Disciple

Luke 14: 25-35

²⁵A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them,²⁶“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. ²⁷And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

²⁸“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? ²⁹Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. ³⁰They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’

If.

Then.

IF I want to be a disciple of Jesus…THEN I must essentially hate everyone (including myself).

That doesn’t sound like the bible at all, does it? How many sermon series are centered around this passage of scripture? How often is it shared and liked on social media? Regardless, it is written, in redlettering. There is a cost that is required to follow Him. There is a cost and a cross.

It’s our choice, however.

IF…..

Then.

I’m currently in a “then” season.

I answered another “if” question 7 years ago. The Lord spoke to me in the secret place: “I’m removing your tent pegs….and sending you to a new land (Florida).” (read about it here: https://deepintothewater.com/2020/11/18/uprooting/) I must admit, I didn’t respond with great faith in the beginning, as Mary did when the angel told her she would conceive the Savior of the world by the power of the Spirit. Instead, I asked a slew of questions,

“What about my husband?

What about our kids?

What about our family?

What about our house?”

Still, the Lord was gracious. He gave me the gift of time and testing to build my faith. He gave me the gift of time and testing to count the cost. He gave me the gift of time and testing to face my fear of man. He gave me the gift of time and testing to confront the lies of the enemy. He gave me the gift of time and testing to receive the Father’s perfect love. He gave me the gift of time and testing to obey the Lord. He gave me the gift of time and testing to follow His Spirit.

IF I wanted to be a disciple…THEN I had to count the cost of my relationships:

My husband initially rejected God’s call to go (which felt like personal rejection).
Our children initially rejected God’s call to go (ditto to the above).
Our family & friends initially rejected God’s call to go (ditto, again).

IF I wanted to be a disciple…THEN I had to pick up my cross:

We closed the ministry we planted and pioneered for more than a decade.

IF I want to be a disciple…THEN I have to follow Him to Florida:

I have to leave my friends and family.
I have to leave the house we’ve poured blood, sweat and tears in to remodel.
I have to leave some of our possessions.

The cost, however, pales in comparison to the reward of knowing the One who has called me by name. To the One who ran out to meet me when I came home to Him. To the One who healed and delivered me from sin. To the One who filled me with Himself.

There must be a call.

There must be a cost.

There must be a cross.

IF we leave everything….AND follow Him, we will see His plan, His promise, and His provision fulfilled in our lives. I’m living proof of it, my friend! His Word has NOT returned void. He said He would take care of all these things to fulfill His promise, including answering my prayer to sell our house, supernaturally.

“Lord, would you pleeeeeease just send someone over to buy our house?”

Yep.

He did.

Our next-door neighbor referred her sisters family.

They came over, walked through, sat and talked with us …and later made an offer.

The rest, as they say, is history.

He’s calling you, my friend. Can you hear Him? He wants an intimate, deep, abiding relationship with you. THAT is the ONE THING He is after: your heart. Do you know Him? Does He know you? IF you want to be His disciple…THEN you must consider the cost to leave your family, your nets, your boats and follow Him.

Trust me, HE is worth it!

Matthew 4:18-22

¹⁸One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁹Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ²⁰And they left their nets at once and followed him.

²¹A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. ²²They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

John 15:1-8 New Living Translation

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

⁵“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.⁶Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Seven years ago, during an encounter with the Lord, I heard the Spirit saying He was uprooting our family- and sending us to a new land (Genesis 2:1-9).

With prophesy, God requires His people to persevere through a process in order to receive His promise. This principle of scripture has proven yet again to be true in my life. I would like to say that I am always willingly to submit to the suffering that is required in enduring, but I’m still immature. My childlike nature often gets the best of me, and in my impetuousness, I try to run ahead of God’s timing. So, when I heard from the Lord in 2013, I immediately announced to my husband, “we’re moving! NOW!” He wasn’t convinced. Nor was he motivated to submit to my timeline (thank God!).

The process continued.

