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DENY SELF
The following teaching is a message that is seldom taught in today’s churches. It is a message that some carnal or lukewarm Christians may have problems receiving. It is a message of total surrender to God. It is a message of obeying God and walking by faith. It is a message of presenting yourself to God as a living sacrifice. It is a message of saying to God, "Lord, I am bought for a price. I am Your purchased possession. You redeemed me. I am Yours. Use me. Do with me as You want. I am totally and completely Yours. All I am, and all I have belongs to You. I will no longer walk by sight but will walk by total faith and trust in You for all things, no matter how difficult things appear to get. I am ready to do what You want. I am ready to go where You say. I am nothing of myself. My trust is totally in You, Lord Jesus."
Consider a person that comes to Christ by faith. He repents. He then comes to an altar and kneels. He takes out a large piece of paper and begins to write everything that he possesses on it. He makes a promise to God, he will forsake all these things. He signs the paper. God then speaks to him, telling him to tear up the paper. He doesn’t understand but obeys. God then speaks to him to take another paper and sign it. He asks God, "What shall I put on it before I sign it?" The Lord tells him, "Write nothing. Just sign the blank paper. I will fill it in." As time passed, little by little, God did fill it in. This man became a missionary. One day he found himself sick and dying on a road in
Many years passed. He thought back to the time when he was at the altar with a blank paper that he had signed, and God had told him, "I will fill it in." He had no idea what that had meant at the time, but now he did.
He gave up his worldly job. He gave up everything he had. But that was only the beginning. He had now learned what it meant to "follow Jesus." He had now learned that Satan would often try to deceive him in his submission to Jesus, by causing him to go to the left hand or the right hand with things that did not line up with the Scriptures. It had been a rough journey. It had been a tiresome race, but Jesus was with him all the way.
What God expects from each of His saints is this. Paul spoke these words before he was martyred: I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH-2 Tim
What God ultimately expects of each saint is to be totally sold out to Jesus in every way with an uncompromised love. Jesus is to be totally the center of our thinking and of our universe. It is written, Mark
It is written, Ro
A repentant, born-again saint is to follow Jesus. We are predestinated to be conformed to the image of Jesus. This means we are to yield to Jesus in every way. We are to yield to and obey God’s Word. We are not to seek their own will, but that of God. We are to be conformed (to be made like) (to bring into agreement) (to comply to and with) (to agree) (to be in accord with) (to be submissive to) (to have the same shape, goals, and thoughts) as Jesus. A repentant, born-again saint is to be in total harmony and in total submission to Jesus. This alone is not understood by many people.
Many want to do their own will, live their own life, work their own job, and live according to this world. This is not repentance. Also, if a repentant saint was conformed to Jesus, but then went to serve the world, he is backslidden and fallen. Any thing a repentant saint chooses to do that is not in harmony with or conforming to the Scriptures is a lack of conforming or submitting to Jesus. It is worldliness. It is carnality. It is a form of rebellion.
This concept of being totally conformed to Jesus is hated by most. It is seldom taught by preachers. Preachers seldom set the example they ought to, of doing this. They seldom teach a message like this one.
Not only is the repentant, born-again saint to be conformed to the image of Jesus, we also are to walk as Jesus walked. We are to be in total submission to Jesus and to His Word. Many say they are following Jesus, but they are doing things and walking in ways that are not as Jesus walked. They do things that Jesus would never do. They serve the world. They surrender to the world. This Jesus did not do.
God’s Word clearly tell us, I Jn
As Jesus is, so are we to be in this world. A repentant born-again saint is to be conformed to the image of Jesus. He is to walk even as Jesus walked. As Jesus is, so is the repentant saint in this world.
It is written, I Jn
Compromised, lukewarm, Christianity is Laodicean Christianity. It is not, however, the Christianity of God’s Word. The Christians that will be accounted worthy to be taken in the Rapture are those with a total, uncompromised commitment to Jesus. The rest will be left behind. Many of these can be expected to cry out and say, LORD, LORD, OPEN TO US. BUT HE ANSWERED AND SAID, VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, I KNOW YOU NOT-Mt 25:11,12.
