With what I have been going through lately, this quote is one of those quotes that I needed to hear even though it came from a movie. The place from where I pulled this quote in the movie was from a conversation between Gandalf and Frodo, in the Fellowship of the Ring, when the Fellowship was stuck in the Mines of Moria. If you have watched the trilogy, in this case the first movie, you know what has already taken place. The power of the ring is beginning to take its toll on Frodo despite the limited amount of time of which he has had possession of the ring. As the trilogy continues though, you begin to see the ring controlling more of Frodo even to the point of where he almost loses his friend Sam. This is the path or otherwise the cup that was given to Frodo. The cup that would see the salvation of all Middle Earth or the doom of all Middle Earth. This fate of the cup, which is the burden of carrying the one ring, rests in his hands. Will he persevere to the end? Will he see the salvation of Middle Earth come to pass? He had his doubts especially when it came to the point of wondering why this burden was brought upon him. Now, let's listen into Frodo's statement like question and Gandalf's reply in one of the most critical moments of the trilogy.....
Frodo: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the forces of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."
The same is with the Christian life. You and I have been given time by God to be used for His glory. What are we doing with that time? What are we doing with the circumstances that He has given us? What are we doing with the trials that have been placed in our path? We only have one life. A life that has the capability of changing the world or a life that has the capability of being wasted away on the foolish things of the world. It is your choice. What are you going to do with the time that is given to you?
Sola Deo Gloria!!!!!!
Would you deny Christ if.....................
someone slowly and stealthily stalked you and pulled out a knife. With that knife, he slipped it under your throat, and asked, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord? If you do, I will cut your throat."
What would you do?
Remember our brothers and sisters, who are being persecuted throughout the world, and pray for them.
How does God set our lives on fire for His glory? How can we become action oriented in response to God's call on our lives? How is this even possible? God's calling on our lives should reflect some direct action on our part, and we will finally begin to notice what it takes for God to set our hearts on fire for him. Luke 14:33 will lead us to the answer. It says this, "So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." After reading this, each one of you are probably rolling your eyes at me and beginning to get teary eyed. Oh yeah, Josh is going to tell us that we need to sell ALL our possessions, and give all we have to the poor. We are going to be stripped down to the poverty level (Waaaaa, *crying like a baby*). As a matter of fact, before you tune out, I have not said anything yet. So, hold onto your horses and pay attention, because this ride is going to be rather painful.
Now, before we begin looking at a parallel passage, I need to ask a question. What is our direct motivation underlying our potential choices and actions. Is it to glorify God? Is it to be noticed by others, so others would praise you? Is it to withhold your weekly Sunday offerings from God in order to buy a new car? Is it to play video games when your parents told you not to play because you had to finish your homework? What is it? What is your treasure at the moment? What is your urging desire at the moment that you so desperately want to fill?
What does the well-known story of the rich young ruler tell us about this? Let's find out as we begin in Luke 18:18, "And a ruler asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.' And he said, 'All these I have kept from my youth.' When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.' But when he heard these things he became very sad for he was extremely rich."
What is the point of this passage? What was his treasure? His treasure was material wealth and possessions, right. Jesus, knowing the rich young ruler's heart, penetrated down to the deep recesses of his heart in order that Jesus would be the sole housekeeper of the rich young ruler's heart. Let's look at another passage emphasizing this same topic. Luke 12:32-34 says, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
If your treasure is money, the state of your heart will be money laden. If your treasure is attention, your heart will not be satisfied until someone or something gave you your much-needed attention. If your treasure is Christ, your heart will be satisfied in Him alone. Whatever it may be, the ultimate treasure of your heart shows exactly where your passions and desires lie. It is that simple. In the rich young ruler's case, he consistently set his heart on gaining possessions by the multitude. He was literally obsessed with building his material wealth. Because of this, Jesus knew what it would take to gain full, complete access into his heart. The only way was to make him sell all his possessions and give to the poor. His heart desired material wealth, and Jesus' desire was to tear that stronghold down in his life. So, Christ could attain total access of his heart and change him from the inside out. To literally consume every bit of his heart that their would be no room or desire for anything else, but Christ. That is what Christ wanted for him.
