TCH MINI-STUDY 15
WE MAY HAVE TO FORSAKE HOME, FAMILY, AND MORE, WHEN GOD CALLS
When God calls, God may require us
to forsake wife, brother, sister, father, mother, home, family, region, country, town, friends, and, yes, even our own lives. We will
have to put Christ and His will first, and completely give up our own life and will. Biblical verses make this very plain.
Pertinent
Verses:
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto
a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt
be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth
be blessed. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when
he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered,
and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came (Gen
12:1-5).
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net
into the sea: for they were fishers. And he [Jesus] saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway
left their nets [and their home, wife, family, city, and jobs] and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren,James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he [Jesus] called them.
And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him (Matthew 4:18-22).
And as Jesus passed forth from thence,he [Jesus] saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed
him (Matthew 9:9).
And as he [Saul, later renamed Paul] journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about
him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he
said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And
he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and
it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus (Acts
9:3-8).
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For
which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man
began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth
whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great
way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that
he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26-33).
Noah had to give up his life and build an ark (Genesis 6).
Abram had
to forsake his life in Ur to become the father of a nation (Genesis 12:1-8).
Moses could not stay in the desert and deliver Israel
from Egypt at the same time (Exodus 3).
David had to give up being a shepherd to become a king (1 Samual 16:1-13).
Amos gave
up the sycamore trees to become a preacher in Irael (Amos 7:14-15).
Jonah had to leave his home to preach in Nineveh (Jonah Chapters
1-4).
Peter, Andrew, James, and John had to give up fishing and families to follow Christ (Matthew 4:18-22).
Matthew had
to give up being a tax collector to follow Christ (Matthew 9:9).
Saul (later Paul) had to forsake his Judaism, prejudice, and
hatred after he was called by God to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1-19).
Jesus had to give up His riches and became
poor [in spirit, humble] so that those who believe on Him could become rich [towards God] (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Elisha had to
give up his family and farm in order to follow the call of God (2 Kings chapters 2-13).
Ruth had to leave her mother, father,
and land of her nativity (Ruth 2:11-12).
Conversely, the rich young ruler was offered faith and eternal life, but refused these
because he loved his money, position, and power more (Luke 18:18-27).
Instructions of Christ:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:31-34).
If any man come to me, and hate not [consider less than Christ and His will] his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26-33).
The cost is our own temporal life; the reward is eternal life with God:
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life (Matthew 19:29).
THE CHRISTIAN HERALD
A
Judeo-Christian Bible Study
IS GOD SPEAKING TO JERUSALEM, OR AMERICA???
Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence,
which have
placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree,
that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves,
yet
can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? But
this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart;
they are revolted and
gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God,
that giveth rain, both the former
and the latter, in his season: he reserveth
unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned
away these
things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he
that setteth
snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds,
so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become
great, and
waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds
of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause
of the fatherless, yet
they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit
for these things? saith the
LORD: shall not my soul be avenged
on such a nation as this?
(Jeremiah 5:22-29).
WOE BE UNTO THE PASTORS
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus
saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not
visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out
of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And
I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking,
saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and
prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and
this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS"
(Jeremiah 23:1-6).
"I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life
from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine
holy temple. They that observe lying [false, vain, useless] vanities [emptiness that leads away] forsake their own mercy. But I will
sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of
the LORD”
(Jonah 2:6-9).
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which
ye have learned; and
avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly;
and by good words
and fair speeches deceive
the hearts
of the simple”
(Romans 16:17-18).