Lk
These are compromising, lukewarm Christians. They were left behind. There were surprised. Could it be they were surprised, because their preachers taught them they could partake of this world and Jesus also? Could it be they were surprised, because they thought they could do their own will and the will of Jesus part time? Could the preachers be surprised that they were left behind, because they fully believed they could compromise in their walk with Jesus, but now found they were "dead" wrong?
God’s Word is loud and clear. AS JESUS IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.
In conforming to the image of Jesus and walking as Jesus walked, the repentant, born-again saint is admonished to lay aside sin and every weight, every obstacle, every hindrance—everything that in any way is hindering him from following Jesus. How can a person run a race with added weight on his back? Surely, he would lose the race; he would easily get tired and probably fall. We are to put off the things of this world, every weight, and run with patience the course that God has set before us. We are not to go back to the world and its ways. We are not to become involved in the affairs of this life. They are obstacles. They are weights. They are sin.
Heb
We are not to become involved in the affairs of this life for these are obstacles. They are weights. They are sin. As it is written, 2 Tim
Once we submit to Jesus, we become a soldier. We are in a war. It is written, Eph
6-DO NOT LIVE FOR SELF, LIVE UNTO GOD
The repentant, born-again saint is to be conformed to Jesus. We are to walk as Jesus walked. We are to lay aside every weight, including politics. We are to live unto God and not to ourselves. Such things as, "I want, I will, I shall, I desire," need to be crucified. A repentant, born-again saint is to be submitted to "live unto God" and unto God’s Word. We are no longer to live for this world and for "self." At the cross, we are to have died to selfishness and to our own will. The repentant born-again saint is to obey God in all things.
It is written, 2 Cor
Heb
7-SEEK NOT AFTER YOUR OWN HEART
The repentant, born-again saint is to be conformed to Jesus. We are to walk as Jesus walked. We are to lay aside every weight. We are to live unto God and not to our own self. We are to obey God and His Word.
The repentant, born-again saint is not to seek after or go after his own heart, eyes, or desires. The will of the Lord, which will always be in harmony with God’s Word, is the direction a repentant, born-again Christian is to seek.
It is written, Num
And if a repentant, born-again Christian gets snared by the devil through wrong thinking and goes into sin, then he needs to repent, separate himself, purge himself, flee from and overcome these things. This is done as a result of understanding and faith that leads to obedience.
2 Tim
Job 28:28-AND UNTO MAN HE SAID, BEHOLD, THE FEAR OF THE LORD, THAT IS WISDOM; AND TO DEPART FROM EVIL IS UNDERSTANDING.
Pv
Many are in hell, today. They may be crying, "No one ever told us these things." Friend, if you are reading or hearing this message, you can never say that no one ever told you these things; by the grace of God, God’s Word is telling you these things, right now. Beware, for the blindness in our hearts, prompted by Satan’s clever devices, can cause you to go astray. It is written, 1 Pe
Once a person has repented and become born-again, God gives him directions on how to win the battle or war against Satan’s cunning, deceptive devices. One of these directions is the following.
2 Cor
If a thought comes into your mind to sin, cast it down.
If adulterous thoughts come into your mind and you begin looking on a woman to lust after her, cast it down.
If a thought comes into your mind to get a job, after you have been called to full time service, such as study and teaching, cast it down.
If a thought comes into your mind to become involved in the affairs of this world, cast it down.
If a thought comes into your mind that in any way is contrary to God’s Word, cast it down.
If a thought comes into your mind not to get baptized after repentance, cast it down.
If any imagination or thought comes into your mind that is not in harmony with the Gospel, cast it down.
Cast down every high thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God’s Word.
Bring every thought and imagination you have into the obedience of God’s Word (the obedience of Christ).
Sin begins with a wrong thought. Going astray from God begins with a wrong thought. Then it grows, and your emotions become involved. The desires of your heart become involved. Beware. Obey this verse.
A repentant, born-again Christian must decrease. Pride must become humility. Boldness needs to become meekness. Boastfulness needs to become brokenness. Our assets can become liabilities. Our own power becomes a hindrance.
Mt
Our own wisdom is worthless. Indeed, the wisdom of the world is nothing with God.
It is written, 1 Cor
1 Cor
It is when we are at our weakest that God’s power shines forth. God takes a person that is nothing and makes him into something. God takes, what appear to be, impossible situations and turns them around for good. God takes the weakest of people that have no hope. When they have no hope in themselves, then their only hope becomes Christ. When their only hope becomes Christ, then He works miracles.
