======================================================================== COUNTING THE COST TO FOLLOW JESUS by Randy Krahn ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of obedience to God's Word, the need for self-control and discipline, and the transformation that comes from surrendering to God. It shares a powerful testimony of encountering someone struggling with faith and addiction, highlighting the call to live a life that reflects Christ and to be obedient to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. The speaker urges listeners to walk in humility, to make choices that honor God, and to seek the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for righteous living. Topics: "Obedience to God's Word", "Transformation through Surrender" Scripture References: 1 Corinthians 9:24, Romans 9:22, 1 Corinthians 10:12, Titus 1:16, Romans 2:21, 1 John 2:6, Malachi 3:17, Acts 5:32, John 14:15 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of obedience to God's Word, the need for self-control and discipline, and the transformation that comes from surrendering to God. It shares a powerful testimony of encountering someone struggling with faith and addiction, highlighting the call to live a life that reflects Christ and to be obedient to the convictions of the Holy Spirit. The speaker urges listeners to walk in humility, to make choices that honor God, and to seek the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for righteous living. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lord, thank you for today. Lord, it's a day you've made. We rejoice and we're glad in it. Help us to walk in the light that we have and that we might receive more in Jesus' name. Amen. This past week, Brother Sean had a bright idea and it seemed good to me. So we decided we're gonna go to a hockey game. Went to the Canucks game. Sean said, I hope it's not like the last time when we went. We had drunks behind us and we listened to swears and it was not out of line. And sure enough, it was exactly the same. We got there and after a few minutes some people jumped down. There were some empty seats behind us and the one fellow was so intoxicated he he put his arm on my arm to keep from falling over the seats. A native fellow with his son and the girlfriend. And then there was a goal and the beer went flying and it landed in my hair and I said, Lord, what am I doing here? And I turned around and I looked at the guy and I thought I got lots to say but I thought I should probably say nothing. I turned around and I just wiped the beer from my hair. And then I heard them speaking that they were not able to get their seats together. That the one gentleman had a seat right next to me. I had an empty seat next to me. And I had a prayer. I said, Lord, don't let that man ever sit next to me. Well, a short time later they came and they removed the men from the seats because other people came. And I gave thanks to the Lord. And the new people were there and I turned around and I said how thankful I was that they were there. East Indian family. A short while later the fellow came and he sat next to me in the third period of the game. The young fellow, 29 year old. His name is Brando. Where are you from? I'm from Aldergo, Rabbitsford. What do you do? I'm a preacher. You're a preacher. With a beer in hand. He said, I'm convicted right now. I'm a Christian. Oh, you're a Christian. I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian. We're both Christians. I looked at him and I said, you remind me of me. And I began to share my testimony with him. I missed the whole third period. I gave Sean the back and I began to share my story with this man. I said, you see Section 116 for two years. I had season tickets there and I said I was just like you. Behaving just like you in the mid-90s. And if someone would have asked me if I was a Christian with beer in hand and a cigar in my hand, in the other hand, I would have said I love Jesus. Jesus is my Lord. Would never have denied him. And he quoted to me scriptures. Some of you couldn't quote as many scriptures as he quoted to me in his intoxicated state. He knew the Word of God. I said, how do you know so much Word? He quoted it accurately. He said, my mom's a Christian. And he said, that guy that almost fell on you, that's my dad. And I told him exactly what Aline shared. It's not the hearers of the Word that are just before God, but the doers. We can call ourselves anything we want. We need to either change our name or change our conduct. You're going to call yourself Christian? Then don't shame the name of Christ. Be obedient to the convictions you have. And I said, I'm not preaching down to you. I'm preaching to myself now. The Spirit of God was bearing me witness. The Holy Spirit was on me the whole time. He was receiving the Word of God. And he was finishing the scriptures I was quoting. And he said, Jesus is coming again soon. And he said, all these people, look at them all. He said, how are they going to hear? I said, they need to hear from a preacher. But first, we have to be doers of the Word. And then we can preach. We have to become obedient to the convictions of our conscience, so that we have a testimony. Rather than a testimony of having a beer in a hand and a cigar in the other, a testimony of Jesus Christ. That this is who I was, and this is who I am today. He wanted my number in the worst way. I gave him my number. He sent me his. He said, I want to stay in touch with you. He says, you know, the reason why I end up always slipping back into, he confessed to addiction and to alcohol, is because of my friends. My friends. And the scripture says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verse 