Is Christ Worth It?

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26–27)

Jesus is unashamed and unafraid of telling us up front the “worst” — the painful cost of being a Christian: hating family (verse 26), carrying a cross (verse 27), renouncing possessions (verse 33). There is no small print in the covenant of grace. It is all big, and bold. No cheap grace! Very costly! Come, and be my disciple.

But Satan hides his worst and shows only his best. All that really matters in the deal with Satan is in small print on the back page.

On the front page in big, bold letters are the words, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4), and “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). But on the back page in small print — so small you can only read it with the magnifying glass of the Bible — it says, “And after the fleeting pleasures, you will suffer with me forever in hell.”

Why is Jesus willing to show us his “worst” as well as his best, while Satan will only show us his best? Matthew Henry answers, “Satan shows the best, but hides the worst, because his best will not [counterbalance] his worst; but Christ’s will abundantly.”

The call of Jesus is not just a call to suffering and self-denial; it is first a call to a banquet. This is the point of the parable in Luke 14:16–24. Jesus also promises a glorious resurrection where all the losses of this life will be repaid (Luke 14:14). He also tells us that he will help us endure the hardships (Luke 22:32). He also tells us our Father will give us the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). He promises that even if we are killed for the kingdom, “not a hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:18).

Which means that when we sit down to calculate the cost of following Jesus — when we weigh the “worst” and the “best” — he is worth it. Abundantly worth it (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17). 

Not so with Satan. Stolen bread is sweet, but afterward the mouth is full of gravel (Proverbs 20:17).

Jesus Knows His Sheep

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them.” (John 10:27)

Jesus knows those who are his. What is this knowledge?

John 10:3 is a close parallel to John 10:27. It says, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” 

So, when Jesus says, “I know them,” this means at least that he knows them by name; that is, he knows them individually and intimately. They are not anonymous, lost in the flock. 

John 10:14–15 provides another insight: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”

There is a real similarity between the way Jesus knows his Father in heaven and the way he knows his sheep. Jesus sees himself in the Father, and he sees himself in his disciples. 

To some degree Jesus recognizes his own character in his disciples. He sees his own brand mark on the sheep. This endears them to him.

He is like a husband waiting for his wife at the airport, watching as each person disembarks from the plane. When she appears, he knows her, he recognizes her features, he sees in her eyes a happy reflection of his own love. He delights in her. She is the only one he embraces. 

The apostle Paul puts it like this: “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2 Timothy 2:19).

It is hard to overemphasize what a tremendous privilege it is to be known personally, intimately, lovingly by the Son of God. It is a precious gift to all his sheep, and it contains within it profound, personal fellowship and affection and the promise of eternal life.

TRUST GOD WITH YOUR MONEY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MAY 22, 2021.

SUBJECT : TRUST GOD WITH YOUR MONEY!

Memory verse: "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16 vs 10.)

READ: Luke 16 vs 11 - 13:

16:11: Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 

16:12: And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? 

16:13: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 

INTIMATION:

The context of the Scripture we read today is Jesus saying that the least area of trusting God is money. What an incredible statement! It is completely contrary to the way most believers think. Our integrity often meets its match in money matters. God calls us to be honest even in small details we could easily rationalize away. Such small details God has equated with money. 

Mammon means money. Jesus said that trusting God in the area of your money is the least area of trust, and you can't do greater things without doing the lesser things first. If you can't lift five pounds weight, then you certainly shouldn't go out and try to lift a hundred pounds weight. You have to start with what is least and work your way up. If you can't walk ten paces, then you can't climb a mountain. 

Jesus' teaching clearly shows that trusting God with your money is the list use of your faith. If you can't do that which is least, how then can you trust Him for the greater things. Jesus called money "that which is least" (Luke 16 vs 10). Now think about it; if you aren't trusting God with your money, then you are deceiving yourself to think you are trusting Him with your eternal salvation or anything else. That is profound!