It is written, 2 Cor
For OUT OF WEAKNESS God’s people WERE MADE STRONG-Heb
It is written, 1 Cor
Jesus said, AMONG THEM THAT ARE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HATH NOT RISEN A GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST-Mt
Indeed, the question is asked, Ps
Jesus needs to become the center of our universe. Jesus needs to be the center of all our thinking. Jesus is to be all and all. We are His creation, bought with His blood. Jesus said, Jn
Again, it needs to be emphasized—WE MUST DECREASE. We are no longer the center of the universe. JESUS MUST INCREASE. He must become the center of our universe. Jesus is everything. We are nothing. We belong to Him. We cannot save ourselves. Our total dependence is to be centered by faith in the person of Jesus Christ.
A person that is seeking Jesus by faith is told the following.
Lk
FOR WHOSOEVER WILL SAVE HIS LIFE SHALL LOSE IT: BUT WHOSOEVER WILL LOSE HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE, THE SAME SHALL SAVE IT.
FOR WHAT IS A MAN ADVANTAGED, IF HE GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD, AND LOSE HIMSELF, OR BE CAST AWAY? Mk
The first part of verse 23 speaks to those that wish to be saved. It speaks to those that desire to follow Jesus. Jesus said, IF ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME.
Following this, Jesus tells those that want to come after Him to DENY themselves. This means that they are to forsake their worldly desires and ambitions. The "I want, I will, I shall" needs to be denied. It is a total self denial. It is saying no to self and yes to God. It is saying, NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE-Lk
Next, the person is to TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY. This is saying yes to God’s will. One is to totally crucify himself to the world and its ways and totally yield to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over him. We give up our rights to ourself and hand them over to Jesus as one bought for a price. The Christian is to be faithful. His cares about this life are to be handed over to Jesus by faith. This is to be done on a daily basis, not just now and then.
When a person was crucified by the Roman Empire, he was often required to carry his cross through the streets of the city on the way to the place where he would be crucified. This was viewed as an admission that he was wrong, and the Roman Empire was right. Thus, when Jesus talked of taking up one’s cross daily, He was showing those who follow Him to display publicly, before all, their belief that He was true and right; they were following Jesus even to their deaths. They were displaying publicly their submission and obedience to the authority of Christ. The Pharisees and Scribes and other religious leaders refused to do this. Carrying the cross is to admit that the one that hung on the cross is right. It is accepting, without reservations, the consequences that will come as a result of obeying God’s Word and bearing the cross of Christ. For nearly all, this will mean some form of suffering; for some, this will mean martyrdom.
The last part of this verse is, FOLLOW ME, which means to follow Jesus. As the apostles followed Jesus, the saints are also to follow Jesus. Our life, our attitude, our behavior, our fruits, our works, are all to reflect Christ. The repentant, born-again saint is to be conformed to Jesus. We are to walk as Jesus walked. We are to lay aside every weight. We are to live unto God and not to our own selves. We are to obey God and His Word. We are to decrease. Jesus must increase and become the totality of a person’s life. Paul said it with these words. Phil
As Jesus did not entangle Himself in the affairs of this world, so the saints, as His followers, are not to entangle themselves in the affairs of this world. As Jesus forsook everything, so the saints, as followers of Jesus, are to forsake everything. As the life of Jesus was totally yielded to the Father, so the saint’s life is to be totally yielded to Jesus. As Jesus is the Word, so the saints are to LIVE…BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDETH OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD-Mt
To follow Jesus is to yield to, obey, and follow the Word.
The overwhelming importance of these items is such that they are repeated in Mk
Mt
Mt
BUT WHEN THE YOUNG MAN HEARD THAT SAYING, HE WENT AWAY SORROWFUL: FOR HE HAD GREAT POSSESSIONS.
Mt
Lk
12-EXAMPLE AND RESULT OF FOLLOWING CHRIST
The teaching of following Jesus and not the world in this Laodicean church is, at best, only lukewarm. In most cases, preachers are silent on this subject. Many object to this kind of teaching, as it offends people and convicts them that they are not right in the eyes of God.
