Gospel
You know there's a song that says I will follow Jesus, I will follow Jesus, Where He leads me there I will follow. I wonder how true that is in our lives.
Suppose Jesus were to come to your home town and He were to come up to you and say, Come, follow me." I wonder if we would stand there or sit there and say, "Lord, where are you going?" The Lord might say, "Does it matter?" We might be tempted to argue with the Lord. We want to find out all we can before we make that commitment. I don't want to be gone too long from my family. I mean, I've got a job to do Lord. I've got a home. I've got to pay my rent you know. What am I going to eat? Just where are we going Lord?"
How many of us really want to follow Jesus wherever He goes? Suppose you might be able to make that commitment initially on faith. So for sometime you follow the Lord and He takes you in to a strange city and He does some miracles let's suppose. He feeds you. He provides for you but then on one occassion He takes you into a city and your feet are sore. You've been traveling now for some time, many days, and you're tired! Yes, you haven't been accustomed to that soft pillow and cozy bed. It's been cold and you're getting weary. Your feet are sore and Jesus brings you in to a multitude of people and ...well they don't like Jesus in this particular city. He has a bad reputation among these people. In fact they begin to spit on Jesus and the people who surround themselves around Jesus.
Next, the multitude begins to shout and call people names. Ofcourse you are following Jesus so you're also the victim of the crowds shouting anger and rage. Next thing you know the crowd begins to pick up beer cans, sticks, rocks and they begin throwing them at you. I wonder then how glad and joyful we would be to have made that decision to follow Jesus.
You see what I'm getting at brethren is ARE WE WILLING TO FORSAKE ALL TO FOLLOW JESUS? Are we willing to leave our families, our mother and father, our brothers and sisters to follow Jesus?
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU? What is required of us as Christians? I believe that there is a radicalness that takes place when we come to our spiritual senses and our spiritual awareness.
So let's look at this from three different points of view.
First, there is a radical relationship with Jesus Christ. It takes place when we are born again. We talk about Jesus saying, "Come, follow me" and making that commitment without questioning Him and asking, "Where are we going Lord?" "How much food are we going to have?" "How long are we going to be gone?" You see the Christian life...when we follow Jesus we follow Him all the days of our life. If we ever turn back that is what is called backsliding which can lead to permanent backsliding or apostasy which is a falling away from the truth as it is found in Jesus. So we might imagine ourselves following Jesus for some time only to become weary with all the persecution and name calling to the point where we wish we were back in Egypt like the children of Israel. They had gone a long time without food and they complained to Moses "Would to God we were back in Egypt." If they were going to die they would rather die back there, not out here in this wilderness. So we have been delivered that is from the world of sin and darkness and we enter in to the promised land but between Egypt and the promised land lies a wilderness. This is our probation period you might say. This world that we have to endure, the afflictions, the trials, the persecutions but you see Jesus is with us, "Lo I'am with you always, he said, even unto the end of the world." (Matt. 28:20) and with Jesus we can do all things. Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. " ( Phil. 4:13) If we have a radical relationship with Jesus we see Jesus as the most precious person in our lives. We love Him more than father and mother. Jesus said, "Except you hate your father and mother you can not be my disciples. Unless you hate yourself you can not be my disciple. A radical relationship with Jesus is required and nothing less. (Luke 14:26)
Secondly, we are called to a radical sense of sin. Now when we become born again there is a radical cleavage with sin. NOTE: by radical I mean an extreme or drastic or violent or fanatical cutting off or breaking off of our sins. This is the initial stage of sanctification. Sanctification is the process of being set apart from the world and being set apart for God. The Greek word haggios means holy and Peter says, "Be ye holy even as God is holy." Peter was quoting an Old Testament passage which is the Lord speaking. To be holy then is to be like Christ-to be so utterly different from this world. There's a transcendental quality to holiness. To be so far above sin and self and the world. To be set apart from the world and Satan and sin and to be set apart unto God, dedicated to God's interests, to His purposes and His design for your life. So we have a radical sense of sin.
Sin includes any transgression of the law of God. (1 John 3:4) If you were a glutton you no longer practice gluttony. Food is no longer your chief delight. You know some people have breakfast and after breakfast they're already thinking about lunch and while they're eating lunch they're already thinking about what they're going to eat for dinner. Food so consumes their thoughts. They have indeed made a god out of their belly because they live for food. You see they LIVE TO EAT RATHER THAN EAT TO LIVE. This is true for alot of people. Gluttony will show itself by an inordinate desire or affection for drink and food. They must learn to say with Job "I have esteemed the words of His (God's) mouth more than my necessary food." (Job 23:12) Drunkedness of course is an excessive delight in alcohol and it leave you inebriated or drunk, intoxicated to where your senses are perverted and dulled. Proverbs 20:1 says, "Wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." So if we drink to excess to the point of perverting our senses we are not wise however much we may profess ourselves to be wise. There is a radical sense of sin once there is a radical relationship with Jesus.