Have you ever thought of why Jesus called money 'unrighteous?' This is because money has the power to take God's place in your life. Most people cling to their money and possessions for fear of loosing them and not getting another. Clinging to your money out of fear that God won't provide for you, and then trying to say you are believing God for other things, like healing or restoration, is like saying, "I can't jump three feet, but I will compete in long jump in Olympics. It doesn't work that way. 

Though everything has been provided for in the Scriptures, but you can't have them because probably you won't trust God for big things until you can trust Him for little things as money first. Trusting God with your money is much more important than it has been given credit. Many people are trying to bypass this issue and move on to bigger things, but it won't work. Just like other areas of life, you have to start at the beginning and work your way up. 

Remember, Jesus said that you can't serve two masters (Luke 16 vs 13.) You can't trust yourself when it comes to money and then trust God with everything else. It isn't effective to compartmentalize your faith so that you are trying to trust God in one area, but not in others. If you are going to trust God, then trust Him all the way. The same God who promised eternal life when you confess Jesus as your Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10 vs 9), also said to give and it would be given back to you. (Luke 6 vs 38.)

Heaven's riches are far more valuable than earthly wealth. But if you are not trustworthy with your money that is equated to that which is the least, you will be unfit to handle the vast riches of God's kingdom that starts with the gift of salvation. If your integrity slips off you in small matters as money, it will eventually fail you in crucial decisions also.

If you aren't seeing greater things come to pass in your life, the reason may very well be that you aren't trusting God with "that which is least." Believing for your family to be restored, for healing to manifest in your body, are all infinitely greater than believing for money. If you haven't started trusting God with your money yet, how can you go beyond that and trust Him to heal your body? How can you trust God to give you eternal life, but not trust Him to provide for your physical needs?

Not trusting God with your money, in my considered opinion, is greed. The apostle Paul’s warning on greed, in First Timothy 6 vs 6 - 10, is as clear as the day: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food, and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, foe which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ Be wise!

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of complete trust in, and obedience to You in all things, even in my money, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD SONG BY EVANGELIST GLADIS IKUMASI!

 The Spirit of the Lord by Evangelist Glad is Ikumasi. Contact on +234 802 303 0320 for live ministration. God bless you.

UNDERSTANDING THE RIGHT MOTIVES OF GIVING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY MAY 21, 2021.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE RIGHT MOTIVES OF GIVING!

Memory verse: "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have no love, it profits me nothing." (First Corinthians 13 vs 3.)

READ: Second Corinthians 9 vs 6 - 8:

9:6: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

9:7: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

INTIMATION:

God evaluated both our motives and the quality of what we offer Him. When we give to God and others, we should have a joyful heart because of what we are able to give. We should not worry about how much we are giving up, for all things are God’s in the first place. Instead, we should joyfully give to God our best in time, money, possessions, and talents. God loves cheerful givers. Our giving should be from love and generosity, not from a guilty conscience. Always review what God has done for you. Has he blessed you with enough to meet your daily needs? Thank Him, and then cheerfully give so others’ needs can be met. Learn the joy of giving wholeheartedly to God.

Some people have been giving faithfully for a long time, but they've been doing it with a wrong motives. For instance, they've been taught they should tithe out of obligation and they've just been paying a bill, or they've been doing it to appease God. That kind of giving benefits the church you are giving to, but it isn't going to benefit you in this life. You won't get returns on that giving. You have to plant your financial seed with a cheerful heart, motivated by love, because your gift is ruined when you give with the wrong motive.

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul makes it clear that your motive counts. It says we should not give "grudgingly, or of necessity." If the reason you give offering and pay tithe is because you don't want to be under a curse, then you are paying out of necessity and it isn't cheerful. It is paying hush money to God. The Scripture tells us not to give grudgingly or of necessity because God loves a cheerful giver. The dominant motive for giving under the New Covenant should be a cheerful heart. We should be giving because we want to. Your giving must be out of love for Him and for all He has done, and is doing for you—a response to God’s magnanimity in your life. Giving out of fear is the same thing as giving "grudgingly," and giving out of manipulation and condemnation is the same as giving "of necessity." Giving with those motives profits you nothing. 