Levi was working his job. He was a tax collector. Jesus came to him and said, FOLLOW ME. Levi forsook his job, and it appears he forsook the taxes he collected and immediately began to follow Jesus. He forsook all to follow Jesus. He did not hesitate. He did not complain. He did not make excuses. He did not give his employer two weeks notice. He simply forsook all. He never went (or shrunk) back, but followed Jesus till his death. This is the kind of follower, a repentant, born-again Christian ought to be.
There are times when following Jesus that a person may have no place to lay his head. He may be in a foreign country, where it is hot and infested with mosquitoes carrying malaria.
When following Jesus, one never knows where he will be led. He could wind up in the deserts, clothed with camel’s hair.
Mk
Mt
Mt
Lk 1:80-AND THE CHILD GREW, AND WAXED STRONG IN SPIRIT, AND WAS IN THE DESERTS TILL THE DAY OF HIS SHEWING UNTO ISRAEL.
Mk
Consider. During the Tribulation, there will be no excuses. There will be very little, if any, time to grow in faith. When a person says yes to following Jesus, he immediately may have to flee for his live. Persecutions will be so intense that most will be martyred. If a person will compromise now in following Jesus through Satan’s cunning deceit, how much more will he compromise when his very life, or the life of his family are threatened. That horrible day is almost upon us. It is even at the doors. The lukewarm Christians of today will enter the Tribulation. A person that tries to serve both God and man is, at best, only lukewarm.
13-EXCUSES FOR NOT FOLLOWING JESUS
Lk
JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD: BUT GO THOU AND PREACH THE KINGDOM OF GOD. In other words, let those that are going to perish bury their dead. When God calls a person to preach the Gospel, there is no compromise. Nothing should come before obeying God. A repentant, born-again Christian should not allow any weight or obstacle to stop or delay him. Faith does not make excuses. Faith does not delay. Faith acts. Faith obeys.
AND ANOTHER ALSO SAID, LORD, I WILL FOLLOW THEE; BUT LET ME FIRST GO BID THEM FAREWELL, WHICH ARE AT HOME AT MY HOUSE.
AND JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, NO MAN, HAVING PUT HIS HAND TO THE PLOUGH, AND LOOKING BACK, IS FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. No man, that begins to follow Jesus but also looks back, as Lot’s wife did, is fit for the kingdom of God. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Once a person begins to follow Jesus (or puts his hand to the plough), he is not to look back. He is to be single-eyed, looking only to Jesus. When a person drives a car or rides a bicycle, if he keeps looking back, he could crash and possibly die. Such a person that is following Christ but keeps looking back, Jesus says, is not FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
The message of "selling all you have and following Jesus" has all but disappeared in America and much of the world. It is a hated message in a land that is prosperous, having much money and possessions. The thought of selling things and following Jesus has nearly disappeared. It has been replaced with compromise preaching, obtaining wealth, and prospering. There are "get rich quick" schemes even in today’s Christian churches and on Christian TV. There is much teaching that deceives people into believing God wants them to be rich. God’s Word presents a very different message than what is being promoted by many of today’s lukewarm, blind churches.
Lk
FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO.
Mk
AND JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, WHY CALLEST THOU ME GOOD? THERE IS NONE GOOD BUT ONE, THAT IS, GOD.
THOU KNOWEST THE COMMANDMENTS, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT KILL, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, DEFRAUD NOT, HONOUR THY FATHER AND MOTHER.
AND HE (the merchant) ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO HIM (Jesus), MASTER, ALL THESE HAVE I OBSERVED FROM MY YOUTH.
THEN JESUS BEHOLDING HIM LOVED HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, ONE THING THOU LACKEST: GO THY WAY, SELL WHATSOEVER THOU HAST, AND GIVE TO THE POOR, AND THOU SHALT HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN: AND COME, TAKE UP THE CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME.
AND HE WAS SAD AT THAT SAYING, AND WENT AWAY GRIEVED: FOR HE HAD GREAT POSSESSIONS.
