A Bible study about denying 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 Africa, a long distance from any doctor or hospital, but God rescued him. He found himself in many, almost impossible situations during his walk with Jesus. He was tried. He suffered. He was beaten, destitute, facing many fears, but God brought him through it all. He learned to walk by faith. He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. He learned patience.
   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 4:7. At the judgment, he can expect to hear, WELL DONE, THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.

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 12:30-AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH: THIS IS THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. We are to, I Jn 2:15-LOVE NOT THE WORLD, NEITHER THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THE WORLD. IF ANY MAN LOVE THE WORLD, THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IS NOT IN HIM.

    It is written, Ro 8:29-FOR WHOM HE DID FOREKNOW, HE ALSO DID PREDESTINATE TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, THAT HE MIGHT BE THE FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN.
   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 2:6-HE THAT SAITH HE ABIDETH IN HIM (or says that he abides in Jesus) OUGHT HIMSELF ALSO SO TO WALK, EVEN AS HE (Jesus) WALKED.

    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 4:17-HEREIN IS OUR LOVE MADE PERFECT, THAT WE MAY HAVE BOLDNESS IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT: BECAUSE AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.
   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 13:25-WHEN ONCE THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE IS RISEN UP, AND HATH SHUT TO THE DOOR, AND YE BEGIN TO STAND WITHOUT, AND TO KNOCK AT THE DOOR, SAYING, LORD, LORD, OPEN UNTO US; AND HE SHALL ANSWER AND SAY UNTO YOU, I KNOW YOU NOT WHENCE YE ARE.
   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 12:1-WHEREFORE SEEING WE ALSO ARE COMPASSED ABOUT WITH SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, LET US LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT, AND THE SIN WHICH DOTH SO EASILY BESET US, AND LET US RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US.
   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 2:4-NO MAN THAT WARRETH (or is saved or is following Jesus) ENTANGLETH HIMSELF WITH THE AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE; THAT HE MAY PLEASE HIM WHO HATH CHOSEN HIM TO BE A SOLDIER. Being involved in politics, for example, is definitely being involved in the affairs of this world. Even a little child should be able to see this. You may ask, "Why then have many churches become political arenas?" The answer is, their preachers have left God’s ways and turned aside, or perhaps, were never born-again in the first place.
   Once we submit to Jesus, we become a soldier. We are in a war. It is written, Eph 6:12-FOR WE WRESTLE NOT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD, AGAINST SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES. A repentant, born-again saint is in a wrestling match, a war, a fight, a struggle for his eternal life. God is showing us to lay aside every weight and obstacle, so we can fight the good fight of faith. The world and its ways are a weight. It can weigh us down. It can draw us in like a magnet. We are not to submit to the world, but to God in every way. We are to become HIS servant, not the world’s servant. We repent of the world’s ways. We repent and lay aside every weight. However, Satan, in his deceitfulness, will do his utmost to get us entangled in the affairs of this world once again. Beware. Do not look back. Remember Lot’s wife. Beware of Satan’s devices. He comes masquerading as an angel of light to deceive you into believing that God wants you to take on this or that weight. It is a deception and snare of the devil. Billions of people in hell right now, being tormented in the flame, can testify of Satan’s success in deceiving people. He deceived them. Hell has lots of Bible school teachers, denominational heads, preachers, elders, church leaders, lay people that were deceived as well as unbelievers. Many once followed Jesus, but they became deceived through Satan’s subtle, cunning devices. Many of these people perished to hell. They believed in Jesus but went astray and did not do the will of 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 5:15-AND THAT HE DIED FOR ALL, THAT THEY WHICH LIVE SHOULD NOT HENCEFORTH LIVE UNTO THEMSELVES, BUT UNTO HIM (Jesus) WHICH DIED FOR THEM, AND ROSE AGAIN.
    Heb 5:9-AND BEING MADE PERFECT, HE (Jesus) BECAME THE AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION UNTO ALL THEM THAT OBEY HIM (obey Jesus, obey God’s Word). Again, note the words, SHOULD NOT HENCEFORTH LIVE UNTO THEMSELVES, BUT UNTO HIM and OBEY HIM.

