YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE IT, BOTH WAYS!
YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE IT, BOTH WAYS:
SENIOR APOSTLE, JAMES R WINFREE SR.
I'm Mandated By The Lord Jesus Christ, To Cultivate, Enlighten, And Empower Jesus Christ's Nations And Daughters In His Love And Grace. Please Know This, I'm Not In The Work Of Ministry To Beg For Money, but I do need financial supporters. ( Still) I Am In Christ's Work And Ministry To Hear Jesus Christ Say, Well Done, Good And Faithful Minister; This Is The Everlasting Reward We Are Expecting To Hear And Receive. Glory To God in Jesus Christ.
HALLELUJAH!
Luke 11:49
Therefore, the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them Prophets and Apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ Amen.
In Luke 14, Jesus lays out the terms of discipleship. There were great crowds following Him. Everyone loved the miracles, healing, and free food. Jesus was cool, the talk of the town, and the latest fad. But Jesus Christ knew their hearts. He knew they desired the benefits of what He did rather than an understanding of who He was. They loved His gifts, not the life He was calling them to. So Christ explained what it takes to be one of His followers:
“If anyone comes to Him and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be His disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Christ cannot be His disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" ( Luke 14:26-33 ).
Jesus Christ said a lot in those simple biblical truths. He quickly put an end to the idea that He offered some kind of welfare program. Although the gift of eternal life is free to anyone who asks ( John 3:16 ), the asking requires a transfer of ownership ( Luke 9:23; Galatians 5:24 ). “Counting the cost” means recognizing and agreeing to some terms first. In following Christ, we cannot simply follow our own religions or denominations. We cannot follow Him and the religious way at the same time ( Matthew 7:13-14 ). Following Jesus Christ may mean you lose relationships, dreams, material things, or even your lives.
Those who are following Jesus Christ simply for what they can get won’t stick around when the going gets tough. When Christ's Way conflicts with your way, you will feel betrayed by the shallow, you-first faith you have bought into. If you have not counted the cost of being His son or daughter of God in Jesus Christ, you will turn away at the threat of sacrifice and find something else to gratify your selfish desires ( Mark 4:5, 16-17 ). In Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, there came a time when the free food stopped, and public opinion turned ugly. The cheering crowds became jeering crowds. And Jesus knew ahead of time that it would happen.
Jesus Christ ended His description of the cost of discipleship with a breathtaking statement: "Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be His disciple" ( Luke 14:33 ). “Renouncing” may mean you give up something physically, but more often it means you let go emotionally so that what you possess no longer possesses you. When you become one of His, you cannot continue to belong to these same old ways of doing things, religious services, keeping the Jewish laws and commandments, and it's tithing under the law way (1 John 2:15-17). You must make a choice, for you cannot serve both God and Mammon( Money ) (Matthew 6:24 ). The rich young ruler, when confronted with that choice, turned his back on Jesus ( Luke 18:18-25 ).
Suppose you learned that you had been given an all-expense-paid condo on a beach in Tahiti, complete with airfare, a car, food, and a maid. You could brag about your new lifestyle, plan for it, and dream about it. But until you pack up and leave your current home, the new life is never really yours. You cannot live in Tahiti and your current hometown at the same time. Many religious and Sunday worshipers approach Jesus Believer's Way in the same way. They love the idea of eternal life, escaping hell, and having Jesus Christ at their beck and call. But they are not willing to leave the religious life they now live. Their desires, lifestyle, and sinful habits are too precious to them. Their lives may exhibit a token change—starting to attend human-built and established Church buildings or giving up a major sin—but they want to retain ownership of everything else. Jesus Christ is speaking in Luke 14 to those with that mindset.
You cannot earn salvation by a religious or people-pleasing lifestyle change or any other good deed ( Ephesians 2:8-9 ). But when you choose to follow Christ, you are releasing control of your life. When Jesus Christ is in control, pure living results ( 1 John 3:4-10;) ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). In Jesus’ parable of the sower, it was only the soil that allowed the seed to put down roots and bear fruit that was called “good.” If we are going to be disciples of Christ, you must first count the cost of following Him. Our Lord God Jesus Christ. Amen.