AND JESUS LOOKED ROUND ABOUT, AND SAITH UNTO HIS DISCIPLES, HOW HARDLY SHALL THEY THAT HAVE RICHES ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
AND THE DISCIPLES WERE ASTONISHED AT HIS WORDS. BUT JESUS ANSWERETH AGAIN, AND SAITH UNTO THEM, CHILDREN, HOW HARD IS IT FOR THEM THAT TRUST IN RICHES TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
IT IS EASIER FOR A CAMEL TO GO THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE, THAN FOR A RICH MAN TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Satan has killed much of the Christian church with compromise preaching, and prosperity. As the Scriptures show us, the church age of today is the worst of all.
Jesus tells the repentant, born-again Christian, SELL THAT YE HAVE…FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO. SELL WHATSOEVER THOU HAST,…and COME, TAKE UP THE CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME. Satan tells us, "Buy, get more. It’s O.K. You can follow Jesus and prosper financially, also." Satan lies to us and contradicts the Word of God. He did it to Eve. Satan told Eve she would not die, if she ate of the fruit of the tree. She chose to believe Satan. She died. Satan tells Christians today in their thoughts, you can follow Jesus and also your lusts for more and more material things. Deceived Christians love to believe this. They do not want to hear the words of Jesus—SELL. Prosperity and riches have killed many Christians. They have fallen. Hell has many crying out in torment. If only people would listen to and believe God’s Word, rather than Satan’s lies that contradict God’s Word. Yet men’s hearts want the best of both this world and the world to come. Sad to say, when they die, they will then realize just how deceived they were. They chose to follow the desires of their own heart. They chose to believe the Scriptures meant something other than what was written. It cost them their very life for eternity. What gain is there, if a man gain the whole world, but lose his own soul. God tells YOU: SELL, PICK UP YOUR CROSS, FOLLOW JESUS.
The Scriptures give us many examples of selling all for Jesus. Here are a few.
Acts
AND WITH GREAT POWER GAVE THE APOSTLES WITNESS OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD JESUS: AND GREAT GRACE WAS UPON THEM ALL.
NEITHER WAS THERE ANY AMONG THEM THAT LACKED: FOR AS MANY AS WERE POSSESSORS OF LANDS OR HOUSES SOLD THEM, AND BROUGHT THE PRICES OF THE THINGS THAT WERE SOLD,
AND LAID THEM DOWN AT THE APOSTLES' FEET: AND DISTRIBUTION WAS MADE UNTO EVERY MAN ACCORDING AS HE HAD NEED.
AND JOSES, WHO BY THE APOSTLES WAS SURNAMED BARNABAS, (WHICH IS, BEING INTERPRETED, THE SON OF CONSOLATION,) A LEVITE, AND OF THE COUNTRY OF CYPRUS,
HAVING LAND, SOLD IT, AND BROUGHT THE MONEY, AND LAID IT AT THE APOSTLES' FEET.
16-SELL: DO NOT MAKE THESE EXCUSES OR DO THESE THINGS
It is common for a carnal, lukewarm Christian to say, "If I sell my things and quit my job, how shall I eat? Will people come and leave groceries on my doorstep? What will I wear?"
Jesus tells us, Lk
THE LIFE IS MORE THAN MEAT, AND THE BODY IS MORE THAN RAIMENT.
CONSIDER THE RAVENS: FOR THEY NEITHER SOW NOR REAP; WHICH NEITHER HAVE STOREHOUSE NOR BARN; AND GOD FEEDETH THEM: HOW MUCH MORE ARE YE BETTER THAN THE FOWLS?
AND WHICH OF YOU WITH TAKING THOUGHT CAN ADD TO HIS STATURE ONE CUBIT?
IF YE THEN BE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT THING WHICH IS LEAST, WHY TAKE YE THOUGHT FOR THE REST?
CONSIDER THE LILIES HOW THEY GROW: THEY TOIL NOT, THEY SPIN NOT; AND YET I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY WAS NOT ARRAYED LIKE ONE OF THESE.
IF THEN GOD SO CLOTHE THE GRASS, WHICH IS TO DAY IN THE FIELD, AND TO MORROW IS CAST INTO THE OVEN; HOW MUCH MORE WILL HE CLOTHE YOU, O YE OF LITTLE FAITH?
AND SEEK NOT YE WHAT YE SHALL EAT, OR WHAT YE SHALL DRINK, NEITHER BE YE OF DOUBTFUL MIND (or a wave in your faith).