Jesus also wants to be the sole master housekeeper of your heart. He does not want to play second fiddle to any other prized treasure you may have. He wants all of you, he wants your whole heart, he wants to consume your heart with Himself, he wants Him to be your ultimate desire. So, when Jesus says anyone of you who does not renounce all he has cannot be my disciple, he means that if you do not renounce every treasure within your heart that stands in the gap between you having all of Him, you cannot be his disciple. Christ does not want a lukewarm follower. He either wants all of you or none of you. Somewhere in between will not cut it. You are either for him or against him. Not, I sometimes go to church, and I love God some of the time. Why not all the time? He gave His life, his all for you. If Christ did not give His all for us, I can understand loving him some of the time (even then I would still give my all to Him, but that is beside the point). But, NO!!! HE SACRIFICED HIS WHOLE BODY TO SAVE YOU A SINNER. HE GAVE HIS ALL FOR YOU, a guilty, depraved, vile sinner you are. And, not only that, He imputed His perfect righteousness to you, so that you can be adopted into His family. What is this kind of Giver? A giver of such a kind, who gives all and expects something in return. No, not even close. He is a Giver, who gives all and commands of us to do a few things not on our own strength, but through His strength alone (Phil. 4:13).
This Giver demands your whole heart. He demands the entirety of your heart, so He could set you own fire. So, the world would not see your strength, but God's strength working through you. When they (the world) ultimately see God's strength working through a transformed life, they will want to know who this God is. They will want to have the same passion, yearning, and desire for God. God wants to set your heart on fire, so He could set other hearts on fire. When hearts are constantly being fired up all around a country, a chain reaction starts and a revival begins to surface, a country begins to change for the glory of God. When we live radically in the worldly sense and normally in the biblical sense, God sets our hearts on fire to further His kingdom. His purposes and His plans become our own. Give Him your whole heart and seek Him as your only treasure. As Sanctus Real says in one of their songs, "I am a treasure in the arms of Christ." We are a treasure in His arms, but is He our treasure.
Sola Deo Gloria!!!!
When I was heading off to bed a couple nights back, I completely realized that I forgot to mention one other factor that plays into the role of a potential disciple's commitment to Christ. We looked at the flesh in Pt. 3, the world in Pt. 4, and I will touch on the devil in this part. Sorry, I did relay to you all at the end of my last Living Radically For Christ post that this would be the last post in this series, but unfortunately it is not. I will talk about the third condition of discipleship in Pt. 6 and, finally, answer the question that I posed in Pt. 4. However, we will begin treading through the nature of the devil in this post and what part he plays in keeping us from actively involving our whole lives for the cause of Christ and His Gospel.
Beginning in Luke 14:28-32 (click the reference in order to read the passage), we see and understand that a disciple must count the cost of what he/she is going up against to be able to figure out if he/she will persevere in the faith. Do not make a quick, transitional decision to follow Christ? First, count the costs to see if you have the ability to persevere in the faith or not, and then, you can make your decision. This leads us into the third and final component that we must "count the costs" for in order to endure and strive with all strength in the faith of our Lord Jesus. This component is the devil himself. Satan is his name.
Now, every Christian knows that Satan hates all people, since they are created in God's image. He yearns and takes pleasure in stealing, killing, and destroying marriages, families, livelihoods, churches, and what not. He hates you. I will be as honest as I can possibly be with you at this time. HE HATES YOU. Satan created the world system as enticing as he possibly could to dissuade you from following Christ on a regular basis, and the flesh is another way in which he uses to continually keep you as far away from seeking the truth as he possibly can. He uses any and every possible means. If that means keeping you away from the life God has planned for you or believing in some kooky, false belief system, so be it. One more win for him.
