Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: It's really of importance, that a believer, really makes a stand by faith in Jesus Christ, and becoming obedient, and becoming a righteous person in the things of God so that we can share our faith with people that do not believe in Jesus Christ. Otherwise, people won't believe us. They'll think we're hypocrites.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. It's great to have you with us today for our series illuminating what it looks like to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Calling you to avoid the pitfalls of sinful compromise, Raul will urge you to seek the Holy Spirit's power in your life. You'll find that he will enable you to live the kind of heart level obedience that God desires. Here's Raul Ries in Matthew chapter 10 beginning in verse 34 with the lesson the uncompromising life.

Raul Ries: One of the things this morning that he's going to talk to us about is the uncompromising life of the disciple. Now, the word disciple means to be a learner. You come along, you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you become born again of the Holy Spirit, you become a disciple of Jesus Christ. And then you get into a Bible study, you begin to learn about the Bible, you start learning the lessons of the Bible, and then in a couple of weeks, months, and maybe years, you get pretty affiliated with the Bible, and you start not only sharing your faith with other people, and God begins to deal with you and convict you of certain things that need to be changed.

That's what's so beautiful about becoming a disciple of Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform people's lives. But what God is wanting to say this morning in the lesson is that people are always compromising with the Bible, and always making excuses for themselves why they compromise and can't live up to the standards of God's word. That's not good. God doesn't buy it. I don't buy it. No one buys it. It's really of importance that a believer really makes a stand by faith in Jesus Christ and becoming obedient and becoming a righteous person in the things of God so that we can share our faith with people that do not believe in Jesus Christ.

Otherwise, people won't believe us. They'll think we're hypocrites. I wondered this morning, what is your own compromise in the faith of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? I'm so happy you came this morning. What is it that you're compromising in? Whatever it may be. In the lesson, God is going to give us some guidelines in what he says. Notice first of all, as we read our lesson, observation number one, in chapter 10 of Matthew verse 34 through 36, the conflict that he gives to us here. As he's moving and coming to the end of the chapter 10, he says in verse 34, do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth.

I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Now, this is loving, gentle, kind Jesus. Now, we know according to Ephesians chapter 2 14 through 17 that Jesus did come to bring peace on the earth. But because the world had rejected him and did not want anything to do with him, he had to bring a sword. Judgment had to come. And Jesus himself here in verse 34 said, do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. If you don't receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, what happens?

The sword's going to cut you down. It's going to cut you down. You either receive him or you reject him. You're either for him or you're against him. There's no neutral ground when it comes to Christianity. Very important issue. And let's check this out. This is amazing. Verse 35. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be those of his own household. Wow. Wait a minute. You mean my mom, my dad, my grandpa, my grandma, my brother, my sister, my nephews, my uncles, my aunts, my cousins are going to come against me?

Yes. They're going to become your enemies. Especially if you're fully committed to Jesus Christ. You're going to see more of that. What do we do? Do we fight back? Do we hate them? Nope. We love them and we pray for them. That's what we do. We love them and we pray for them. And we have prayed that God will speak to their hearts like he spoke to my dad, like he spoke to my mother, the way he spoke to my brother, to my sisters, the way he's speaking to my grandchildren today, the way he speaks to my sons, the way he's speaking to you, the way he speaks to me.

This is really important. Why? Because then the Holy Spirit is effectively doing its work that he's called to do when Jesus said when I leave, I'm not going to leave you like little orphans. I'm going to leave, but I'm going to send the Holy Spirit and when he comes, he's going to lead, guide, provide for you. He's going to convict you and he's going to show you even things to come. He said that. So imagine how blessed we are to be Christians. The conflict. As Jesus said, do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth.

I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be those of his own household, your own family. And there are those that you know that hate you because what you stand for. There's nothing worse than a child of God, a disciple of Jesus Christ to compromise when God is trying to set a witness on those people. Think about that for a moment. God's used your life and God will use your life.

If you're being persecuted for righteousness' sake, hey, happy are you. Jesus said, not for being weird, but for being righteous, for doing what's right. And I think it's really important because a hallmark of discipleship is willingness to for sake everything, everything in my life, including one's own family if necessary, for the sake of Jesus Christ. I did that and I thank God that I did. And I would do it again. Nothing like it. Remember what he told the church of Ephesus in the first church, the seven churches. In the first message in Revelations 2 1 through 7, he said, I love everything that you're doing.

You hate evil people, you're working hard, but there's one thing that you've done and that I hate is that you have left your first love. Who's the first love? Jesus. Jesus. If you're here and you're single, man, your boyfriend or girlfriend should not be more than Jesus Christ. Jesus should be number one. Husband and wife, Jesus number one. Sons and daughters, Jesus number one. That's just the bottom line. That's why here Jesus introduces this point by using the figure of war and peace. War and peace. Imagine that. And yet as far as many human relationships are concerned here, he did not come to bring peace on the earth, but a sword.