FOR ALL THESE THINGS DO THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD SEEK AFTER: AND YOUR FATHER KNOWETH THAT YE HAVE NEED OF THESE THINGS.
BUT RATHER SEEK YE THE KINGDOM OF GOD; AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU.
FEAR NOT, LITTLE FLOCK; FOR IT IS YOUR FATHER'S GOOD PLEASURE TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM.
Can you receive God’s teaching, or do you hear Satan’s lying voice in your thoughts, saying, "God may do it for others, but He will not do it for you." Thus, you are like a wave in believing God’s Word.
17-DO NOT LAY UP TREASURES UPON EARTH
The repentant, born-again Christian is warned about laying up things upon this earth. It is contrary to God’s Word. It is sin.
It is written, Mt
BUT LAY UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES IN HEAVEN, WHERE NEITHER MOTH NOR RUST DOTH CORRUPT, AND WHERE THIEVES DO NOT BREAK THROUGH NOR STEAL:
FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO. The hearts of many people in this lukewarm, compromised church age is in their possessions, their job, their house, their education, their hobby, or some other thing. Their heart is split—they love Jesus, but they also love other things. Their devotion to Christ is divided.
Jesus warns us that we cannot serve this world and God. We cannot serve money and God.
It is written, Lk
A repentant born-again Christian is not to compromise. Jesus is to be the center of his universe, not the world. The lukewarm preaching of this last generation promotes compromise. Jesus is to be the Lord of all your life, or He is not the Lord at all. Warning: do not compromise with Jesus. KNOWING THE TERROR OF THE LORD WE PERSUADE MEN-2 Cor
It is written, Lk
HE BE OF YOU THAT FORSAKETH NOT ALL THAT HE HATH, HE CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE.
God forbid, so many preachers twist and try to distort this verse. They try to use other verses to make this verse of no effect. Many preachers say that this verse does not mean exactly what it says. There are modern-day Pharisees today, just as there were in the days of Jesus.
Becoming a true, repentant, born-again Christian can be costly. It can cost a person everything they have. Christians have lost their houses, employment, children, families, husbands, wives, arms, legs, eyes, and even their lives for following Jesus.
No possession, nothing of this world is to have a hold on us. This verse describes a total sacrifice.
A true, born-again Christian must be willing to give up everything for Jesus. First, Christians need to saturate themselves with God’s Word. They need to obey God’s word. They need to be ready to travel to the ends of the earth, if God calls them to do so.
It is written, WHOSOEVER HE BE OF YOU. This means everyone that chooses to follow Jesus.
The verse continues with these words, THAT FORSAKETH NOT ALL THAT HE HATH. Jesus wants all of us, not part. The Christianity of the Laodiceans does not understand total sacrifice. They do not understand forsaking everything for Jesus. Every aspect of a Christian’s life—his plans, his desires, his possessions, his emotions, etc.—even all things should be put under the Lordship of Jesus. Christians should count all things as lost.
The verse continues with these words, HE CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE. The word "disciple" actually means to be a Christian. A person that refuses to forsake all for Jesus will find he will not be taken in the Rapture. In America, many people would not give up their television for Jesus. Many would not give up their vehicle for Jesus. Neither would they give up their house or their job for Jesus. They would not give up their comfortable lifestyle for Jesus. Consequently, many will not be raptured and will wonder why.
If Jesus spoke to many Christians in the world, today, to immediately leave and forsake their families, their job, and their possessions to travel to a distant place to proclaim Jesus, they would refuse to go. As they would not forsake all for Jesus now, neither will they be invited to go on the ultimate trip when Jesus comes in the clouds to gather His saints.
The more a person has now, the less he usually wants to hear Scripture on forsaking all that he has for Jesus.
People that want eternal life need to consider the cost. That cost may be their very life. Those that inherit eternal life, during the time of the Tribulation, will understand the cost. The cost will be everything. They can expect the loss of their possessions, their families, their jobs; they may be brutally treated and finally beheaded. So few in this lukewarm, compromising generation that call themselves Christians have any understanding of what being a real Christian is. They are too busy buying, building, marrying, getting educated, and going about business as usual. They are totally oblivious that Christ is about to return to take those few that are sold out to Him and faithful. It is as Jesus said it would be. It is as in the days of Noah, and the days of Lot, when all flesh had compromised God’s ways, and the people loved to have it so.