Folks, he hates you. He is a liar, he is a murderer, he is a slanderer, he is Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Once a nice, happy hobbit, Gollum was that he used to live normally, eat normally, etc., like other hobbits do. However, the ring possessed him and he transformed into this ugly, wretched, repugnant being. Satan was exactly like Gollum at one time. He was once the most beautiful angel in God's kingdom, and I bet he lived peacefully, normally, and happily in God's kingdom when he was subject to God's authority. However, his own pride possessed him in wanting to be like the Most High God, and God, in His holiness, struck Satan down to earth. Since his pride destroyed him, Satan transformed into this terrible wretched ugly being as well. Of course, the Bible calls Satan an "angel of light", but he is an angel of light on the outside. On the inside, you would find he is full of dirty rotten filth, a tomb of dead man's bones. He is rotten, wretched, and depraved; yet so subtlety cunning and enticing. He is alive and well, powerful enough to ultimately destroy you in a heartbeat. But, how do we combat his schemes?
Ephesians 6:10-13 points us in the right direction in this regard. It reads, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."
If you are a Christian, you have probably read these verses a good number of times, but have you ever let these verses sink deep into your heart. In these verses, Paul demands us to put on the whole armor of God, because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Audience, listen to me right now. Satan is after you. 1 Peter 5 tells us that he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. We are battling, fighting with blood, sweat, and tears against this roaring lion. He will not give up on you. Satan never sleeps, so never let your guard down. He will do everything and anything he possibly can to destroy you. Never give in to his temptations. It is kind of like we are fighting against a ruler in a video game, who never dies. No matter how many times you pummel him, pierce him, crush him, bruise him; he always gets back up again. We need to learn a valuable lesson from our enemy. When we do fall, which is inevitable, do not throw a pity party and say poor me, poor me. Why does this always happen to me? Get back up again and throw another blow into his horrendous face. He hates you. You hate him back.
He is after us, but he is a defeated foe. Satan is defeated. The final war has already been won. When Christ died to redeem mankind, he disarmed the rulers and authorities (Col 2:15). Satan and his little demons cannot go before God's throne and accuse Christians anymore, because CHRIST HAS TRIUMPHED. He died to make our redemption possible and He rose from the dead to show Satan and his demonic forces that they are literally defeated. Death could not hold Jesus Christ. Because of this, Satan's stranglehold of death has been stripped out of his very hands. 1 Corinthians 15:54b-56 says, "'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Amen, brothers and sisters.
When Jesus was helplessly nailed to the cross, Satan thought he had Him, Satan thought he had God right where he wanted Him, Satan thought gladly of getting rid of the preeminent one. But, GOD HAD THE FINAL WORD. Satan was not going to thwart God's plan one way or the other. The Father knew the sacrifice of His Son had to be accomplished in order to bring His children, the ones whom He loves, back into the safety of His arms. He paid a horrible cost, but we are safe in the arms of our loving Father.
Since Satan's eternal destiny is sealed and He is a defeated foe, why are we so distraught when temptation disrupts us sometimes? Jesus overcame the evil one. Your Lord and Savior overcame Him. Call upon Him and He will answer you in your time of need. He will help you. He is always there, 24/7. When a potential disciple is "counting the costs" of either clinging to the evil one or holding fast to God Almighty, which one do you think he/she would choose? Weighing the scales does not seem fair in a sense, because Satan would lose big time. However, our own flesh is easily entranced by the world and the devil that the choice makes it all the more difficult. So, when a potential disciple comes your way, tell him/her to "count the costs". Do not make a hasty decision to follow Christ? Why? Because living "normally" for the Christian is living dangerously radical in their world.
Sola Deo Gloria!!!!
I was at Downtown Disney last night hanging out with some friends from my Bible Study group, and we filed into one of the Disneyland Resort hotels called the Grand Californian Hotel. We found a spot to sit right next to a fireplace in the Grand Californian Hotel. As others in the group were talking around me, I could not help, but stare intently at the fire burning passionately in the fireplace. This fire enraptured a simple prayer within my heart at the moment. Lord, set my heart on fire. Set it ablaze in order to further Your kingdom and Your glory. That others may see You in me and give You all the praise. Amen. How does God set our heart on fire? Let's dive into the passage.