    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 15:39-AND IT SHALL BE UNTO YOU FOR A FRINGE, THAT YE MAY LOOK UPON IT, AND REMEMBER ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD, AND DO THEM; AND THAT YE SEEK NOT AFTER YOUR OWN HEART AND YOUR OWN EYES, AFTER WHICH YE USE TO GO A WHORING.

    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 2:21-IF A MAN THEREFORE PURGE HIMSELF FROM THESE, HE SHALL BE A VESSEL UNTO HONOUR, SANCTIFIED, AND MEET FOR THE MASTER'S USE, AND PREPARED UNTO EVERY GOOD WORK.
   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 16:6-BY MERCY AND TRUTH INIQUITY IS PURGED: AND BY THE FEAR OF THE LORD MEN DEPART FROM EVIL. We might say, by the fear of the Lord men purge themselves. Often, Satan tempts a person to go astray in some way, and then he also convinces him that he has done nothing wrong. Thus, the person will then not seek to repent and purge himself, because he has been deceived into believing that there is nothing to repent of. Once Satan has this foothold and the person has given a place to the devil, the backsliding begins. It usually starts slowly, almost unnoticeably, but then, gets worse and worse. Satan is more crafty or subtle than any other creature.
   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 5:8-BE SOBER, BE VIGILANT; BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL, AS A ROARING LION, WALKETH ABOUT, SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR.

    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 10:5-CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS, AND EVERY HIGH THING THAT EXALTETH ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, AND BRINGING INTO CAPTIVITY EVERY THOUGHT TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST.
   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 23:12-AND WHOSOEVER SHALL EXALT HIMSELF SHALL BE ABASED; AND HE THAT SHALL HUMBLE HIMSELF SHALL BE EXALTED.
   Our own wisdom is worthless. Indeed, the wisdom of the world is nothing with God.
   It is written, 1 Cor 1:20-WHERE IS THE WISE? WHERE IS THE SCRIBE? WHERE IS THE DISPUTER OF THIS WORLD? HATH NOT GOD MADE FOOLISH THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD?
   1 Cor 3:19-FOR THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD IS FOOLISHNESS WITH GOD. FOR IT IS WRITTEN, HE TAKETH THE WISE IN THEIR OWN CRAFTINESS.
   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 12:10-THEREFORE I TAKE PLEASURE IN INFIRMITIES, IN REPROACHES, IN NECESSITIES, IN PERSECUTIONS, IN DISTRESSES FOR CHRIST'S SAKE: FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG.
   For OUT OF WEAKNESS God’s people WERE MADE STRONG-Heb 11:34.
   It is written, 1 Cor 1:27-BUT GOD HATH CHOSEN THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE WISE; AND GOD HATH CHOSEN THE WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE THINGS WHICH ARE MIGHTY.
   Jesus said, AMONG THEM THAT ARE BORN OF WOMEN THERE HATH NOT RISEN A GREATER THAN JOHN THE BAPTIST-Mt 11:11. Still, John the Baptist said these words, in Jn 3:30-HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE. Self needs to decrease and be crucified. Any evidence of pride needs to be annihilated. Thinking highly of yourself needs to be destroyed. The Creator of countless galaxies, of a universe that is without measure, is at hand. It is God Almighty. We are as grasshoppers on a small planet that rotates around an average-sized sun; in a galaxy of, perhaps, 200 billion suns and in a universe of, perhaps, 300 billion galaxies; which stretch out over distances seemingly beyond man’s ability to understand.
   Indeed, the question is asked, Ps 8:4-WHAT IS MAN, THAT THOU ART MINDFUL OF HIM? AND THE SON OF MAN, THAT THOU VISITEST HIM?
   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 15:5-I AM THE VINE, YE ARE THE BRANCHES: HE THAT ABIDETH IN ME, AND I IN HIM, THE SAME BRINGETH FORTH MUCH FRUIT: FOR WITHOUT ME YE CAN DO NOTHING. Without Jesus we can do nothing. We are helpless. Many saints get themselves into many hurtful situations by not being patient and waiting on the Lord. They are sometimes in difficult situations, and then take matters into their own hands, without being patient in following God’s advice and direction.
   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 9:23-25-AND HE SAID TO THEM ALL, IF ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY, AND FOLLOW ME.
   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 8:37-WHAT SHALL A MAN GIVE IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS SOUL?
   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 22:42. It is saying no to selfish interests and earthly securities. It is turning from self-centeredness.
   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 1:21-FOR TO ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST, AND TO DIE IS GAIN.
   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 4:4; ref Deut 8:3; Lk 4:4.
   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 8:34-37 and Mt 16:24. Without following Jesus, by faith, the professing Christian has no hope. Through faith the true, repentant believer learns to obey God, deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow the King of kings. Nevertheless, Satan is continually setting traps to snare the follower of Christ. Beware.

