Home Fellowship Study

Dr. Kevin Zadai 08-27-2023 -- 09-02-2023

Counting the Cost to Follow the Lord

"Once you've counted the cost to follow Jesus, you discover that He is who you've been searching for your whole life."

~Kevin Zadai

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, and upon finding a single pearl of great value, he went and
sold all that he had and bought it.
—Matthew 13:45–46 AMP

DISCUSSION:
I'm excited about the subject the Lord put on my heart for this week. We must be able to discern what's right when making decisions and learn to live according to God's standards. This week, we will discuss the importance of counting the cost to follow the Lord.

TOTALLY DEPENDING ON THE LORD
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.
—Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT

In a particular situation, Jesus instructed Kathi and me to leave everything to follow Him. We had to make some profound decisions that caused us to walk away from our plans and even give away all of our belongings. When Jesus spoke to me, I had to totally depend upon Him. We ended up selling our dream house in Seattle, where we thought we would retire and live the rest of our lives, and moved to New Orleans, where we reside today. We gave away everything in the house, including furniture, clothes, and even our car. Kathi and I walked away from everything because the Lord told us to and instructed us not to take anything. The Lord reminded me of the Pearl of Great Price passage in the Bible. Matthew 13:45–46 explains that the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls; when he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it.

Kathi and I counted the cost and decided to continue with the Lord; we chose to follow His standard and do whatever He asks. I had to realize that if God said to walk away from something, it was completely worth it. Because I had sold everything and "bought the pearl of great price," Jesus said, "You're going to receive everything in return." He told me that pearl was Himself. We had discerned that Jesus was completely worth it; He was the pearl of great price, and we decided to sell everything to follow Him. Since we were obedient and came to New Orleans, we have seen incredible miracles from that decision.

If you want to be My disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters— yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be My disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple. But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?
—Luke 14:26–28 NLT

"Yes," Jesus replied, "and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for My sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life."
—Mark 10:29–30 NLT

o Discuss what it means to count the cost of following Jesus.

DELIGHT IN THE LORD AND ALIGN WITH HIS WILL
Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of
your heart.
—Psalm 37:4

Once you've counted the cost to follow Jesus, you discover He is who you've been searching for your whole life. It is also essential to understand that God's plan for your future is written in Heaven. When you delight in the Lord, your heart aligns with His. Then, you find that your destiny includes the things you hold dear to your heart. When the Lord tells you what He wants you to do, remember that is your assignment and hold on to it. I want you to realize that what you desire the most in life is Jesus. In addition to your relationship with Him, you must discern that He wrote a book about you before you were born, including all the details of everything that He wanted you to do in this life.

You saw who You created me to be before I became me! Before I'd ever seen the light of day, the number of days You planned for me were already recorded in Your book.
—Psalm 139:16 TPT

We know that Jesus is the pearl of great price in the biblical parable. Consider how when merchants find choice pearls for sale, they discern the value, yet the seller may not even know what a precious treasure they have. The merchants don't let on that they know how much it's worth so that they can purchase it. Have you ever seen a great deal and kept secret how good of a find it was because you wanted to go back and buy it? The point is that there are times when we need to discern that Jesus is that pearl of great price, but we also need to treasure what He has written about us. The plans He has for us to accomplish here on earth benefit everybody.

From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], jointed and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in [unselfish] love.
—Ephesians 4:16 AMP 

When we each individually obey God, the entire body of Christ benefits. I am depending upon you to be faithful in your life because we're all tied together. Our decisions affect others, such as when we discern that the Lord is a Person who is the pearl of great price. Many people don't discern Him that way.

Warrior Church Home Fellowship Study

Dr. Kevin Zadai 08-27-2023 -- 09-02-2023

It's interesting that when I received this revelation, a shift took place inside of me where I died to my own desires. When I sought and obtained Jesus, something flipped inside me that changed everything, not only in me, but around me. It affected my entire life and started to impact the people around me. It became a domino effect up to the present day; now, what God has done in my life is influencing many people. The same applies to you as well.

Everything written about you is a pearl of great price, too. When you embrace Jesus as your treasure, then decide to let go of everything and invest all that you are into fulfilling His will, something flips inside you; you will find yourself doing what's in the book written about you.

When you choose Jesus, discern Him, and do everything to obtain Him, something shifts inside of you that causes you to influence people around you. Then you start to see the destinies of others being fulfilled as well. Choosing Jesus and giving your life to Him is one thing, but discerning your spiritual inheritance is the next level. In the body of Christ, many people have received the Lord, but only a few discern what He has placed within them. There are even fewer who actually manifest the life of Christ from within them to where they influence others. You must get to a place where it's flipped inside you—you discern what you have—so you start influencing others. It's important to understand that your value is tied to others; therefore, it must transfer.

TRANSFERRING OUR INHERITANCE TO THE NEXT GENERATION

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

—Proverbs 13:22

The inheritance you leave to your children, grandchildren, and the next generation must be profound. Warrior Notes could hand off a deeply impactful legacy—a move of the Spirit, modes of operation in the Spirit, and tools through the media and revelation that has been given. We can transfer that to the children so they can carry it even further and influence another generation; it could be done so quickly compared to previous generations.

Discovering the Lord is our foundation, yet the subsequent levels are knowing what we have within us, then imparting it to the next generation.

• The body of Christ has gone through a process of discovering our spiritual inheritance through the different movements of the Spirit.

• For example, we had the Word of Faith movement, which taught about our "positional inheritance," so we've seen an emphasis on faith.

• This next move is allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest in us so that we can impart to others through revelation; this is how we will see maturity and unity in the faith.

• In our day, we must see the manifestation of God's love, along with supernatural provision, health, and relationships.

• Walking in an intimate relationship with God, we will see many miracles in people's lives, including healing through laying on hands and prophecy.

• People who have discerned Christ in them and their inheritance take it to the next step of imparting to others. This seems to be the most challenging part of the process, even though it's actually the easiest; it's all about yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Think about where you are in these phases of the progression of maturity we have discussed. Have you discerned that Jesus is the Person you must love, surrender, and adhere to? Are you at the phase where you also discern what you have as an inheritance? Or maybe you are in the third phase, where you're getting to the place where you must manifest. In other words, the Spirit must be able to vocalize and express Himself through you to influence others; you are called to leave an inheritance to the next generation.

PRAYER:

Father, thank You so much for all my family all over the world. Kathi and I pray that the Holy Spirit would be able to come and manifest amid the hardship and complexity of people's lives and help them to discern the truth. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will have His way, announcing deliverance, healing, and supernatural provision in every individual's life. Father, we give You permission to move by Your Spirit. Send Your angels to expedite Your will by doing Your bidding. Thank You, Lord, for performing supernatural acts through the Holy Spirit, the angels, and by the blood of Jesus. Thank You, Father, for manifesting Your Spirit and Your word, in Jesus's name, amen.

1. According to Matthew 13:45–46, how should we discern Jesus, and what should our response be?

2. Discuss Dr. Zadai's revelation that something flips inside you when you discern Jesus as the pearl of great price. What happens when you allow that shift to take place in your heart?

3. According to Psalm 139:16, a book of destiny is written about each of us in Heaven. How does this revelation impact the way we invest our time and resources?

4. We are not only called to know the Person of Jesus, but also the inheritance that God has in us. What does the Holy Spirit want to do through us to impact our generation?

5. Discuss the three phases of the progression of maturity according to this study. What phase do you see yourself in?