14, not to be unequally joined together with unbelievers. You might have all kinds of unbelieving Christian friends. You need to separate yourself from those unbelieving Christian friends, who live in an ungodly way as you are. Come out from among them and be separate. Do not touch what is unclean, and God will receive you. These are conditions. If you come out from among them, and don't touch what is unclean, God will receive you. The question is, are you willing to come out from among them, and be separate? As Brother Alin shared. Are you willing to forsake family? Are you willing to forsake your father? Are you willing to forsake your girlfriends? Your relatives? Your brother? Your sister? Says, if a man does not love me more than father, mother, brother, sister, he cannot be my disciple. Are you willing to count the cost? It costs to serve God. Men of God and women of God, they walk alone. You have to be willing to walk alone, just with Jesus. He's enough. Jesus is enough. I told him my story. I said, you know, before you came to sit here, even after you spilled beer on my head, I said, Lord Jesus, never let that guy sit here beside me. But I said, his ways are higher than my ways, Brando. His ways are not my ways. They're higher than my ways, because the Lord loves you, and he has a plan for your life, and he wishes none to perish, that all would come to repentance. He didn't answer my prayer, so that I could enjoy the game. He cares more about you. Repent, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and put away these unclean things, and live. I want to read from John, in chapter 14, verse 15. I shared about this at the camp. Brother Sean, he's had a lot of roommates. We've had a lot of people come and go. A lot of people, when I asked them up at the creek, up at the camp, I said, how many have been baptized? Almost all of them raised their hand. If I say, you love the Lord, they'd all say they love the Lord. But you know, in many cases, Israel, they said they love the Lord, and Joshua said, as for me and my house, we'll serve the Lord. And they said, we will also. But the Lord spoke to Joshua, and said, they will not. And he also prophesied, Jesus spoke of this, and Isaiah, I believe, was prophesied, these people honor me with their lips. They give me lip service. They say, I love my Lord, but their hearts are far from me. And they come to worship, they come to meetings, they sing songs of praise with hands lifted up, and their worship towards me, he said, is in vain. It's useless. He'd rather just say, stop offering swine's blood on my altar. Stop offering what is unclean before me. Who will even put nails through the door, and lock the doors, so people stop coming and telling me how much they love their Lord, with hands lifted up. The scripture says, give us clean hands, and give us pure hearts. Let us not lift up our souls to idols, while we say we love our Lord. We can't serve God and ma'am, and we can't serve God and the flesh. We're going to love one, hate the other. We have to decide. This man knew all about the flesh and the spirit. This man knew everything about picking up the cross. This man knew everything about denying self. He had heard the Word. He could confess the Word. He knew the name of Jesus. He wasn't confessing any other name. He said, I'm a Christian. It's not what we call ourselves. What does the Lord see us as? They say, Lord, Lord, I prophesied in your name. Lord, Lord, I cast out demons in your name. Lord, Lord, I did all kinds of things in your name. It doesn't matter what you used to do, what you did a month ago, or six years ago. If you're there now, shaming the name of Christ by your behavior, that's what defines who we are. It says in Titus in chapter 1 verse 15, to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving. The unbelieving believers. There were those in John 2 who believed in Jesus, but Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew what was in them. It was this surface believism. Believing has to go deeper than just confessing with the mouth. There has to be faith in the heart to believe from the heart. It says with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. That's good, but there has to be some steps of faith that result in believing in the heart and putting away the unclean things, putting away the idols, the sexual immorality, putting away the drunkenness, putting away the filthy speech and the hundred swears. There has to be a surrendering to the Lordship of the Spirit in our life and obedience to the Word. To those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Even their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know Jesus, but by their actions they deny him being abominable, disobedient and disqualified. That word disqualified is, I believe it's number 96 in the Greek dictionary, adakimos. It's disapproved and a reprobate. The same word that Paul uses after he preaches in Romans 9. Lest after I preach to others, I need to beat my body, bring it into subjection. Lest after I preach to others, I myself should be disqualified, disapproved, adakimos, reprobate. That same word is used in Romans 1 of those who are given over to sexual immorality, homosexuality and all the other things. Although they knew God, they did not give glory to God, nor were they thankful, so therefore God gave them over to a debased, reprobate mind. John 14 verse 15, If you love me, keep my word. I love my Lord. Jesus is my Lord. If you love me, keep my word. Keep my commandments. And I will pray to the Father, that he will give you another helper, that he may abide with you forever. This is the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him, nor