If You Aren't Willing to Die...

I was looking up something on Youtube and stumbled across a video that said 'the ending will shock you'. So I fast forwarded to around 20ish minutes or so and watched. I had never heard of Jeff Durbin but the words that pastor said while I was watching were impacting.

He said, speaking of Christians, "Don't sign up if you aren't willing to die for it".

Wow!

The early church, the first Christians, were willing to stand for their faith even to the point of death. Are we there?

I'm the one writing the question and that's a heavy question for me to ponder. I can go to church, I can go to prayer, but go to death?

Calm yourself, I'm not talking purple Kool-Aid kind of dying for your faith. These people didn't make some kind of pack to die for their beliefs they just talked about what they believed, they lived out what they believed and they found themselves facing opposition.

They found themselves having to make choices regarding their faith. The world told them to stop talking about their faith and they kept on. They kept talking about it knowing what the end result might be.

"...You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes God's enemy." James 4:4 (NCV)

Loving the world (all the perishable things that have no meaning) is the same as hating God. The reason that James said this is the same reason Jeff Durbin said 'You're not helping us if you're not willing to die for it'. 
If we love the world we WILL eventually quit on God. We will eventually misrepresent our faith when faced with losing something (a physical possession) that we have deemed valuable. We run the risk of watering down the message to make it fit with our plans and our goals in life.

God doesn't want a place in our hearts, He wants our whole hearts. When we choose to give it all to Him, the world will truly see Him through us.

God, remind me daily to give you my whole heart. Everything I can see with my eyes can come and go as quickly as the wind. Let me not lose sight of You because I am too busy fixing my eyes on the things of this world. Let me fix my eyes wholly and completely on You. So that I can speak your message without hesitation or concern regarding what I might lose material wise or who's relationships I might lose. I can everything in the world but if I do not have You I have nothing! Embed this in my heart! 

Below is the link to Jeff's sermon, if you fast forward to 35:50, there is a testimony that will really bless you on just how much God cares for each one of us.​

Jeff Durbin Sermon (Go to 35:50)