We have been looking at "cheap grace" and how it doesn't match Jesus' terms of discipleship. Jesus' terms of discipleship are in Matthew 16:24: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (KJV) If you are going to answer the call and dismiss "cheap grace," you are going to face some consequences. We don't have to look far to find them because the consequences are found in verses 25-26: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (KJV) Your answer to the call of Jesus is determined by whether you want to save your life or lose it.
The Greek here is helpful to understand what Jesus is saying. The word "life" is the Greek word psuche and it means your eternal soul. Now we see the importance of what Jesus is saying. The call to discipleship is not optional (Matthew uses the imperative mood to indicate it was a command in verse 24). There are no followers of Yeshua that are not disciples. If you are going to go through life with you as the "boss," then you are seeking to "save your life." Those that choose to "lose their life" by dying to self and following the will, desires, and commands of Yeshua will find eternal life. I have had people suggest that being a disciple was not required; it was only the "super" Christians that walked such a path, and that many were too weak to live such a life. My response is, where do you find that in the words of Yeshua? That is not what He said; it is what a weak "church" has created so it could become a business enterprise. Today's church is about money and power in the natural world. Jesus' call is about sacrifice and obedience.
Being a disciple is serious business. It is a life lived in obedience. This does mean that you will not sin or that you will be perfect, far from it. Instead, it means that you will not be afraid to call "sin" "sin," especially in your own life and you will repent and not excuse the action as unimportant. Again I ask, who are you following and who is the boss?
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What does "Overcoming" cost? What did the new birth achieve? Why did Jesus hang, bleed and die on a cross in Calvary for? Did he provide a cheap life, death and resurrection so that the modern Christian can be entertained or massaged with "feel good" messages? Be ye transformed from euphamisms and platitudes, smug phrases and emptiness. Dump your mess, pick up His mantle, open your life to Him and forget the fish frys, chili dinners and come out of your "Matrix" pseudo-reality; the water's unbelievable...
Preach it brother!!!
The "I" Must Die!
In as much as i can 'see',
That which is of the 'I' in me,
So it is i yearn, and to Our Father cry,
For deliverance from all that is of the 'I'.
The 'I', born of "imag"ination and selfish desire,
As lust, greed, and pride, stoked a consuming fire ;-(
A fire burning out of control, as 'I' leads the way,
It's smoke concealing the fleshly mind that leads one astray ;-(
Yet even in the smoke, searing heat, and blindness of 'sight',
Truth can pierce the blackness of darkness, revealing "The Light"!
And nothing can hide from "The Light", so "Light" reveals the "I",
Allowing one to "see" clearly, and clearly the "I" must die!
But to live, yet die, seems an impossible task,
And so we need of "Our Father", the impossible to ask.
Help me to "deny myself(die to self)(die to 'I')" Father!
And as HE Helps, HE reveals more and more of "The Selfless One", The One Who leads His Brethren on "The Way to The Truth of The Life". He Who was, and is The Messiah, The Son of The Only True G-D, Father(Creator) of ALL!
And as The Messiah desired above all else, so also will His Brethren desire above all else, "Father, not my will, But THY Will Be Done".......
The poem above was begun in Creel, Chih, Mexico in '92, a time when i sought to live and experience a simple and spiritual life and it was there that i received and embraced Simplicity. Left Mexico in '93, yet returned in '04. Then on 1/26/05 the poem was completed, and 'completion' is near for each and every one of us. And for "the poor and needy", thankfully so.......
Translated, "corruptible to incorruptible" indeed and Truth.......
Home at last.......
Forever free from The "I".......
All Thanks, Praise and Glory Be Unto "Our Father".......
And while there is breath(spirit) there is hope many will "see",
"see" The "I" for what it is, and then desire to be set free!
And that Spirit that was in The Messiah shall "set you free, free indeed"!
So, There Is Hope!
For Miracles do happen!
Hope is there would be those who experience The Miracle that is receiving "a love of The Truth" for they will "see" The Light that is The Messiah, they will "see" that The Life is of The Spirit(not seen with the natural eye), and most certainly not of the flesh or fleshly mind("I").......
Peace, in spite of the dis-ease(darkness) that is of this world and it's systems of religion, for "the WHOLE world is under the control of the evil one"(1Jn5:19) indeed and Truth.......
Truth is forever, lies never existed and never will.......
(Returned to this place called the u.s. of a. in June of '05, yet a return to the simplicity that is rural Mexico would be welcomed, however, i realize that in all things it must be "Father(Creator) not my will, But THY Will Be Done.......)
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