    Mt 19:16-AND, BEHOLD, ONE CAME AND SAID UNTO HIM, GOOD MASTER, WHAT GOOD THING SHALL I DO, THAT I MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?
   Mt 19:21-22-JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, IF THOU WILT BE PERFECT, GO AND SELL THAT THOU HAST, AND GIVE TO THE POOR, AND THOU SHALT HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN: AND COME AND FOLLOW ME.
   BUT WHEN THE YOUNG MAN HEARD THAT SAYING, HE WENT AWAY SORROWFUL: FOR HE HAD GREAT POSSESSIONS.
   Mt 19:23-THEN SAID JESUS UNTO HIS DISCIPLES, VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT A RICH MAN SHALL HARDLY ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
   Lk 14:27-Jesus said, WHOSOEVER DOTH NOT BEAR HIS CROSS, AND COME AFTER ME, CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE.

    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 2:14-AND AS HE (Jesus) PASSED BY, HE SAW LEVI THE SON OF ALPHAEUS SITTING AT THE RECEIPT OF CUSTOM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, FOLLOW ME. AND HE AROSE AND FOLLOWED HIM.
   Mt 8:19-AND A CERTAIN SCRIBE CAME, AND SAID UNTO HIM, MASTER, I WILL FOLLOW THEE WHITHERSOEVER THOU GOEST.
   Mt 8:20-AND JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, THE FOXES HAVE HOLES, AND THE BIRDS OF THE AIR HAVE NESTS; BUT THE SON OF MAN HATH NOT WHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD. This is repeated in Lk 9:58.
   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 1:6-7-AND JOHN WAS CLOTHED WITH CAMEL'S HAIR, AND WITH A GIRDLE OF A SKIN ABOUT HIS LOINS; AND HE DID EAT LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY.
   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.

    Lk 9:59-62-AND HE SAID UNTO ANOTHER, FOLLOW ME. BUT HE SAID, LORD, SUFFER ME FIRST TO GO AND BURY MY FATHER.
   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 12:33-34-Jesus said, SELL THAT YE HAVE, AND GIVE ALMS; PROVIDE YOURSELVES BAGS WHICH WAX NOT OLD, A TREASURE IN THE HEAVENS THAT FAILETH NOT, WHERE NO THIEF APPROACHETH, NEITHER MOTH CORRUPTETH.
   FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO.

    Mk 10:17-25-AND WHEN HE (Jesus) WAS GONE FORTH INTO THE WAY, THERE CAME ONE (a certain rich, young merchant) RUNNING, AND KNEELED TO HIM, AND ASKED HIM, GOOD MASTER, WHAT SHALL I DO THAT I MAY INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?
   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 4:32-37-AND THE MULTITUDE OF THEM THAT BELIEVED WERE OF ONE HEART AND OF ONE SOUL: NEITHER SAID ANY OF THEM THAT OUGHT OF THE THINGS WHICH HE POSSESSED WAS HIS OWN; BUT THEY HAD ALL THINGS COMMON.
   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.

    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 12:22-32-AND HE SAID UNTO HIS DISCIPLES, THEREFORE I SAY UNTO YOU, TAKE NO THOUGHT FOR YOUR LIFE, WHAT YE SHALL EAT; NEITHER FOR THE BODY, WHAT YE SHALL PUT ON.
   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.

    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 6:19-21-LAY NOT UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES UPON EARTH, WHERE MOTH AND RUST DOTH CORRUPT, AND WHERE THIEVES BREAK THROUGH AND STEAL:
   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 16:13-NO SERVANT CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS: FOR EITHER HE WILL HATE THE ONE, AND LOVE THE OTHER; OR ELSE HE WILL HOLD TO THE ONE, AND DESPISE THE OTHER. YE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON. (You cannot serve both God and money-NIV.) You cannot serve both God and the world.
   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 5:11.

