As born again believers, we need to be like Jesus. We need to be disciples of Jesus. Some people say they believe in Jesus, but want to live however they want to live.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus tells us that if we want to be His disciples, we must deny ourselves. How? Deny things that don’t glorify God. Deny things that you seek for comfort. Deny even sleep.
First, to be Jesus’ disciples, we must forsake the things we love the most. We must hate them. Jesus spoke about this in Luke 14:26-27. This doesn’t mean that we hate our family and beat them up. It means that we must hate their sin. We must love Jesus more than everyone else.
If you love someone’s sin more than you love God, that person will eventually come against you and betray you because you did not speak the truth to them. Also, your love for them will pull you away from God. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus tells us that no one can have two masters. Having two masters divides our heart and will be a stumbling block in our relationship with God. Jesus needs to be first in our minds and hearts.
The Holy Spirit is our comforter. Give up all other sources of comfort. Stop trying to find comfort in people around you. They will always fail you. Jesus will never fail you.
Second, to be Jesus’ disciple, we must deny ourself, take up our cross, and follow Him. Jesus’ life on this earth was not too pleasurable. He constantly denied Himself.
We need to serve God even when it’s not comfortable. We need to give up our rights. We need to give up our right to be right.
Abraham became the father of all nations because he left his comfort — his father’s home and land. He showed that he loved God more than anything when he gave up his beloved son, Isaac. Philippians 3:7-8 shows us that the things that we think are good in our flesh are considered rubbish in the eyes of God.
2 Corinthians 11:24-27 tell about Paul’s life. Even though he went through all of those trials, he never complained. Paul’s cross was heavy, but he praised God in every situation because all those things helped him draw closer to God. When your cross gets heavy and you get tired, just give thanks to God. Thank God for every situation (good and bad) that you are in.
Third, to be Jesus’ disciple, we must have a clear vision, purpose, and plan. We must serve God according to His plan for our lives. Have a clear understanding of why you are serving God. This will give you strength and stamina in serving God. You also need to know how to pray — what to pray for. Jesus will be the One to make it happen.
God bless you!
Pastor Sun Hui East
That is SO true, so sad. I am divorced and my ex-husband was “that person”… I put him before everyone and I put him before God anytime I thought I might lose his attention. In the end, I realized that he never did love me, never did care about me and was truly my enemy in reality. I’m glad you blog about these type of things Pastor Sun Hui East, you are very truthful and real. I bet you have had a lot of people turn against you too…
Well said Pastor Sun Hui East, this is a difficult teaching to swallow because it takes a lot of selflessness to change! I appreciate your courage in putting the truth out, no matter how uncomfortable. I love your books by the way
I never really want to leave any type of comfort I have Pastor Sun Hui East. I’m too much of a “self pleaser”. Still, I do want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I guess I’ve got a lot of changing to do.
This type of message is painful but true Pastor Sun Hui East. We “say” that we love someone, when really, we just love their attachment to us. Their sin is pulling us both down because, as we stay connected to them, we are actually party/support to their sin. We need to cut off those relationships, this is very very difficult; however, it is exactly what the Scriptures tell us.
It is easy to say we are Christians, but difficult live it in all the moments of life. Living out our faith must be what the Lord talks about constantly in Revelations when he says we must be “overcomers”!
I agree with some of these comments, because I’ve been through this in bad family relationships. I eventually had to separate from my family and have been better for it. I believe the Lord wants us to have strong, meaningful family ties, that was His original plan. Because most people don’t put Him first and don’t walk with Him, they produce bad talk & actions that poison those around them, especially their families! I appreciate you Pastor Sun Hui East because I know you always speak the truth about who we should spend our time with, according to God’s Word. I remember a message you gave when you visited our church 10 years ago where you pointed out the passage in the new testament saying that we “shouldn’t even eat with such a person”… boy did that make me re-evaluate!
I like this post Pastor Sun Hui East, this is tough teaching but true. We need more of this
My grandmother is a huge fan of yours Pastor Sun Hui East, she had my wife & I buy a few if your books & asked us to read your blog each week. We are enjoying it and appreciate the bold way you teach the whole truth.
Praise the Lord for you Pastor Sun Hui East. We miss you in Colorado!
I know I need to serve God in all situations. I used to work for oil companies overseas & during that time, things were really going “my way”. Now, 25 years later, I look back and see my selfishness. It wasn’t, until recently, that I made a commitment to the Lord & decided to serve Him. I can see now that all those years of serving myself we’re pretty useless years. I totally agree with your teachings on this blog Pastor Sun Hui East. I want to grow & change now that I have spiritual understanding.
I like your points Pastor Sun Hui East. We really need to cut off relationships that are not helping us in our spiritual walk.
This is a very tough teaching Pastor Sun Hui East. It’s tough because non of us truly want to “deny” ourselves, we want to “cater” to ourselves! Too bad, we all need His grace to lose the selfish attitude & become like Christ!
I do want to be a good disciple of Jesus. Amen and thank you Pastor Sun.