Giving it All Up to Follow Jesus Christ

Luke 9:57-62

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.

“All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now.”
(Church Hymn)

• A promise to follow Jesus is to surrender possessions, money, and physical comforts.
• To follow Jesus is to make Him the priority over biological family.
• Once we start walking with Jesus Christ, don’t long for the “good times” of the past.

A promise to follow Jesus is to surrender possessions, money, and physical comforts. “Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” Luke 9:57 Many people are willing to follow Jesus to the Salvation Army, or the Goodwill, or the community fund raisers, or the “Trunk-or-Treats,” or to the lively and wealthy churches, and wherever the words of love, support, kindness, and charity are thrown around. Their Jesus is one who blesses them with social integration, money, possessions, and physical comforts. Jesus makes it clear that the Jesus they promise to follow is not Him. Are they willing to follow Jesus if it leads to not having a dime to their name, without any comforts, in homelessness, and without social support? That is where Jesus is found, who is the Christ and Savior of the world, “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.” Luke 9:58 To follow Jesus Christ is to come apart from social integration with those who live for the mark of the beast, and to reject their money and possessions. It also means living without the physical comforts that come from the thing that has power over physiology.

To follow Jesus is to make Him the priority over the worldly family. “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Luke 9:59 Those on the broad way makes their worldly family a priority over following Jesus Christ. They buy into the notion that it is unloving, cruel, and inhumane to give up on people, parents, siblings, and children to follow Jesus. In the process, they embrace the practice of humanism, which is the clothing worn by the mark of the beast. Jesus has a word about that, “Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:60 As followers of Jesus Christ, the only family we have are those who believe God, receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, embraces the presence of the Holy Spirit, and shares the Gospel of Christ. All others are dead to Christ and follows the way of the world.

Once we start walking with Jesus Christ, don’t long for the “good times” of the past. “And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” Luke 9:61 Following Jesus Christ means to be free from harboring a longing to be with worldly fellowship. It’s easy to have memories of past friends, fellowships, Christmases, etc. but following Jesus Christ is more important than going back to that lifestyle. Especially today, the society of the mark of the beast makes it painful in many ways to leave their family. It’s easy to keep looking back and wishing to return to the physical comforts, social activity, money, and possessions. Jesus has this to say, “But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 How can we possibly work to spread the testimony of Jesus while longing for money, social integration, possessions, and comforts? That is why the churches of today are dominated by those who embrace the mark of the beast in the name of humanism. People like that are unfit for the New Jerusalem.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11