    It is written, Lk 14:33-SO LIKEWISE, WHOSOEVER
   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 14:26-IF ANY MAN COME TO ME, AND HATE NOT HIS FATHER, AND MOTHER, AND WIFE, AND CHILDREN, AND BRETHREN, AND SISTERS, YEA, AND HIS OWN LIFE ALSO, HE CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE.

    What does forsaking all really mean? The following verses make it very clear.
   Mt 19:27-29-THEN ANSWERED PETER AND SAID UNTO HIM, BEHOLD, WE HAVE FORSAKEN ALL, AND FOLLOWED THEE; WHAT SHALL WE HAVE THEREFORE?
   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 10:29), (or FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD’S SAKE-Lk 18:28) SHALL RECEIVE AN HUNDREDFOLD, (WITH PERSECUTIONS-Mk 10:30) AND SHALL INHERIT EVERLASTING LIFE. These are also repeated somewhat in Mk 10:28-30 and Lk 18:28-30.
   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.

Paul clearly understood the verses of forsaking all things for the sake of Jesus.
It is written, Phili 3:8-YEA DOUBTLESS, AND I COUNT ALL THINGS BUT LOSS FOR THE EXCELLENCY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST JESUS MY LORD: FOR WHOM I HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS, AND DO COUNT THEM BUT DUNG, THAT I MAY WIN CHRIST.

The repentant, born-again Christian is to present his body as a living sacrifice to God.
It is written, Ro 12:1-BESEECH YOU THEREFORE, BRETHREN, BY THE MERCIES OF GOD, THAT YE PRESENT YOUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, HOLY, ACCEPTABLE UNTO GOD, WHICH IS YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE (or your spiritual act of worship-NIV).

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 12:2-AND BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD. (Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world-NIV) BUT BE YE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YE MAY PROVE (or be able to test) WHAT IS THAT GOOD, AND ACCEPTABLE (or pleasing), AND PERFECT, WILL OF GOD.

    It is written, 1 Cor 7:23-24-YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE; BE NOT YE THE SERVANTS OF MEN. The message is loud and clear. 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 our own selves. Such things as, "I want, I will, I shall, I desire," need to be crucified. A repentant, born-again saint is to live unto God, to submit to His Word. He is to no longer live for this world and self. At the cross, he is to have died to selfishness and his own will. The repentant born-again saint is to obey God in all things. He is not to be a servant of men but a servant of God. Being a servant of God begins with study and ends with more study, obedience, righteousness, holiness, and finally, perfection. It is written, Ro 6:22-BECOME SERVANTS TO GOD; 1 Pe 2:16-SERVANTS OF GOD; Mt 4:10-HIM ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE. Lk 4:8-HIM ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE; Heb 12:28-SERVE GOD ACCEPTABLY WITH REVERENCE AND GODLY FEAR; Acts 6:2-The twelve said, IT IS NOT REASON THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE THE WORD OF GOD, AND SERVE TABLES.
   Mal 3:18-THEN SHALL YE RETURN, AND DISCERN
   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 4:17-18-THIS I SAY THEREFORE, AND TESTIFY IN THE LORD, THAT YE HENCEFORTH WALK NOT AS OTHER GENTILES WALK, IN THE VANITY OF THEIR MIND,
   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 2:12-TEACHING US THAT, DENYING UNGODLINESS AND WORLDLY LUSTS, WE SHOULD LIVE SOBERLY, RIGHTEOUSLY, AND GODLY, IN THIS PRESENT WORLD.
   2 Cor 10:3-FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE DO NOT WAR AFTER THE FLESH.

    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 10:38-NOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH: BUT IF ANY MAN DRAW BACK, MY SOUL SHALL HAVE NO PLEASURE IN HIM. AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, I WILL NOT BE PLEASED WITH HIM-NIV.
   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 2:15-STUDY TO SHEW THYSELF APPROVED UNTO GOD, A WORKMAN THAT NEEDETH NOT TO BE ASHAMED, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.

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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