Luke 14:28-33 says, "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand. And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."
Now, in this passage, Jesus sets before us two distinct pictures of potential disciples needing to "count the costs" of following Him, before wholeheartedly setting out on a tribulation filled journey where the fierce, fiery wrath of the evil one will come knocking on their door nearly every second. These illustrations are meant to instill in us a burning question. Do you want to live a life ablaze, on fire for our Lord Jesus Christ? Do you? Because, if you do want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, you will be persecuted, like no other, on every side (2 Tim. 3:12). We are not exempt from persecution on this earth when we believe in faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved from an eternity in hell, but persecution comes along with the package of being a follower of Christ. Why? John 15:18-19 properly leads us to the answer, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
The world hates you. Persecution will come, because the world literally hates you. The world cannot even stand us since we believe morality is objective. Morality is based upon the true facts found in Scripture. While, on the other hand, the world believes in moral relativism. Each person can decide what he or she thinks is right for him or her. Yeah folks, if it is ok, in your own personal belief system, to murder the President of the US, go for it. No one is stopping you. You have your own personal right to accomplish that task, because you believe it with all your heart. Nowadays, you hear these stories all the time. My own alien god told me to rape 40 women or else I would go to hell. What so called "alien god" would make you choose to do a heinous action like that? But, sadly, moral relativism is accepted in our culture, and practically everything else this world throws at us. Since this is the reality and we are on the other side of the bench, we will be hated, insulted, slandered, cursed at, screamed at, you name it. Persecution is a reality when you are a Warrior in God's kingdom.
However, you will not be left alone when trouble, trials, and tribulation come upon you like bullets being fired from a machine gun. Jesus says in Matthew 28:20b, "And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." In Romans 8, Paul tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us. The ultimate reality of following Jesus wholeheartedly is that He is right by your side through the pain, He is with you through the trials, and He will never leave you. Persecution can bring any human being, even the strongest person, into a deep state of depression. Without God striving with us, we would be in a hopeless predicament. But, thankfully, we know of someone, who is able to strive with us through the course of life. Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect was tempted as we are, yet without sin." Jesus Christ knows what it is like to experience the full onslaught of temptation and persecution. Satan was, in every respect, doing everything he possibly could to cause Jesus to stumble multiple times, but Christ overcame the power of the enemy. He overcame the power of persecution despite the world's hatred of Him. He, my friends, is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. Trust in Him wholly and solely believe in Him as your Lord. He will protect you.
If you are a true believer, you have already chosen and purposed in your heart to follow after Him wholeheartedly. I urge you to faithfully continue persevering in the faith and to constantly remember the blood that was poured out on your behalf. Christ's sufferings will strengthen you through your own sufferings. Never forget the Cross of Christ. If you have not trusted Him, you are in the hopeless throng of millions, who probably believe in moral relativism. I urge you to bend the knee before it is too late. Christ came to save you and to give His life for you. Don't wait: today is the day of salvation. Count the costs and find hope in Christ alone. In my next post, we will look at the last condition of true discipleship that Christ lays out for us in the Luke 14 passage and I will finish answering the question of how God sets our heart on fire.
Before I start writing this post, I need to point something out rather quick. I was at work today pondering over what I am going to write about in this post, and I came to an eye-opening conclusion from a question that came from a conversation with my dad about living radically for Christ. The question was: What is truly radical about being obedient to God's will? It is not radical. It should be normal to the Christian. If you are passionately pursuing Christ with your all, being obedient to God's will should be rather normal to you. "Radical" is a term coined by the social media and others, who do not conform to a Biblical worldview. They do not understand why some Christians leave a life of wealth, health, and prosperity in order to "give up" their lives per se by preaching the Gospel to others in the deepest parts of Africa. It does not make any sense to them whatsoever, but it should make clear sense to us Christians. Our job is to follow Christ's example by being obedient to His will. And, is that radical? No, my friends, that is called normal.