knows him, but you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. Well, many of these brothers, they had some, their fathers and mothers were still alive. What was he referring to, I'll not leave you as orphans? Not all their father and mothers of the disciples had died. Speaking spiritually now. First the natural, then the spiritual. They didn't necessarily understand these things at the time. But he said, this spirit of truth dwells with you. Well, the brothers had said, Thomas said, Lord, show us the Father, and it'll be good for us. And he said, have you been with me so long, having seen me? To see me is to see the Father. To see my character, to see the way that I live, to see the way that I conduct myself, the love that I have for the lost, the way that I have represented the truth to you, the way I've spoken life to you, the miracles that I've done. All these things, to see me is to see the Father. Show us the Father, it's good for me. You've seen me, I'm with you. If you love me, keep my commandments. And I'm gonna reveal to you something greater than what you have a revelation of right now. I'm gonna talk to my father and he's gonna send you a helper. The one that dwells with you is not enough for you. Jesus said, it's better that I go. It's better that you go. He said, I'm gonna leave now. And they were very sorrowful. But he said, if I'm gonna leave, I'm coming again. It's better that I go so that he can come. Because Jesus was dwelling with them. He could show them and teach them the way. But when the comforter would come, when the Holy Spirit would come, when the helper would come, he would dwell in them. It was far more effective for the church, for you and for me, to have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us than having even Jesus walking among us. Because he said, the works that I do, greater works than these shall you do in my name. In Jesus' name, we shall do all these things. The power of the Holy Spirit is something that has to be tapped into. You can ask for the Holy Spirit. If a father who's being evil can give good gifts to his children. If a son asks for bread, is he going to give him a stone? If he asks for an egg, will he give him a serpent? How much more our Heavenly Father is going to give the Holy Spirit good things to those who ask him. Good gifts from the Spirit to help us. Ask and ye shall receive. You say, I'm just having trouble overcoming. I want to obey. Jesus has been with me. I can't deny it. I wouldn't be dead by now. Yes, he's been with you. But he wants to dwell in you. He wants to empower you, to fill you with his presence. So that you can walk worthy of the calling of God. So we can empower you to live according to this book. Because we ourselves are powerless. The law never made anyone righteous. It only showed us that we were imperfect. That we needed someone to save us. When Jesus comes and we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us. We receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The empowerment to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord. When he says everyone who desires to come after me, let him walk just as Jesus walked. That's in 1st John and chapter 2 verse 6. Everyone wants to name the name of Jesus. Let him depart from iniquity. To walk just as Jesus walked. He's not asking us to do something that is impossible. In the flesh it's impossible, but not with God. He's able to empower us to keep his word. If anyone keeps his word, truly the love of God is manifested to him and in him and through him. Let's continue to read. He says I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you a father to the fatherless. Verse 19 a little while the world will see me no more but you will see me because I live you will live also. He's speaking truth to them in the spirit. At that day you will know that I am in my father and you in me and I in you. That day you'll understand it because I will be in you. He who has my commandments verse 21 and keeps them. It is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father. He said oh my father loves me. My father loves me. Jesus loves the world. He gave his life for the world. I have nine children. When I need something done I call the one that I know will do it. I'll get the least amount of pushback. The one that'll be quickly of the nine children that's the one I call. I need help. Can you help me? The one that I trust the most. The one that I know is going to be there to do what I say. Not question me just I'll do what I can do or yes I'll do it right away. Sometimes the other kids say well I can do it. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to them. Don't worry about it. Well why don't you ever ask me to do anything? Because I can't trust you. Because you'll get to it but in four hours from now maybe. That's not what the Lord wants from us. He wants quick obedience. Simple childlike faith. Obedience. Obey quickly. You can say I love all my children the same. I tell you the one that obeys me I love them more. And the Holy Spirit knows. He says the one who obeys me he says I will spare him. The one who fears me and obeys me he says in Malachi in chapter 3 I will spare that that servant like a man spares his own son who serves him faithfully. He said on that day they shall be mine saith the Lord. On the day that I make them my special treasure. My jewels. He has jewels among his children. His special ones. The ones who obey him quickly. Who obey him without questioning. And doubting. Obedient to the Word of God. Read verse 21 again. It's he who has my commandments. My word. And obeys it. Keeps it. It's this one that loves me. Not the one who says I love