Why? Because the Jews at this particular time, in the time of Jesus, most of them were looking for Jesus to become the Messiah and bring him into that kingdom age where there would be peace for a thousand years, but this was not the time. That's why they rejected him as Savior and Lord. Because they didn't really want to live according to the word of God. They were not willing to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. And to deny their mother and their father and their brother and their sister and to pick up their cross and follow Jesus Christ number one, they wouldn't do that.

And I think it's important for the church today to do that. We need to understand that that this is what God desires from each one of us individually to do that. If we don't do that, then faith in Christ is of no value. You become a religious person. And yet faith in Christ may well turn person's family against us. We know that. But I still continue to love my family. I don't hate my family. The reason I know that is because why? They're blind. They're the natural men. The natural man does not understand the things of God.

They're foolishness to him. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14 says that foolishness. But the spiritual man understands the things of the spirit. Why? Because he discerns. The Holy Spirit gives us discernment what's good, what 's bad, what's evil, what's good. We have the spirit of God within us. We've had a transformation. The Holy Spirit has come over my life and lives in my life. He's the one that is there to secure me in Christ Jesus. And that's why Jesus makes it so plain and he says you guys, if you're not for me, you're against me.

When Jesus spoke in John 16 33, Jesus warns and he says this, these things I have spoken unto you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. And yet the world does what hates Jesus. In Isaiah chapter 53 3 he says he is despised and rejected by men, Jesus. 750 years before Christ came, the prophecy was there that he would be rejected and despised. A man of sorrows acquainted with grief and he hid as it were our faces from him.

He was despised and we did not esteem him. Imagine that, the opposition and the persecution that came to the Christians in the first century church and even to Jesus himself. How he was pushed back and pushed away from everything that is good. And they ended up crucifying and putting him on a cross, putting nails to his hands and his feet, a crown of thorns on his head. And finally, when he gave up the spirit, they put actually a spirit through his heart and the water rag broke and what happened? He died of a broken heart for this world.

Jesus. Jesus Christ, the son of the living God.

Guest (Male): This is Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Our goal is to help you grow in faith and develop God honoring habits in your life. Visit somebodylovesyou.com for a wealth of resources. You can also download our free app for access to live streamed Bible teaching and digital Bible studies. Let's continue now with more from Raul Ries.

Raul Ries: Point number two. Look at observation number two, verse 37 through 39. We have here the conditions given now to become a disciple. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Underline that. Hear what he says. If you're in love, he's not saying to hate your mother or father. The word love there in the Greek is to love less. To love less. He's not telling you to hate your mother. To love less. He is saying seek you first the kingdom of God. I have to be number one in your life.

Not your mom. Not your And think of how many children are so adapted to their mom and dad and they almost worship their mom and dad. Because parents have created that. We need to be careful with that. Be careful with that. We need to be able to let go of our children and put them in the hands of God by faith. They got to grow up sometime. You can't run their lives forever. Parents, you need to let go of them. You need to let God work in their hearts. And yet it's so sad that many parents don't learn those lessons.

They want to be so protective and instead of protecting they're destroying their children. Because they don't allow them to think for themselves. And we need to let the Holy Spirit work in the hearts of our children, so they can serve the Lord one day in spirit and in truth. So Jesus here is pretty boisterous in what he says. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. It goes to the father and the mother and it goes back to the son and the daughters too.

If the children love their mom and dad more than God, it's wrong. If the parents love their children more than God, it's wrong. God has to be number one. Number one. Verse 38. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. That's an interesting point. Cuz Jesus hasn't gotten to chapter 16 of Matthew yet. He's not up in Caesarea Philippi yet. That's when he is on his way to Jerusalem to go to the cross. But he mentions the cross now. And the cross is the instrument of death.

The cross was invented by the Persians. And then the actual Romans adapted to it. And it's interesting that the actual crucified of a person in that particular time, it was a shame, it was awful, it was painful. An execution given by the ones that put the penalty on that person. And yet for us as Christians, Jesus says, if you really want to be my disciple and you really want to prove to me that you love me, then pick up your cross and die to yourself and then come follow me. What is that? The priority of our love for Christ.

The priority of our love for Christ. Christ is to be placed even above our families or anybody else, even money and positions. Seek you first the kingdom of God. I think we all need to hear that because we're living in very selfish days. We're living in very dangerous days that are coming. And if we're not really with a single track mind with Jesus, then how are we going to survive things to come? When they really start coming and things begin to happen. It's really important to be careful how we live. We need to live for eternity.

Yes, we need to live temporarily here for a while we're here. Be modest and be living here. But then at the same time, we need to understand that we've been called to a higher calling and that is to take up our crosses, the instrument of death so people can see that we truly love Jesus and we want to go to heaven, but at the same time, we have a burden for people that do not know Christ. That's real important. And that's what he says here. He who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

Don't waste your time. He doesn't buy religion. He buys a love relationship. When you're really honest and truthful with him, he's not looking for perfect people. He's looking for imperfect people that want to better their lives with Jesus Christ. And I'm praying this morning like the first service and now the second that this is not just another lesson, but that we would be transformed during the lesson, that we would make some decisions in our lives today to really change. If you haven't changed, to please change your heart as you give your heart to Jesus. Cuz look what he says next in verse 39.

