To truly follow God, you will have to commit to choosing His Ways over the ways of man. To truly follow God, you will have commit with all of your heart, soul, mind, body and strength that you will serve Him…no matter what else happens in your life.
Jesus says that anyone who says they will serve Him that as "put his hand to the plow, and [looks] back, is not fit for the
It is a *guaranteed* fact that the closer you get to God, the more you will be reviled, the more you will (verbally and physically) be persecuted, and the more falsehoods that will be said about you. This type of behavior is not just a possibility it is an *absolute fact*.
If you choose to follow Jesus you will have to make a definite choice about whether you will serve God or if you will serve man. Jesus states that “No man can serve 2 masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)
In other words, you cannot “halfway” serve God and “halfway” serve man. You cannot do both. You must decide if you will commit your life *entirely* to man or entirely to God. To try and serve both is to be lukewarm. God despises a lukewarm heart. The Bible says that, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)
We are to show God's love to our fellowman even if they are vicious, wicked, and cruel to us. This attitude of love CAN ONLY come from someone who has God in their heart. It cannot come out of our human hearts because it is so adverse to human nature. We must pray to God to give His love in our hearts for those who persecute us and depend oh Him faithfully to give us His Love and Strength. We can do nothing without Him. (John 15:5)
Jesus never once condoned an attitude of hatred or vengefulness to our fellowman, even those who are unkind or malicious to you. We are to pray for them that spitefully use us, or say wicked things about us.
Jesus clearly states, "You have heard that it is said, "You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." (Matthew 5:43-44)
God is calling His True believers to make a definite and permanent choice to commit to Him and His laws. So often we are given a definite choice of right or wrong. So often we want to please our fellowman because we do not want to "offend them" or because we care "what they think." But I personally believe that all that follow God, will have to make the definite and committed choice to seek God's approval over man's. God will not be second in our lives if we say that we are committed to Him.
To put man's choice BEFORE God's is nothing short of idolatry. God clearly says that He is a Jealous God and that we are to have no idols before Him. Jealous here does not imply that He is immature and behaves like an ill-mannered child when they do not get their way. Rather, it means that if we commit to Him then He expects, rather demands, that we put Him first and have no other idols before Him.
(Exodus 20:4-6),"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: {5} Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a Jealous God..."
Jesus clearly addresses the type of dedication that He expects from His followers in *Matthew 10:16-40* when He speaks of the type of commitment His Disciples must give to Him. He says that He will be sending us out as “sheep among wolves.” This means that if we are close to Him and have a truly committed relationship with Him that we will be as innocent as sheep. We will be witnessing and living for His Name in a world full of wicked people who are like wolves that eat sheep. God, however, will protect His Own. You may lose your life, your reputation, and many of the things that you hold dear but when it really comes down to it, you still are left with the choice of deciding if you will choose your life and the things of it over serving God.
To follow Christ means that His followers will endure persecution from our fellowman. The persecutions will come from friends, close family, and those who you hold dear. When Jesus was on Earth, most of humanity “despised and rejected Him. He was a Man sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3). Jesus states that His followers will be “hated of all [wicked] men for His Name’s sake. [However] those who endure to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:22)
Jesus says that a “servant is not about his master.” (Matthew 10:24) Jesus endured persecution, hatred, slander, and lies from the men of the time. If you choose to wholeheartedly follow Him, then you can expect no less out of this life. Jesus provides a very realistic description of what His Followers can expect to endure. He provides a very realistic description of what we can expect as His followers. He wants to make absolutely certain that those who commit to Him understand exactly what being His disciple will entail.
So, in light of these seemingly negative descriptions, what would make a person want to endure such awful treatment and persecutions from his fellowman to serve the Lord??
To begin, Jesus promises those who truly believe in Him that their reward will be great in heaven if they are reviled and persecuted for His Name’s sake. Jesus says that those who are persecuted for His Name’s Sake should “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is [their] reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5:12).
He also promises that those who endure through all of the persecutions to the end will be saved. Jesus also promises "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 24:13)
Jesus will bring those that ardently seek Him to a place that nothing else matters but serving Him. Nothing else will matter to us but fulfilling His Call in our lives and looking forward to the day when we will see Him face to face. Paul clearly supports this when he states, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
To be in truly committed relationship with God means that it will matter to you MORE what God thinks of you and your life than what man thinks of you. Jesus promises us in so many different parts of the Bible that those who diligently follow Him will receive the true love of God and the blessings that ensue from that love.
When you are in this kind of relationship with God, it does not matter to you what everyone else thinks about you or what you believe. As long as you are doing your best before God and doing His Will then nothing else matters whatsoever but seeking His Face and gaining His Approval which He promises to those that genuinely seek Him. If we seek Him with all of our heart, He PROMISES that we will find Him. When we truly find Him, nothing else matters except serving Him.
Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And ye shall seek me [God], and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
James 4:8a says, “Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you….”
God truly is seeking a people who will seek His Face and His Glory first before their own needs and desires. He is calling us to a life of utter devotion and faith to Him.
One who is in a truly committed relationship with God will have their priorities where they are supposed to be. I am firmly convinced that God is after a remnant of people who are sincerely with all their heart, soul, mind, body and strength searching for His Face…not the benefits that they can get from Him. God is not blessing vending machine. God is tired of all the political church games and all of the people who claim to love Him only wanting Him for His “Benefits” but who are unwilling to make a heartfelt commitment to Him with every fiber of their being. God wants a people who will seek His Face because they love Him. God is not coming after a people who just want to use Him for His benefits and then toss Him aside like yesterday’s soiled newspaper.
God clearly states, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14).
There are many upon many verses in the Bible that speak of what a true believer of Christ can expect from a relationship with Him. These blessings, when they come from a God that you truly love and that truly loves you in return, make a committed life with Him worth each and every persecution that we will endure. I believe that every Christian who places their faith, heart, and hope in God will be blessed. God has so much to offer to them that truly seek to serve Him no matter what man might say.
The Bible is filled with verses that specifically tell of the blessings and joys that He WANTS to give to those who diligently seek Him and believe that He is. (Hebrews 11:6). This type of follower are people who truly seek His Face and who worship Him in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23), and for those who choose His Approval over the approval of man.
As for my personal choice and that of my family, no matter what persecutions, lack of approval, and unjust treatment man may send our way, we will follow the example of Joshua when he says that, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15b).
I will end this blog by listing several of these blessings. Thank You for reading and May God richly bless you. Amen.
(Deuteronomy 28:2-8) "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: {3} "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. {4} "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. {5} "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. {6} "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. {7} "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. {8} "The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
(II Chronicles 7:14) “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(Psalms 1:1-3) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. {3} He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalms 32:1-2) Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. {2} Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
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