“If anyone comes to Him and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be His disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Christ cannot be His disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" ( Luke 14:26-33 ).
Jesus Christ said a lot in those simple biblical truths. He quickly put an end to the idea that He offered some kind of welfare program. Although the gift of eternal life is free to anyone who asks ( John 3:16 ), the asking requires a transfer of ownership ( Luke 9:23; Galatians 5:24 ). “Counting the cost” means recognizing and agreeing to some terms first. In following Christ, we cannot simply follow our own religions or denominations. We cannot follow Him and the religious way at the same time ( Matthew 7:13-14 ). Following Jesus Christ may mean you lose relationships, dreams, material things, or even your lives.
Those who are following Jesus Christ simply for what they can get won’t stick around when the going gets tough. When Christ's Way conflicts with your way, you will feel betrayed by the shallow, you-first faith you have bought into. If you have not counted the cost of being His son or daughter of God in Jesus Christ, you will turn away at the threat of sacrifice and find something else to gratify your selfish desires ( Mark 4:5, 16-17 ). In Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, there came a time when the free food stopped, and public opinion turned ugly. The cheering crowds became jeering crowds. And Jesus knew ahead of time that it would happen.
Jesus Christ ended His description of the cost of discipleship with a breathtaking statement: "Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be His disciple" ( Luke 14:33 ). “Renouncing” may mean you give up something physically, but more often it means you let go emotionally so that what you possess no longer possesses you. When you become one of His, you cannot continue to belong to these same old ways of doing things, religious services, keeping the Jewish laws and commandments, and it's tithing under the law way (1 John 2:15-17). You must make a choice, for you cannot serve both God and Mammon( Money ) (Matthew 6:24 ). The rich young ruler, when confronted with that choice, turned his back on Jesus ( Luke 18:18-25 ).
Suppose you learned that you had been given an all-expense-paid condo on a beach in Tahiti, complete with airfare, a car, food, and a maid. You could brag about your new lifestyle, plan for it, and dream about it. But until you pack up and leave your current home, the new life is never really yours. You cannot live in Tahiti and your current hometown at the same time. Many religious and Sunday worshipers approach Jesus Believer's Way in the same way. They love the idea of eternal life, escaping hell, and having Jesus Christ at their beck and call. But they are not willing to leave the religious life they now live. Their desires, lifestyle, and sinful habits are too precious to them. Their lives may exhibit a token change—starting to attend human-built and established Church buildings or giving up a major sin—but they want to retain ownership of everything else. Jesus Christ is speaking in Luke 14 to those with that mindset.
You cannot earn salvation by a religious or people-pleasing lifestyle change or any other good deed ( Ephesians 2:8-9 ). But when you choose to follow Christ, you are releasing control of your life. When Jesus Christ is in control, pure living results ( 1 John 3:4-10;) ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). In Jesus’ parable of the sower, it was only the soil that allowed the seed to put down roots and bear fruit that was called “good.” If we are going to be disciples of Christ, you must first count the cost of following Him. Our Lord God Jesus Christ. Amen.
When I preach and teach God's truth in Jesus Christ, I share God's truth in the Holy Spirit of love, grace and peace in the lives of my followers, and listeners here in America and around the World. My God-given, unique style has touched the lives of thousands. Equipping and maturing the Jesus Christ Believers for works of service to build up the Body of Christ, Apostle Winfree incorporates the teachings and training of Jesus Christ and His Prophets and Apostles in living a free, anointed, and victorious lifestyle in our faith. Amen.
" Let us start again Spiritually Biblically Saved, Free in Christ, and Fresh in the Holy Spirit, Are you ready to Shine in God's Love and Grace?".
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" We Are Anticipating God's Miracles For Our Life & Ministry "
1 Corinthians 12:28
And God has appointed these in the Church: first Apostles, second Prophets, third Teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Did I sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel of God to you, Free of Charge?
( When You Get Serious, Let Us Sit At The Table And Break Bread Together ).
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