Now, since I got that off my chest, we will continue looking at Luke 14:27 with the second extension I mentioned in Part 2. Luke 14:27 says, "Whoever does not bear His own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." In Part 2, we looked at the broader picture in terms of our choices and actions having direct consequences when embracing God's will or our own self-will. This time we will dig into what bearing our cross means in regards to staving off our own flesh. What does it mean to bear the (your own) cross? It primarily means to embrace God's will no matter the cost. What is God's will? We find many instances in Scripture where God talks about what His will is for our lives. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 gives us the best example.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you."
Straight out in verse 3, God tells us what His will is. His will is your sanctification that you abstain from sexual immorality. Now, I want to stop right here for a second. If we yearn to live a radical, "normal" in our own biblical sense, life for Christ, we need to constantly kill the flesh. We need to weaken our flesh like no other. Our own fleshly desires are against us and after us. A great analogy for the flesh is a weed. If you give a weed the opportunity to sprout up and let it grow unaccounted for, it can grow pretty big rather fast. Am I the only one who does not like pulling out weeds? When weeds grow big, it is a lot more difficult digging out the weeds to destroy the roots than it is when grappling with smaller weeds. Our flesh is the same way. If we start feeding our flesh with unaccounted for junk like pornography or alcoholism, it only grows bigger and it becomes more difficult to destroy. That is why Paul urges us in Romans 13:14 to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Make NO PROVISION for the flesh. Weaken, kill, destroy your fleshly desires at any and all costs. You will be glad you did.
Now, God's will for us is to sanctify ourselves in truth. For Jesus Christ is truth (John 14:6) and His will for us is to be sanctified (1 Thess. 4:3), His will is that we adorn ourselves with truth. The process of sanctification begins with and ends with understanding truth. If we are not pondering the facets of truth on a consistent basis, we will ultimately fall and look to feed our flesh to fulfill us. And, Paul's warning in Romans tells us to make no provision for the flesh, so I am pleading with you guys to shower yourselves with truth. Jesus Christ is truth. Envelop yourselves with Him, His birth, His teachings, His acts of mercy and kindness, His death, and His resurrection. Constantly make the Scriptures a part of your daily morning routine, and continue to refresh yourselves with truth throughout the day. Memorization is a good way to powder truth into your brain by refreshing yourself with Scripture throughout the day.
When you start doing these things, you will begin to see your flesh weaken with each passing day as the Holy Spirit begins to take full control of your life. Your passion and zeal for God will grow stronger, your love for God and the Body of Christ will grow to new heights, your desires for the flesh will wane, and you will be living proof that God, the creator of all truth, changed your life; so you could solely live "radically" for Him. This is what bearing our cross means.
Sola Deo Gloria!!!!
With the New Year fast approaching, it is time to pen our New Year's Resolutions. What are we going to do differently this next year than last? What are we going to change in our lives to be able to magnify and display God's glory more passionately throughout our daily conversations? We have so many choices to make, yet so little time. What is most important? What is most influential? What is significant? If you read the first part of this series, we are digging into Luke 14 and pursuing with caution what Christ has to tell us about discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? What is the cost of being a disciple of Christ? Where will this pursuit take us? Jesus knows what it takes to be His disciple and He will teach us from Luke 14:25-33.
Last time in this series, we looked at the first condition to being a disciple of Christ. I will not review, because the second condition will take up a significant portion of this post. So, if you want to read about the first condition, read it here. The second condition that Christ outlays for us in wanting to become his disciple, however, is rather convicting. This condition is found in Luke 14:27. Luke 14:27 says, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." What does this mean? Well, what Christ portrays for us in this verse is a stunning metaphor. What does the cross signify? The cross is a symbol of self-denial, self sacrifice, a complete negation of our own self-will. This metaphor of the cross takes on two different extensions. One extension is the broader picture. The picture dealing with our everyday choices and actions in embracing God's will or our own will that directly affects other people. The other extension is more narrower in that we are dealing with our own actions and desires in regards to our flesh. We will look at the first extension in this post.