Again sin is our greatest enemy. It is the plague of plagues as Ralph Vening put it, an old Puritan preacher. It is the cancer of all cancers and worse than AIDS. You see, AIDS only kills the body or rather allows a common infection or cold to potentiallhy kill the body. But sin goes deep in to the soul of mankind and sin separates us from God. So we have a radical sense of sin now as the most loathsome, hateful thing that must be guarded against and opposed as an enemy. Sin in all its colors. The pretty sins as well as the ugly ones. This includes all sexual sins fornication, adultery, and homosexuality. They who practice these will not enter the Kingdom of God. How acceptable do these sins appear in our culture?
The media through TV, film, music and magazines saturates us with its sensuality and pornography but these will pass away and the lust thereof but only they that do the will of God abide forever. Do not be deceived my friend you must turn away from these things if you would enter heaven. REMEMBER SIN IS ALWAYS SINFUL, ONLY SINFUL, EVER SINFUL AND ALL SINFUL. The Puritans's had a very very sober view of sin. They hated it and guarded against it BUT FOOLS MOCK AT SIN AND PLAY ON THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF. (Pro. 14:9)
Thirdy, there's a radical attidute toward self. We are to deny ourself. Today we are told that we must indulge self. We have books about self-esteem, how to increase your self-esteem. In fact, one famous preacher says that sin is simply a lack of self-esteem. No mention of hell, damnation or judgment. We don't need to hear that. We need to have more self-esteem so we are told. This is not what Jesus taught. That's not part of the gosple message. We are in fact to esteem others more highly than ourselves the bible says. Paul commands us to esteem others more highly than ourselves. We have a different attitude toward ourselves once we have been brought into Christ's Kingdom. We begin to see ourselves as servants of Christ-servants or slaves as it were. When we were slaves to Satan we worked for wages that led to death, "For the wages of sin is death and the death God has in view is eternal damnation. (Romans 6:23) But when we serve the Lord Jesus Christ our wages are zero. We work for free because we've been given the gift of eternal life. this is not to say we can't earn any money for our labor for "the laborer is worthy of his hire" but we serve Jesus Christ out of a love for who He is and still we are unprofitable servants because we are only doing what is required of us. We can never put God in our debt. Rather we are debtors not to the flesh but to righteousness. Our reward is in heaven. We are slaves of a different master.
In the kingdom of Satan we were slaves of Satan doing his will and following his leadership. What is it that characterizes the Christians attitude toward self? First, he or she sees that all one's abilities and gifts are the result of God's goodness and grace and does not come to us because we are so good and great. What good thing do we have that wasn't given to us and if it was given to us why do we boast? (1 Cor. 4:7)
Pride is a sin that is ever prone to permeate our personality. The Pharisees were proud of their knowledge of the law and paraded their righteousness but it was a self-generated righteousness of their own making and it didn't come from Christ. Jesus warned his disciples that unless "your rightousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you can not enter the Kingdom of God." The soul that has the most grace will have the lowest opinion of themselves said Matthew Henry.
Paul had a radical attitude toward himself when he said, "I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." (Romans 7:18) All true followers of Jesus Christ have this same attitude. They see themselves as new creatures in Christ because of their radical or fanatical relationship to the Son of God. As children of God old things are passed away and all things are become new. (2 Cor. 5:17) The believer in Christ now has a new heart and a new nature. Such a great change has been wrought that fits the soul for heaven. Old thoughts and practices are passes aways and we now see everthing not from a selfish principle but from a principle and practice that come from the Holy Spirit of Christ. As Paul said "It is God that worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13)
Before coming to Christ we sought our own will and pleasure and lived to ourselves like hedonists. Our favorite radio station was WIIFM (What's In It For Me) Our basic focus and drive was how can I serve my lusts and desires and further my career, status and power. Everything was once done not with a view to furthering Christ's kingdom and interests but of furthering something within ourselves. Our actions were motivated not out of a love to Christ but out of a sinful desire that centered on the creation rather than the creator. Before we had a radical relationship with Christ we said, "I can do anything I put my mind to because I have a positive self-image or postive mental attitude." Now we can say with the Apostle Paul "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me, that is, through Christ who gives me the power or ability. Notice the difference in attitude?
Look around you today and observe how most people put their trust in themselves. They are taught this from seminar leaders and through cassettes and other training material to trust in their knowledge, wisdom , judgment and experience. Proverbs 3:5 and 6 tells us to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path." Here god promises us wisdom to walk and live our lives by IF WE MAKE THE LORD OUR FOCUS. This radical attitude toward ourself and radical sense of our sin can only come about when we have first a radical relationship with Jesus Christ.
Are you ready to quit your sin and stop trusting in your self and begin trusting in Jesus? Faith in Jesus means trusting and obeying what the Bible says about Jesus, sin and ourself. Like the sacred hymn says: Trust and obey For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to rust and obey. May you start to seek the Lord while He may be found and may you call upon Him while He is near and forsake your foolish sin and self. May you find a new life, that is, eternal life in the only begotten Son of God for then you will have experience a radical reality.
Carlton Pruitt ministers the gospel to the Los Angeles area. Formerly a Hollywood actor (SAG member)and junk removal expert he now spends most of his time studying the scriptures, writing articles, hymns and poems and doing street preaching. See his videos on http://www.youtube.com Type LAStreetPreacher in the search bar. CONTACT at [email protected]
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
This article has been read 950 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.