whenever i open my bible up, and read the words of god. why does it hurt me and make me cry becuase i am not living at those standards, and i really cant say for sure that i know anyone who is?
real disciples.
i beleive we have to many preachers today, well, not to many, but too many that are not up to the standards of god. and we are not able to do the work of jesus, becuase we are not meeting the conditions of a true disciple.
jesus said these words, talking about people who would follow in his footsteps and take up the work he started.
luke 9.23-24
"if any man will come after me let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. for whosoever shall save his life for my sake shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it...
jesus said that if you wanted to follow in his footsteps and be a disciple, learner, pupil, of him. that there are some conditions.
1. self denial.
we have to many people in our time that claim the name of jesus, but are tossed and thrown back and forth by their own passions and desires. they cannot deny their own flesh, cannot deny theirself for the sake of the law of god. when they want something, they forget the law of God and take it. they do not have the ability to deny themselves. but jesus said that if you would not lay your own desires aside, for the his law of holiness, that you could not be his disciple. our history is shamed and spotted with fallen pastors and preachers, and it continues today.
we cannot just do anything we want! nooo! we must forget our own desires to obey the law of god! if we desire to carry his name in front of the world and claim to be his follower.
2. commitment unto death.
taking up our cross. the cross meant one thing to jesus, that when he took up his cross it would be the death of him. and jesus said that we must take up our own crosses every day of our lives.
it is simply a commitment to obey the law of god and his everyword even it if means the death of us. we look at the spiritual giants of yesterday and say "wow, they died for jesus!" we were amased at the girl who died for jesus in the school shooting a few years ago. but this is not something only the great people need. it is something that is required of every person who desires to be a disciple of christ! if you do not have a commitment to obey the word of god, even if it kills you. then im sorry....
but jesus said you could not be his disciple. i know this seems hard...and very unlike the new testament doctrine that people are hearing today. but the new testament is more than just grace, love, mercy, prosperity, riches, never ending grace, and those things are included. but jesus also said that if you desired to be a preacher, a man that preached his word, then you must live at a higher standard the average christian. if are not willing to obey the law of god fully, then do not become a preacher... please...dont make a mockery of the church in the eyes of the world.
do your sins somewhere else, dont become a preacher and have men look to you for help..only to see that you yourself have nothing to give, and you do not even live the standard your preaching.
if you want to be a disciple, you have to have a commitment to obey the law and voice of god, even unto death.
this is not the work of flesh, but it is the yeilding of onself totally unto god.
3. seek him.
follow him.
i beleive one of the biggest problems in the church today is that we have good hearts, we want to do the work of god, the spirit is willing. but we have not sought his face in order to be changed by him into perfect vessels.
jesus told them that he would MAKE them fishers of men.
not that they would be fishers of men, or that they would choose to become fishers of men.
if you are not seeking his face, if you are not daily putting yourself into his presence and constantly being filled with his spirit.
then are working in the flesh, and you will never truely accomplish the will of god.
i once heard that 99% of preachers in america pray less than 5 min a day.......NOOOO THAT WONT WORK!
we try to be like jesus, but we are not able to be like him, becuase we do not have his power! because do not have his prayer life or his knowlegde, and revelation of the word.
preachers get distracted by the work of god, trying to do things for him, in so much that they forget to get alone with god.
i once heard a man say that if you are not praying atleast 2 hours a day that cannot be an effective preacher, because you dont really know god.
and i dont really know if thats true, but the point he was stressing was that you cannot do the work of jesus unless you have an active prayer life, becuase if you do have a prayer life, a life where you have a time and place to get alone with god, and commune with him. then you will not be filled with his spirit, and you can by no means do anything good for god in flesh.
if you are not filled with his spirit, from time alone with the person of god, hearing his voice, talking with him, meeting him, then you are working in your own power.
jesus prayed constantly, all night long, he had an amasing prayer life. but we today do not.
we must have god do away with our ungodly hearts and minds, and give us new hearts and minds, and make us into what we need to be. this can only be done behind the veil.
we must have a revival of prayer and seek his face.
if you just decide one day youll be a preacher and do the works of jesus, youll fail miserably.
and if you try to live of the lords prayer
"hallowed be thy name....amen"
a 5 min prayer everyday, then you do not know god like you should, for you have not met him for real. and you cannot do his work.
but you set aside a good amount of time to get away from everything alone with the holyspirit to speak with him.
we give everything the world personal time, except for the lonely heart of god.
if we will only hear the counscel of god, and start to seek his discipleship like he advises, we will soon change our world. theres no doubt about it. nothing would be able to stand in our way.
their have been great men, spiritual giants in the past, we need more of them today.
real disciples.
i beleive we have to many preachers today, well, not to many, but too many that are not up to the standards of god. and we are not able to do the work of jesus, becuase we are not meeting the conditions of a true disciple.
jesus said these words, talking about people who would follow in his footsteps and take up the work he started.
luke 9.23-24
"if any man will come after me let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. for whosoever shall save his life for my sake shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it...
jesus said that if you wanted to follow in his footsteps and be a disciple, learner, pupil, of him. that there are some conditions.