Our own choices and actions have direct consequences attached to the bigger picture of life. Yes and....... what is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever, right. How do we glorify God? We glorify God by being so entirely consummated in His will that we want to obey Him. Obedience is the key. These actions and choices that we make minute by minute need to ultimately be processed into what God wants us to accomplish at that specific time and place. If that means, say for example, helping an old lady cross a street. Do it. Or, going into town, standing on a soapbox, and reading the Sermon on the Mount. Do it. Whatever it is, God wants you to take up your cross and follow him. No matter the cost. The cost of discipleship is great, but well worth it in the end.
If I have to use Jesus for an example, I will...... to stamp these truths into your brain. We just celebrated His birth a day ago. No doubt, Heaven felt magnificently comfortable. No pain, no sorrow, complete joy, complete peace; yet He left all that. He left the confines of comfort. Oh yeah, I can begin going on a rampage on how we enjoy being in our comfort zone, in our secluded space, and eating our "comfort" foods per se; and Christ humbly did the exact opposite. He left the confines of comfort and joy to be born in a relatively cold cave in a borrowed manger. To not only teach us that He is the ONLY way, but TO DIE A HORRIFIC DEATH FOR US. A DEATH WE JUSTLY DESERVE. To bear the sin of the world on his shoulders, while crying out "My God, My God; why have you forsaken me!" He was CRUSHED!!!!! And, we think our pain is horrific. Forgive us Lord.
He ultimately gave Himself to the Father's will. He is the ultimate example. We need to do the same. Follow His example and leading. Take up our cross and follow Him.
Sola Deo Gloria!!!!
What does it mean to live a radical life for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Where will it take us? What will we have to give up? What does our Savior authoritatively teach us in how to become one of His disciples? The text is Luke 14 and I will hopefully answer those questions with humility of spirit, because this passage was convicting to me when I read it, and when I listened to a sermon on this particular passage. So bear with me when I try to unpack this passage.
Luke 14:25-33
Now great crowds accompanied Him, and He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.
In this passage, we have three conditions that Jesus lays out for discipleship and we have two parabolic illustrations that warn us about making a careless decision to follow Christ. However, in this first part, I will thoroughly unpack the first condition of discipleship that Jesus clearly lays straight out for us. The first condition is found in verse 26. If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Ok, I know what some of you are already thinking. Hatred to my own parents, hatred to my own family, hatred to my own children, hatred to my own brothers and sisters. I thought that Jesus told us to love them. Isn't hate the exact opposite of love? Yes, in some sense of the actual truth, those answers are totally correct, but the danger here is watering down what Jesus is trying to say. What I mean is that, with this particular passage, some people try to fudge a little bit by saying, "Is Jesus truly teaching us to literally hate our brother, hate our mother, hate our father, hate our children. Come on, the Bible tells us to honor our parents and love our family. The Bible doesn't tell us to hate them." So because of that, we don't give a second thought to this passage. We turn our blind eye towards this passage and hope that it will go away; even when Jesus is clearly telling us how to be one of His disciples. So, what is Jesus really trying to exposit here?
The Greek word for hate is miseo. This word takes on two different extensions. The first one is to despise or to utterly hate something or someone, and the second extension takes on an entirely different form. The second extension is to love less. The second form makes more sense than the first form in the context of this particular passage, but what or who are we too love more than our parents, brothers, sisters, children. I know you can easily get this answer. Our first and foremost desire should be to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength (Matthew 22:37). Our love towards our parents, brothers, and sisters should be hatred compared to our love for God. That is what Jesus is trying to teach us. Our love for God and for His Word should far exceed any possible iota of love toward our parents. That doesn't mean we discontinue honoring our parents or obeying them. Just the opposite. If we truly love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we will want to obey His commandments, we will want to trust Him daily, and we will want to desire a relationship with Him. With that said, loving and honoring God, first and foremost above all things, will deepen our affections and love for our parents, which in result begins and ends with the first and greatest commandment. Our chief end should be to love the Lord with everything that we have and that is just the beginning of living a radical life for the cause of Christ. End Part 1
Sola Deo Gloria!!!!!