my Lord while he's living in darkness and practicing sin and living for the flesh. But the one who's obedient to the convictions of his conscience. He's obedient to the light that he has. It's this one that loves me. And the one that loves me will be loved by my father is what it says. He says the one who loves me will be loved by my father and we will love him and we will manifest ourself to him. How will he manifest himself to us? Then Judas not Iscariot said to him Lord how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world? How will you manifest yourself to us? Well he's gonna send the Holy Spirit. It says in Acts 5.32 I believe it is. He gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him. He gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him. So you can ask till you're blue in the face for the Holy Spirit. If you're not willing to be obedient in the simple things that he's asked you to follow then why should he give you the Holy Spirit? Just to empower you in your rebellion? To become like a bar Jesus? Like a sorcerer that you can use those gifts to to please yourself? To make money? To get people to come into your prophecy line and receive a word from you? Why should he empower you when you're not obedient to other things? Jesus answered and said to him verse 23 if anyone loves me look at the word if. If anyone loves me he will keep my word. It's the third time it's said in this passage. Loving Jesus is everything to do in obedience to the Word of God. Submission to that conviction that the Holy Spirit is giving us. And the Holy Spirit doesn't only convict Christians. The Holy Spirit convicts non-Christians also. He said he gives the Holy Spirit into the world to convict the world of sin. To convict the world what righteousness looks like doing what is right. And to convict the world that you know what if you don't do what's right you're gonna get your karma. You're gonna get a judgment. Judgment's coming. Even the world says well he's that's karma. He's gonna get his karma. It's karma. He's getting paid back for the way that he's lived. Even the world understands that there's a judgment for people who cheat people they get cheated. Who steal from people they get stole from. Who kill people they get killed. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. They don't even understand Scripture but they understand this because the Holy Spirit has revealed it to men to about sin about righteousness and about judgment they don't know everything but they have certain convictions and the Holy Spirit gives everyone an opportunity to live according to those convictions if you begin to live according to those convictions you will receive a revelation of Jesus Christ in one way or another I'm convinced but either a dream a vision someone will come or you'll hear a word the Lord it will be compassionate to you and you'll have ample opportunity to surrender your life to the Lord it says even unbelievers when they do those things the convictions of their conscience is not that become unto them a law it is that's in Romans 2 you can read that on your own time if anyone loves me he will keep my word and my father will love him almost seems a condition doesn't it if you love me keep my word and I will manifest myself to you or we will come and make our home with you and my father will love you simple obedience to just simple faith simple faith leading to simple obedience leads to a revelation of the father in new and living ways you see man I want more light I've been studying scriptures just obey the light you have you'll get more imagine you get all the light you don't obey any of it how hard it's gonna be for you better not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it turn back it says that some having known the right way to go and turn back it says we'll be beaten with many blows but those who did not know we're deserving of stripes will be beaten with you God is just he's a just God people who end up in hell one day they're gonna not be saying you know why you were too hard on me they're gonna know why they're there and they're gonna know that the judgment that they're receiving is exactly what they deserve and it's for us to take heed to these warnings while we have opportunity while we have breath in our lungs to get some good fear of God and say Lord I need to take more seriously every one of us we can live more seriously it's just a matter of a choice of the will I was awake this morning at 520 I thought I should get up and pray I was thinking of a message from Leonard Raymond I was listening to you should pray more sleep less you know we should do fast more eat less you know and I was thinking of that at 520 this morning I was looking at the ceiling and I thought I should get up and I thought maybe I'll get up at 60 we rolled over I could have got up at 530 is very much awake but I made a decision to get up at 630 we all can make decisions we all have decisions to make I can flip on that movie I can watch that movie or I'm gonna say no I'm not gonna watch that move I can turn on some ungodly music and I can listen to that or I can say no I'm not gonna listen to the ungodly I can hang out with some ungodly friends and have a good time or I can make a decision no I'm not gonna make that choice I'm rather gonna associate or I'm gonna stay with the Lord I'm gonna spend some time with the Lord we have choices to make and it's these choices that dictate your future it dictate the direction of your life the course my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him this is what he's talking about the spirit of the Father and the Son coming and making his abode with us