Is there enough sacrificial evidence in my life, to convict me in a heavenly court of being a fully surrendered servant of the Lord Jesus?  

24 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”

INSIGHT:  One day I humbly asked, “Lord, why is surrender of our life and possessions so important to you, and do we always have to literally lose or give up everything?” Immediately there was a vision in my mind of a newly married man finding a diamond ring from a previous engagement in his wife’s closet.  He wanted to know what need it was meeting for her that he wasn’t?  God helped me to see that He sees everything in our life, before we come to Him, as things we have acquired from our previous lovers (ourself & the world).  He is jealous for us, and He gave His all for us.  Therefore, He demands that we give up everything, but that doesn’t always mean literally losing everything.  In a second part of the vision, I see the wife saying, “Oh honey, I just kept it in case we wanted to sell it one day, but I completely understand how you feel.  This ring means nothing to my heart, and I want you to do with it whatever you see fit to do with it. My heart belongs only to you.”  Since he saw that she surrendered it in her heart, he replied, “Ok let’s just keep it then for a future need like you said.”  She could have given up the ring physically, and yet kept it in her heart, but that’s not true surrender, motivated by love for her husband.  God demands that we push everything, and everyone, in our life over to His side of the table, surrendering them in our heart, and trusting Him to give back whatever, if anything, He pleases.  Whatever He gives back, now came from him, just like the ring in the closet, and He no longer feels jealous of it, unless we turn it into an idol. 

2024 Update: I am going to tell you the painful truth, and there is no way around it, except by self-delusion through false teaching.  Right here is where God separates you and finds you out as a true or false Christian, by His demand of denying self and carrying the cross, both of which bring painful suffering to carnal human nature and can only be done if the Spirit of Christ is truly in you (1 Cor 13:5).  This is where God and you find out if you truly love Him, and if you are in possession of the grace you claim to have, or if you are just a hypocrite, pretending to follow Christ.

You can call yourself a follower of Christ all you want, (like I did for 19yrs.) but if you are not denying yourself (your will, your plans, your pleasures, your goals, choices, & comforts, etc.) you are a follower of your own self, and not of Jesus Christ.  And if you deny yourself all of life’s sinful comforts, but you are still not taking up your cross, you are still only doing your will, and not the will of God.  True Christians are not those who keep living their own life how they want.  No, they have been purchased by the blood of Christ and no longer belong to themselves. Instead, they must deny themselves the right to live as they please, and they must take up their cross, which means to do God’s specific will for their life (2 Cor 5:15).  In Gethsemane, Jesus had a part of Him that very strongly resisted His death on the cross, but he denied himself, to do His Father’s will. Jesus said, that his doing so would prove to the world that He loved His Father and did whatever He commanded (Jn 14:31). My friend, that is the true Christianity which saves, and nothing short of that qualifies as such, no matter what you hear on YouTube!  Let God be true and every man a liar!

Now you can see why only a few find the narrow gate which leads to life, and why ministries like mine that preach the same, are so hated.  The true cost of following Jesus is high, and the flesh of natural man will not stand for it!  Instead, he wants to cling to a false understanding of John 3:16, giving Jesus a costless, intellectual easy believism which avoids all suffering of the cross, and then to die and peacefully enter paradise.  It will never happen my friend!  You have been lied to if you believe this easy believism nonsense, or that obedience to Christ is “works salvation”!  God have mercy on you if you believe this terrible lie from the devil!  As someone who has suffered so much for the cross of Christ, I can tell you that it is all worth it!  Do not be afraid to give Him your all.  He is trustworthy, no matter what lies the devil puts in your heart!  To whom else will you go? Who else has the words that lead to eternal life?