The Cost of Going All the Way with God, 4

by David Wilkerson

3. You Will Be Stoned

If you hold fast your commitment to Jesus, even in the face of being rejected and cast out, the same man-centered majority will stand ready to stone you: "And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). Who stoned Stephen? The most prestigious religious council of the day (see Acts 6:12). Stephen stood against the entire religious system.

Here was Stephen, a man who had his eyes fixed on Jesus yet who was hated by men who supposedly loved God...what was it about this righteous man that so angered the religious multitudes? (see Acts 7:54). It was that he preached truth that cut them to the heart (see Acts 7:51, 53). It was no different for Joshua and Caleb in the story of the spies told in Numbers 13-14. The Israelites wanted to stone them for calling upon the people to go all the way with God into the land of Canaan.

Why would a call to obedience provoke such a reaction? Because compromise and unbelief go hand in hand. Once the heart is captured by an idol or lust, unbelief takes hold. And after that happens, all preaching against compromise grates on one's conscience; that person ends up fighting God, even while blindly confessing His name.

I believe that, like Stephen, we can say, "I see heaven open!" Like Joshua and Caleb and Moses we can warn, "Don't rebel against the Lord! We can have a clear vision of Jesus -- a cutting word of truth -- and we can be sure it will evoke the wrath of those uncircumcised of heart.

What Is Our Response?

How shall we react when rejected, cast out, and stoned? We shall follow the example of our Master, Jesus, the Lamb who "opened not His mouth." His actions say this to us: Do not call down fire out of heaven upon those who heap abuse on you. "Pray for those who spitefully use you" (Matthew 5:44). "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure" (1 Corinthians 4:12).

I have no sympathy for arrogant self-styled prophets who fight back, threaten or throw curses about... Humility is the mark of the soul who is totally dependent on Christ. That person has no spiritual pride, no hint of an attitude of exclusiveness.

You see, we face a cost for going all the way with Jesus, but we also will receive a reward: It is simply the blessing of having Christ stand with us. There are many other rewards as well, but I mention this one because it is all we will ever need.

The cost of following Christ was clear in the lives of these men of God -- and if we are going to be like our Master, than we must embrace this cost as well. Enduring it becomes a joy because Jesus promises to stand with us in every situation. And we can face anything when we know the Lord stands with us. So count the cost and know that your reward, in all things, is the precious presence of Jesus Christ.