1. self denial.
we have to many people in our time that claim the name of jesus, but are tossed and thrown back and forth by their own passions and desires. they cannot deny their own flesh, cannot deny theirself for the sake of the law of god. when they want something, they forget the law of God and take it. they do not have the ability to deny themselves. but jesus said that if you would not lay your own desires aside, for the his law of holiness, that you could not be his disciple. our history is shamed and spotted with fallen pastors and preachers, and it continues today.
we cannot just do anything we want! nooo! we must forget our own desires to obey the law of god! if we desire to carry his name in front of the world and claim to be his follower.
2. commitment unto death.
taking up our cross. the cross meant one thing to jesus, that when he took up his cross it would be the death of him. and jesus said that we must take up our own crosses every day of our lives.
it is simply a commitment to obey the law of god and his everyword even it if means the death of us. we look at the spiritual giants of yesterday and say "wow, they died for jesus!" we were amased at the girl who died for jesus in the school shooting a few years ago. but this is not something only the great people need. it is something that is required of every person who desires to be a disciple of christ! if you do not have a commitment to obey the word of god, even if it kills you. then im sorry....
but jesus said you could not be his disciple. i know this seems hard...and very unlike the new testament doctrine that people are hearing today. but the new testament is more than just grace, love, mercy, prosperity, riches, never ending grace, and those things are included. but jesus also said that if you desired to be a preacher, a man that preached his word, then you must live at a higher standard the average christian. if are not willing to obey the law of god fully, then do not become a preacher... please...dont make a mockery of the church in the eyes of the world.
do your sins somewhere else, dont become a preacher and have men look to you for help..only to see that you yourself have nothing to give, and you do not even live the standard your preaching.
if you want to be a disciple, you have to have a commitment to obey the law and voice of god, even unto death.
this is not the work of flesh, but it is the yeilding of onself totally unto god.
3. seek him.
follow him.
i beleive one of the biggest problems in the church today is that we have good hearts, we want to do the work of god, the spirit is willing. but we have not sought his face in order to be changed by him into perfect vessels.
jesus told them that he would MAKE them fishers of men.
not that they would be fishers of men, or that they would choose to become fishers of men.
if you are not seeking his face, if you are not daily putting yourself into his presence and constantly being filled with his spirit.
then are working in the flesh, and you will never truely accomplish the will of god.
i once heard that 99% of preachers in america pray less than 5 min a day.......NOOOO THAT WONT WORK!
we try to be like jesus, but we are not able to be like him, becuase we do not have his power! because do not have his prayer life or his knowlegde, and revelation of the word.
preachers get distracted by the work of god, trying to do things for him, in so much that they forget to get alone with god.
i once heard a man say that if you are not praying atleast 2 hours a day that cannot be an effective preacher, because you dont really know god.
and i dont really know if thats true, but the point he was stressing was that you cannot do the work of jesus unless you have an active prayer life, becuase if you do have a prayer life, a life where you have a time and place to get alone with god, and commune with him. then you will not be filled with his spirit, and you can by no means do anything good for god in flesh.
if you are not filled with his spirit, from time alone with the person of god, hearing his voice, talking with him, meeting him, then you are working in your own power.
jesus prayed constantly, all night long, he had an amasing prayer life. but we today do not.
we must have god do away with our ungodly hearts and minds, and give us new hearts and minds, and make us into what we need to be. this can only be done behind the veil.
we must have a revival of prayer and seek his face.
if you just decide one day youll be a preacher and do the works of jesus, youll fail miserably.
and if you try to live of the lords prayer
"hallowed be thy name....amen"
a 5 min prayer everyday, then you do not know god like you should, for you have not met him for real. and you cannot do his work.
but you set aside a good amount of time to get away from everything alone with the holyspirit to speak with him.
we give everything the world personal time, except for the lonely heart of god.
if we will only hear the counscel of god, and start to seek his discipleship like he advises, we will soon change our world. theres no doubt about it. nothing would be able to stand in our way.
their have been great men, spiritual giants in the past, we need more of them today.