I am going to begin a new small mini-series of about 3 posts in between this gigantic Attributes of God series. What is the topic? Be aware. Radical living for the cause of Christ. This series will set us on the right foot to explore our one and ultimate desire, to be on fire for Christ. To live radically, so the world would look at us and ask what is different about us; to live radically, so God would ultimately be magnified, adored, and glorified; to live radically, so we look forward to heaven rather than being stuck here on earth. The main goal of this series is to ignite a fire in each one of you, a fire that only God could ignite, a burning passion and desire for the things of God that it literally consumes your soul. Do you want to begin this journey? Are you ready?
Hebrews 12:28-29
"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."
Today ended up being a stretching day. God is taking me out of my comfort zone. I was the final person in my English class to present my oral presentation on the case for Intelligent Design. I was nervous, but I felt God's peace with me throughout the presentation. He stripped me of all my fear and I was able to speak clearly with some difficulty, but God was definitely glorified. However, I began the presentation with factual evidence for the creation of the universe based on the second law of thermodynamics, irreducible complexity, and the lack of transitional forms in the fossil record. It was fun talking about those things, but what ended up being so awesome was the fact that I started proclaiming that God was the divine power behind the creation of the universe, earth, and mankind. This raised a few eyebrows throughout the class, but no one was going to argue with me. If any of those people did believe in evolution before I spoke, I don't think they are a believer anymore. It was evident in how I ended the presentation with an abundant passion for the glory of God. I wish that you all could have been there. It is so amazing what God did in that classroom today. May He alone be glorified and honored. Most of all though, the presentation really prepared me for what happened tonight.
I was doing my chores when I got a phone call from my good friend Floyd. Floyd asked me if I would like to go with him to some place and preach the gospel to folks on the street. I was first of all taken aback by the whole thing, but I decided to try it out. I have never been street preaching before and after tonight, it won't be my last. We ended up going to the Orange Circle and Floyd began reading from the Sermon on the Mount (he was standing on his footstool). When he was reading, this drunk guy asks me if he could sit down and listen. I said, "Sure." He sat down and Floyd continued reading. I asked God for direction whether I was supposed to talk to this guy or not. Floyd was just finishing up chapter seven when I drew up enough courage to talk to this guy. He seemed friendly and nice. I could tell by how he talked that he heard the gospel many times before. He said that he likes the Bible, he is a good person, he loves Jesus, Jesus died for me on the cross... yada, yada, yada. This guy has knowledge of the Bible (a hearer), but he is not living out the Christian faith (doer). He told me most of his problems and I just reverted him back to the Gospel. He always seemed to want to change the subject on me, but I kept pressing (pushing for the Gospel).
However, he seemed really interested when I told him that I was just as bad a sinner as he was. God views each sinner (not saved by grace) the same way (we are all like filthy rags). He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around that. I told him though the main difference between me and you now is that I am a sinner saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ and you are a sinner still dead in your trespasses and sins. My conversation with him was very interesting, but it did not go too well. Changing of subjects and repetition of his problems led the way in our discussion. At the end of the day, I prayed for him, quickly talked to this other guy for a little while, and reflected on what I needed to do to better prepare myself to defend the gospel. I struggled at different moments with what to say, but that was partly because I am not use to talking to others about Christ. I am better at reflecting Christ through my actions, but am I doing any good if I don't talk to others about the hope that lies within me. No! Jesus commands us to go out into all the world and preach the gospel. This was a great learning experience for me that taught me that I need to be better prepared to preach the gospel when called upon. Thanks Floyd for asking me to go along with you! Soli Deo Gloria!!!
P.S. The guy that I talked to. His name is Ron; so if you could please hold him up in prayer for his salvation that would be great. Thank you all.
