Luke 14:25 NKJV Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and
said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and
mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also,
he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and
come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to
build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has
enough to finish it— 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Luke 9:23 NKJV Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For
whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for
My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole
world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me
and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in
His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
You don’t make a decision that will effect you the rest of your life hear on earth and for eternity, flippantly. You need to know what God will ask of you. Salvation is a free gift received by faith (Ephesians 2:8) but you have to give up all of your life to receive all of His life. With God there are no gray areas and no half ways. It’s either His way all the way or no way for our own good. Many people want a Savior to deliver them from Hell. I call this fire insurance. Few really want a Lord and Master who will rule the rest of their life here on earth even though it’s done all out of love and for our own good. He’s the Creator, Master, Father and God and we are not. Our will has no place in His kingdom accept to do His will.
Matthew 7:21 NKJV “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
I've heard said that the name Savior is used under 40 times and the name Lord is used over four hundred times in the New Testament. Do you think God is trying to get a point across to us? He’s Lord of all or not at all. It’s just the way it is. He’s God and we’re not.
Matthew 4:17 AMP From that time Jesus began to preach, crying out, Repent
(change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence
of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 19 And He said to them, Come after Me [as disciples--letting Me be your
Guide], follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!
Hebrews 6:1 AMP...the foundation of repentance and abandonment
of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which
you turned] to God,
By faith which is believing what God has said in His Word is truth you have to turn from your old life and sinful ways to Jesus Christ giving you life totally over to Him for the Divine exchange to take place; His life for your life. You give up your life and receive His life. You make a commitment to Him to follow Him and His Word all the days of your life left on earth at any cost and to never look back.
Matthew 10:39 CEV If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it.
Luke 9:57 NKJV Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Let me speak for a moment to both the Believer and nonbeliever especially in the developing world countries where persecution is very possible right now.
Here Jesus promises the possibility of homelessness, broken relationships, separation and loneliness to follow Him. In the Western World most of us have no clue about such things let alone the persecution, torture and martyrdom happening in other countries to the church. You couldn't preach a lot of the messages to those people we preach here in the US. They suffer for their faith, go hungry, get kicked out of their homes, are hunted, they run and hid, meet in secret with the looming possibility it might be their last time to gather together and worship God. Go to this web site and see the truth of what happens around the world to Christians; The Voice of the Martyrs http://www.persecution.com/ and order the DVD “Underground Reality, Vietnam” and some of the other DVD's and books and see and read about the truth that few of us know about.
1 John 1:8 AMP If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we
are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth
[which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our
hearts]. 9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess
our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and
.promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and
[continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything
not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
Romans 10:8 AMP But what does it say? The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach, 9 Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.11 The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.
Lord - Greek Lexicon (kyrios) Putting this in my own very simple words is this is what the Greek meaning of the name Lord means when it is spoken of for those of you who might not know yet what a Lexicon is. That’s fine because you know now.
1) he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord
a) the possessor and disposer of a thing
1) the owner; one who has control of the person, the master
2) in the state: the sovereign, prince, chief, the Roman emperor
b) is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master
c) this title is given to: God, the Messiah
If your now willing to totally turn from our old life to follow Jesus in your heart, a decision made in your mind with corresponding actions (See: Matthew 3:8), admit and confess you're a sinner and have sinned against God, believe that Jesus is the only way to receive salvation from the penalty of that sin, your willing for Him to be Lord by allowing your whole life to belong to Him as your Owner and Master (See: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 & 2 Corinthians 5:14-15) in full control with the power to make all decisions for your life and He'll be the possessor and disposer of everything in your life and you will spend the rest of your life adhering to, trusting in, and relying on this truth, the Word of God and Jesus, then your ready to be saved and made to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and escape the wrath to come.
Now just talk to God. He’s a real Person and ready and willing to listen to you speak to Him. He might even speak back. Be real and as honest as possible telling Him all that is on your heart confessing your sinfulness to Him and of your need for Him to help you escape His wrath. Now by a choice of your will turn your life fully over the Him and let Him lead the way from here on out.
.
This is only the beginning and there is so much more to learn and a relationship to develop with a living loving God who gave His life for you.
The main reason He saved you is not just to keep you from His wrath and Hell even those are really great and important reasons. He saved you for the purpose of establishing a personal and real relationship with you as a son and a daughter and possibly as a close and trusted friend in the years to come.
Romans 8:15 NKJV For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
I or no one else can say to you that you are saved but only the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 7:15 NKJV “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 5:13 NKJV “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
The Bible also tells us we will know the false and true Christians by their fruit and good works.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
If you have been saved then you are a whole new person on the inside that never existed before and will even be changing on the outside in speech and
action as you grow and mature in your walk and relationship with God. Through Jesus Christ you've been brought back to God and you're an ambassador for Him now. So get to know Him so you can love Him for who He really is and truly represent Him as He really is in His fullness to others. This can be accomplished by going to a good word preaching Spirit-filled church, studying daily good study bible and praying which is daily talking to God and asking Him to meet specific needs. I strongly recommend the Spirit Filled Life Bible NJKV.
Let me now give you some personal advice from over 20 years of walking with God. In and of myself without the daily strength and help of Jesus I am a very weak and feeble man. During my walk with God in life and ministry I have experienced almost every crazy thing imaginable that can happen to a Christian and minister in the Western World. No matter how hard and difficult life gets, if it seems like the world, life and the Devil are kicking your brains in never give up, keep seeking God because He will answer. When it seems as if nothing God said in happening especially if you don't understand what God is doing through it all then welcome to earth and real Christianity. I can tell you from years of personal experience that there is only one way to stand and have joy in the most difficult of times. Trust in Jesus and His word, the Bible It has taken me all these to learn how to stand on God’s word and trust Him in the most difficult of times.
This is what I know from my personal experience with God. God will never leave you nor forsake you. God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can stand. God cannot lie, His word can’t ever fail and if God be for us who can be against us? He loves us more than we can imagine and will take us through great trials and any obstacle to bring us as close to Him as we want and to get us where He wants if we will only yield and obey. My definition of stupid is someone who says they are a Christian and loves God but don’t obey Him and fight Him when He speaks to them to do His will. Please don’t be that way. It is a horrible example to those around you and it grieves God, the One who loves you and has saved you from the wrath to come.
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