Jesus tells us, Lk
What does forsaking all really mean? The following verses make it very clear.
Mt
AND JESUS SAID UNTO THEM, VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT YE WHICH HAVE FOLLOWED ME, IN THE REGENERATION WHEN THE SON OF MAN SHALL SIT IN THE THRONE OF HIS GLORY, YE ALSO SHALL SIT UPON TWELVE THRONES, JUDGING THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL.
AND EVERY ONE THAT HATH FORSAKEN HOUSES, OR BRETHREN, OR SISTERS, OR FATHER, OR MOTHER, OR WIFE, OR CHILDREN, OR LANDS, FOR MY NAME'S SAKE (AND THE GOSPEL’S-Mk
True, repentant, born-again Christians in the past understood these verses. Those of the Tribulation will understand them. However, those of this blind church age seldom understand them.
.21-PAUL COUNTED ALL THINGS BUT LOSS
Paul clearly understood the verses of forsaking all things for the sake of Jesus.
It is written, Phili
The repentant, born-again Christian is to present his body as a living sacrifice to God.
It is written, Ro
23-BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD
God’s Word straightway charges the repentant, born-again saint to not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world. When a person repents, the pattern of their life should change. Their thinking should change. Their total life should be switched from self to pleasing God. Their total outlook should be changed from the world’s way of thinking to God’s way of thinking.
It is written, Ro
It is written, 1 Cor
Mal
BETWEEN THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED, BETWEEN HIM THAT SERVETH GOD AND HIM THAT SERVETH HIM NOT.
Note God’s Word: RIGHTEOUS…SERVETH GOD.
WICKED…SERVETH HIM NOT.
Does God want part-time servants or does He want sold out, full-time, obedient, uncompromising servants? The answer is clear. God wants vessels that are yielded totally to Him.
The repentant, born-again Christian is not to follow or walk in the ways of this world. We are to search God’s Word and seek what is pleasing in God’s eyes.
It is written, Eph
HAVING THE UNDERSTANDING DARKENED, BEING ALIENATED FROM THE LIFE OF GOD THROUGH THE IGNORANCE THAT IS IN THEM, BECAUSE OF THE BLINDNESS OF THEIR HEART.
Titus
2 Cor
26-WARNING ABOUT SHRINKING BACK
Serving God is a reflection of our faith. The Bible tells us, WORKS PROMPTED BY OR PRODUCED BY FAITH. This is the reason the judgment is according to works. This is the reason, in every one of the seven churches in the Revelation, the judgment is according to works. God states, I KNOW THY WORKS-Rev ch 3 and 4. Should a repentant, born-again Christian, which has been studying and serving God full time, shrink back to a worldly job that is after the affairs of this world, then there is absolutely no question that he is in a fallen state. The Bible warns, REPENT QUICKLY OR ELSE.
It is written, Heb
Drawing back into the world is a sign of deception and a lack of faith and correct understanding.
By God’s mercy, from henceforth, you can never say at the judgment that no one ever told you these things.
May God’s Word speak to your hearts. It is written, 2 Tim
27-A SUMMARY OF THIS MESSAGE BY TITLES
CONFORM TO HIS IMAGE
WALK AS JESUS WALKED
AS HE IS, SO ARE WE
LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT
DO NOT LIVE FOR SELF, LIVE UNTO GOD
SEEK NOT AFTER YOUR OWN HEART
PURGE HIMSELF
CAST DOWN IMAGINATIONS
YOU MUST DECREASE
FOLLOW ME
EXAMPLE AND RESULT OF FOLLOWING CHRIST
EXCUSES REGARDING FOLLOWING JESUS
SELL ALL THAT YOU HAVE
EXAMPLES OF SELLING ALL
SELL: DO NOT MAKE THESE EXCUSES OR DO THESE THINGS
DO NOT LAY UP TREASURES UPON EARTH
CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS
FORSAKE ALL
EXAMPLES OF FORSAKING ALL
PAUL COUNTED ALL THINGS LOSS
BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE
BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD
BE NOT SERVANTS OF MEN
WALK NOT AS OTHER GENTILES
WARNING ABOUT SHRINKING BACK
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