Matthew 10:37-3937 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Losing your life to gain a new life. To truly be born again you have to surrender your old ways. When a person is not willing to totally surrender that’s when the enemy of the cross comes in. Christ demands total commitment. He demands complete obedience.
1. Doubt is the enemy of faith. Satan uses doubt as a means of destroying ones faith.
- Doubt God and His goodness
- Doubt God’s power
- Doubt God’s promises
- Doubting God’s Word
- Lack of trust
- Lack of faith
You have to starve your doubts and feed your faith.
Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Everything that we receive from God is through faith. We are to walk by faith and think by faith. We have to confess our salvation by faith and we have to stand by faith. All the promises of God are activated through faith.
Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Some Christians say I can’t believe God, I can’t trust Him, I don’t have any faith. But God says in
Romans 12:3, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
God has given each of us a measure of faith. So overcome doubt through God’s Word daily by renewing your mind.
2. Distractions keep us from focusing on Christ. Distraction comes as we focus on our problems rather than Christ. What distraction keeps you from God? Is it money, entertainment, relationships, work, hobbies, prosperity.
Mark 8:36
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
11 Samuel 11:1-2
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.
David had the wrong priorities. He was distracted by lust, pride, and self.
Peter tells us what we need to do to recommit our lives to Christ.
2 Peter 1:1-11
1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance;and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
3. Discouragement. A feeling of no hope, helplessness, and no purpose.
2 Kings 6:8-18
8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” 12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
The way to beat discouragement is by looking into the promises of God, looking to the supernatural, and looking to Jesus the author and perfecter of faith.
4. Division. Gossip and slander are tools that the enemy uses to create division in the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:25-27
25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
The Spirit of unity brings healing, transformation, blessings, and success to the body of Christ. Discord brings disunity and division to the body.
Psalm 33:1-3
1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
Matthew 18:19
“Again I say to you, that if two believers on earth agree [that is, are of one mind, in harmony] about anything that they ask [within the will of God], it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
Ecclesiastes 4:9,10,12
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
5. Delay and procrastination.
John 4:27-42
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” 34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
I wonder how many people we could touch and see come to Christ if only we could see them with the eyes of Christ. The enemy causes you to focus on the wrong things as a result many are lost and don’t come to Jesus. Become a kingdom seeker, seek Jesus, seek to please him, seek to obey him. Bring as many people to the Lord as you can. Set goals, say “Lord give me five souls,” and soon enough the whole town will come to Jesus.