He who finds his life, you will lose it at the end. You'll go to hell. You'll lose it. But he who loses his life for my sake will find it. Isn't that interesting? If you really really come to Jesus and you deny yourself and you take up your cross and you follow Jesus Christ, guess what's going to happen? You're going to find real real life that is abiding, abundant life. You're going to not be happy. You're going to be joyous. Cuz you're going to have security in Christ Jesus. I find interesting the phrase it's not worthy of me means does not belong to me and does not deserve to be mine in the Greek language.

Interesting. Listen again what he said. It is not worthy of me means does not belong to Jesus and does not deserve to be Jesus's. Wow. That's heavy. And that's not my words. Those are the words of Jesus. He's the one that has set the rights. Observation number three, compensation, the verse 40 42. These are not the benefits of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Now, he's going to emphasize the need for cross bearing and commitment. And Jesus here presented the same challenge in another way. Individuals can either be among those who are constantly seeking to find their own life, all will lose it, or they can be among those who are willingly to lose their lives and for the name of Christ and find it and be happy and joyous in this life and then go to heaven.

We make the choice. Interesting. We make the choice. Check this out, verse 40. He who receives you receives me and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He tells you here that to receive Christ as a disciple of Jesus Christ is to receive the father and the son. And if you receive the father and the son, wherever he sends you, they're going to receive you cuz you're representative of who? Of Jesus and the father. We are representatives. You see? We are the temple of the living God. God lives in bodies like ours. We make the decision when God changes our hearts.

So we become the temple of the living God so the community identifies with buildings, but we identify with what? With bodies that are possessed by Jesus Christ in the workplace, in the playground, wherever it may be. Jesus is with us and we are representative this of him. I like that. Everywhere I go 24/7 Jesus is there with me and with everything that I do. And then check this out, verse 41. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward here.

Here Jesus is saying that prophets are pretty big deal. Prophets were killed, beheaded, cut in half. But what do prophets do? Prophets in the Old Testament received the word of God and they went to cities and towns and they proclaimed it, thus saith the Lord. You see? And people hated the prophets. Why? Because they were convicting them of their lifestyles. They hated them. People are going to hate you because you're changing your manner of living. The way you're living today is different. But at the same time, what he's saying here is that if you do your job as a child of God as a real believer, guess what's waiting for you?

A reward. God's going to reward you. It's not in vain. You'll enjoy everything here temporarily right here for 60 30 years, 100 years. And then the end comes and you can take it with you. It stays here for somebody else to misspend it for you. Think about those things. Investing into the kingdom of God is the greatest. Why? Cuz it's eternal. God keeps account in his savings in heaven. That's what he's trying to share with us. The The mission of the disciples, the mission of the prophets was eternally. They didn't care about their lives. They gave their lives.

They spoke the truth about God. And then finally look at verse 42. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, as surely I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. Notice that here. What is he talking about? Kindness. As believers, we need to show kindness to other believers and non-believers, we need to show them kindness too so that God can reward us. We're not like the world where we're looking for revenge. And when you humble yourself before the Lord and you come to Jesus Christ and you let him know that you love him and that you want to serve him, and that you want to be real with him and other people, God will listen to you.

And he'll blow you away.

Guest (Male): Life is full of distractions that can pull our eyes away from Christ. So it's good to be reminded that the Holy Spirit can help us avoid compromise and stay on the path of surrender. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Today's study was titled The Uncompromising Life. For a donation of $5 or more, we'll be happy to send you an unedited version with much more teaching. All you have to do is call us at 800 634 9165. To further inspire you in honoring God with an undivided heart, we'd like to offer you Raul's 10 part series called Chosen and Committed.

It's available on CD or USB. Challenging you to daily take up your cross and follow Christ, this study will assure you of God's presence and power as you entrust your future to him. You'll also discover the blessings that come from prioritizing his will over your own. To order Chosen and Committed, visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800 634 9165. We'll send you Raul's 10 lesson study on CD for $22 or on flash drive for 13. That's 800 634 9165. Or you can write to Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Raul is happy to respond to your Bible questions and prayer requests when you email him at pastorraul@somebodylovesyou.com.

Plus you can join Raul for Straight Talk on the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel every Tuesday at 10 a.m. Pacific. Thanks so much for your partnership. Every tax deductible gift enables us to keep sharing the good news of the Lord Jesus with the world. Next time we'll continue our focus on fully living for the Lord and we invite you to join us in thinking about what it means to have a completely consecrated heart. We'll see that absolute devotion to God will spill out in our attitudes and actions pointing others to his salvation.

Raul Ries: This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.