the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit he who does not love me does not keep my words doesn't matter what we say it matters the response to what we know he who does not love me verse 24 does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not mine but the father's who sent me 25 these things I have spoken to you while being present with you but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in Jesus name he will teach you all things bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you peace I leave with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives do not let your heart be troubled either let it be afraid you have heard me say I am going away and coming back if you love me you would rejoice because I said I'm going to my father for my father is greater than I he goes on from there talks about abiding in the vine let's look in Romans 9 sometimes we get to a place where we get comfortable we become very secure very secure and then we'll become so secure and we lose the fear of God we begin to take the grace of God in vain it happened to the Galatians he said having begun in the spirit and now you're thinking of being perfected in the flesh to become a religious person there's a spirit you're in jealously as the spirit been given to in vain have I labored for you in vain Paul says to the Galatians he preaches of himself he's talking about when he goes to minister to people in Romans in chapter 9 sorry 1st Corinthians chapter 9 verse 19 for though I am free from all men I have made myself a servant to all becoming all things to all men that we might save some to make an impact with the people that we meet not to be high-minded but to associate with the lowly just like I found that fellow sitting beside me I could have just sat there and judged him all night for all the things that happened rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to remind me where I came from to show me exactly the seats that I had for two years and the way that I behaved just put those pictures before my eyes that I might remember where I came from that I might have compassion on this man but I might not speak down to him but I might come alongside him that I might win him what's the goal that he would repent that's the goal not to shame him because he's a sinner we're all sinners saved by grace but that he would repent and sometimes we miss the mark but we can repent if we miss the mark for the way I'm free from all men I have made myself a servant to all that I might win the more what's the goal to win more to get through to more that more would hear us to the Jews I became as a Jew that I might win Jews to those who are under the law I became as one under the law that I might win those under the law so we began sharing from position where he could reach them with the doctrines and the teachings where they were at that he might show them a more excellent way to those who are without law the Gentiles not being without law to our God he said that he became one as without law but under law toward Christ that he might win those who are without law doesn't mean he puts a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other he's talking about talking about when he was also in a position of bondage when he also was walking in ungodliness and worldly passion and then how he lifted me up out of the miry clay and he placed me upon a rock and he made my footsteps firm and he put a new song in my mouth he established me in the faith and what he did for me you can do for you that's where faith comes in if he did it for you and you were a bad guy like me then he'll do it for me and then faith comes and then righteousness falls to the weak I became as weak that I might win the weak I have become all things to all men that I might win some to the gospel in other words Paul learned how to be a fisher of men he told Peter from now on you will catch men this is Paul now we have to learn how to catch men if you're going to go and catch a fish and you're putting an apple on the end of it there you're probably not going to catch anything but an apple might be very useful if you're going to catch something different we have to use the right bait we have to use the right attraction to attract the right species to the gospel just because God has given you a sword doesn't necessarily mean you just swing it freely and hope that you can subdue some to the gospel we need to use careful instruction that we might win the more that's what we need the Holy Spirit to teach us he said I will make you fishers of men Peter from now on you will catch men and he'll give us the ability so our necks don't break whereas previously our necks would break under the load he'll never give us more than we can handle he'll give us compensating grace now this I do for the gospel sake that I'm a partakers of it with you and he talks about this in 24 do you not know that those who run in a race all run but one receives the prize so when he's preaching the gospel he's quick to change the bait if they're not biting to identify what are they biting on oh they're biting on larvae okay well let's put some larvae out there oh they're biting on beetles they're biting on flatfish let's change the lures we're not here just to have a good time we're here to catch fish we're not out here just preaching the gospel so we can pat ourselves on the back and tell one another how we really gave it to those guys we're here to see people repent to change you need to run in such a way as to obtain it everyone who competes in athletics competes to gain a prize that is perishing a temporary prize a perishable crown but we we labor for an imperishable crown our reward is in heaven therefore Paul says I