Did I mention it’s been seven years?! (Obviously, the fruit of patience still has opportunity to grow in me). Yet, as I’ve reflected on all that God has done in the waiting, now I SEE that He that began a good work in me will see it to completion (Philippians 1:6). God has been faithful. Even when fear tried to consume me. Even when I doubted. Even when I pouted. Even when I threw a fit in the prayer room. Even when I argued with my husband about who/what/when/where/why. Even when others thought I was crazy.

God has been faithful to His word.

In prayer.

In dreams.

In prophesies.

In circumstances.

In meetings.

One particular meeting in 2015 proved to be a significant puzzle piece that brought clear vision to WHERE the Lord was sending us (He told us the state 7 years ago, but not the city). It was on a diverted flight from North Carolina to Florida. My man and I were traveling with another couple to attend our friends vow renewal ceremony. Our flight from RDU (Raleigh Durham International) was delayed….delayed… cancelled. After pursuing the ticket agent for more options (they originally rebooked us for the following day), my man secured another flight for us on another airline, compliments of his frequent flyer status. Without knowing it, he had walked right into the will of God! After making it to Atlanta, the 4 of us boarded our final flight to VPS (Destin-Fort Walton). I was seated beside our friends. My man willingly took the seat beside a stranger. Before buckling up, I glanced at the gentleman that would be my man’s travel companion for the duration of our flight. He smiled. I returned the smile, but my eyes were immediately drawn to the worn-out bible he was holding. (You know those sonic boom moments- when you know that something is getting ready to hit in the supernatural??? Yep. Spirit. BOOM!) That man struck up a conversation with my man. (I tried eavesdropping but we were seated at the back of the aircraft so I couldn’t hear over the roar of the engines!!!) Before departing company, he handed us a book. As we deplaned, I laughed out loud when I read the title, “I See a New Prophetic Generation.”

The man was Jeremiah Johnson.

https://jeremiahjohnson.tv

We had no idea who he was. But God did. It was all part of His plan to transplant us.

After devouring that book, I ordered everything Jeremiah had in print. I read whatever I could find about the church, HOTFM (Heart of the Father Ministry) he helped plant in 2010. I attended a JJM prophetic conference in Charlotte, NC with one of my spiritual mommas (2017). My man and I became partners the following year (2018). We were invited to join a Partners Retreat in the mountains of NC the next year (2019), where we met several couples from HOTFM. Later that same year we met even more families when attending a service at Heart of the Father Ministry (on the way back to the car that day, our son unknowingly prophesied, “let’s move here!”). This year, during a repeat visit to HOTFM, one of those couples prayed and prophesied, “divine appointments” (the Lord spoke the exact same phrase through Jeremiah when he prayed over us the year before).

You can’t make this stuff up, people!!!

God continued to confirm what He said through multiple dreams I had, beginning in 2014 (too many to mention here). He also interrupted other people’s sleep to speak to us too! In 2018, another confirmation came through a woman in my small group, when she prophesied during a meeting. She saw in the Spirit that I was root bound. The Lord said I had experienced tremendous growth in the container I was currently planted in, but I was out of room. He was uprooting me. He was going to transplant me into a new container.

I am NOT a landscaper, but I have spent enough time learning from my expert husband to know that the transplanting process is risky, but necessary for growth. When a plant is removed from its original container, the roots need to be pruned or cut in order to prepare it for growth in the new container. Initially, the plant goes through a period of shock in which its ability to thrive is tested. Good soil, plenty of water and sunshine, along with strong roots is required for the plant to survive the uprooting.

Uprooting. It’s where I currently find myself. The Lord is cutting roots that are dead or sucking the life out of healthy ones that need MORE soil, MORE sunshine, MORE water to produce MORE fruit! The process of being prepared for MORE is painful. Obedience always is.

Preparing requires:

Leaving our parents.

Leaving our extended family.

Leaving our spiritual family.

Leaving our friends.

Selling our home.

Selling our possessions.

Closing our ministry.

Closing our homeschool.

Uprooting. It’s a process the Lord is requiring for our entire family. In the midst of the global Covid-19 crisis, God said, “NOW is the time.” My man and I agreed with Him. The kids agreed with Him (all of them). And so… I am excited to officially announce: the Bullard Pack is moving to Lakeland, FL!