The apostle Paul, in Second Corinthians 9, ends his teaching on giving by saying, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift" (vs 15). Some translations say "indescribable gift." This summarizes why we should give back to the Lord under the New Covenant: because He has already given us beyond measure. God has provided everything for us, and our giving is actually an expression of appreciation for all that He has done for us. It goes back to the Scripture in our memory verse that says nothing we do is of any benefit unless it is motivated by love. Again the motive behind our gift is more important than our gift.

The only giving that is acceptable to God is that which you purpose in your own heart and give cheerfully—not grudgingly or of necessity. You aren't going to buy prosperity from God, or force Him into blessing you, just like you don't need to pay Him protection money to keep the curse of the law out of your life. All of that is manipulation and condemnation, and giving with those motivations profits you nothing. Give as a response of joy and love for God. And let your giving be a matter of rejoicing rather than duty.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your indescribable gifts freely given to us. No one knows Your mind to instruct You. O Lord, endue me with the mind of Christ that I may do all things out of love for You, and for my neighbor, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

 

God Works for You

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. (Psalm 121:1–3)

Do you need help? I do. Where do you look for help?

When the psalmist lifted up his eyes to the hills and asked, “From where does my help come?” he answered, “My help comes from the Lord” — not from the hills, but from the God who made the hills. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

So, he reminded himself of two great truths: One is that God is a mighty Creator over all the problems of life; the other is that God never sleeps. “He who keeps you will not slumber.”

God is a tireless worker. He never wearies. Think of God as a worker in your life. Yes, it is amazing. We are prone to think of ourselves as workers in God’s life. But the Bible wants us first to be amazed that God is a worker in our lives: “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

God is working for us around the clock. He does not take days off and he does not sleep. In fact he is so eager to work for us that he goes around looking for more work to do for people who will trust him: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). 

God loves to show his tireless power and wisdom and goodness by working for people who trust him. The sending of his Son, Jesus, was the main way the Father showed this: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Jesus works for his followers. He serves them. The gospel is not a “help wanted” sign. It is a “help available” sign.

This is what we must believe — really believe — in order to “rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16) and “[give] thanks always and for everything” (Ephesians 5:20) and have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), and “not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6), and hate our lives “in this world” (John 12:25), and “love [our] neighbor as [ourselves]” (Matthew 22:39).

What a truth! What a reality! God is up all night and all day to work for those who wait for him.

How to Hate Your Life

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24–25)

“Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” What does that mean? 

It means, at least, that you don’t take much thought for your life in this world. In other words, it just doesn’t matter much what happens to your life in this world. 

If men speak well of you, it doesn’t matter much.

If they hate you, it doesn’t matter much.

If you have a lot of things, it doesn’t matter much.

If you have little, it doesn’t matter much.

If you are persecuted or lied about, it doesn’t matter much.

If you are famous or unheard of, it doesn’t matter much.

If you have died with Christ, these things just don’t matter much. 

But Jesus’s words are even more radical. Jesus is calling us not just to endure experiences we don’t choose, but to make a choice to follow him. “If anyone serves me, he must follow me” (John 12:26). Where to? He is moving into Gethsemane and toward the cross. 

Jesus is not just saying: If things go bad, don’t fret, since you have died with me anyway. He is saying: Choose to die with me. Choose to hate your life in this world the way I have chosen the cross.

This is what Jesus meant when he said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). He calls us to choose the cross. People only did one thing on a cross. They died on it. “Take up your cross,” means, “Like a grain of wheat, fall into the ground and die.” Choose it. 

But why? For the sake of radical commitment to ministry: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). I think I hear Paul saying, “It doesn’t matter what happens to me — if I can just live to the glory of God’s grace.”