run this way not like someone who is uncertain about what he's doing I don't fight as a boxer who just beats the air he wants to land the blows when you're preaching the gospel you want to go to a place where the Holy Spirit shows you to hit your mark they need conviction you need the anointing you want to land the blow that your brother comes under heavy conviction and he's wounded by the Word of God and the Word of God penetrates his heart and it causes him to go into the ground and die just like Jesus if we're buried with him into baptism unto death so also we shall be raised in the likeness of his resurrection there can never be a penny cost without a cross I never seen it those are false revivals false fire people calling down fire from beneath it's not possible first the cross first a seed has to go into the ground and die otherwise it remains alone and if you're willing to be crucified with Christ to surrender all to Jesus and if it dies then it can live first the blade takes time then the ear and then the corn in the ear you'll reproduce some 30 60 hundred fold but we just want to go quickly through McDonald's and get a $7 Big Mac in the next three minutes and we just have it all and have it quick it takes a while first the blade then the ear then the full corn in the earth to come to maturity so that we can reproduce after our own kind even that nature teaches us that little children don't reproduce after their own kind there's a certain age when we begin to reproduce after our own kind that's what it was be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth there's a process in time and all things and if you begin to reproduce after your own kind and you're spiritually proud you know what you're going to raise up twice the sons of hell got caught in it having a zeal for God but not according to knowledge never learned humility until God started to take me through situations that humbled me and then I had to start to learn to humble myself he gives his grace to the humble but God is opposed to the proud we have to learn his ways the cocoon of his dealings so that we may come forth as a butterfly and not remain a worm a caterpillar like Jacob Jacob was transformed after he wrestled with God and he became Israel and he walked with a limb but he wasn't the same he says in verse 27 but I discipline my body brother if you love me keep my word it involves disciplining your body self control is one of the fruits of the spirit this is what this Brando said he said you know what I lack self-control I lack self-control but he says it is one of the fruits of the spirit I says then as much as it depends on you work out your salvation with fear and trembling as much as it depends on you brother does he call himself a brother well I know that Abraham had two sons one born according to the flesh and one born according to the spirit so brother put away your carnality put away the uncleanness walk worthy of the calling of God and God will receive you you'll become a father to you and you'll be able to preach the gospel in a way that people are willing to listen to what you have to say not sitting in the pub with a beer in the hand and a smoke another hand talking about Jesus this is a blasphemy this is how we shame in the Christ this is how we crucify him afresh and put him to open shame and salt the spirit of grace we reduce the power of God to common man or to birds and and mammals we we prove ourselves to be apes still in the form of evolution if there were such a thing still carnal still fleshly still beast natures Paul says he fought with beasts at Ephesus these are apes these are these are men that haven't become born again yet they're strong men many of these men they know the Word of God but they're fleshly men the depraved men like natural brute beasts he says in in Jude who live according to the flesh I discipline my body Paul says I bring it into subjection you know what we all have the ability to bring things into subjection this morning we had a wonderful breakfast is wonderfully made I wanted to have it I did but I said Lord I need I need to love your word more than my daily food and this time I was able to abstain from it and to go in and get alone with God for a few minutes nothing wrong with eating food for the stomach and the stomach for food he's given all things richly to enjoy but you know what we have opportunity to abstain from fleshly lusts well I sure love to go shoot pool with my buddy my Christian buddy you know go have a beer well you know what good time to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against your soul do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of the mind bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ start making good decisions and you won't relapse it won't happen because God will cause you to stand to him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before him in love he's able to keep us from falling he said I bring myself into subjection less after I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified from the race and he goes on from there I won't go into it we go on from there to talk about the brethren who were under the cloud and in the sea the ones who passed out of Egypt through the Red Sea into the wilderness and who perished and died there whose bodies were scattered and he says in verse 12 of chapter 10 therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall we can't be proud and think well I've got this so we have nothing but for the grace of God blessed after I preached to others I myself should become disqualified I did a little research on that many years ago that is word number 696 adhocamos in the strongest concordance it is worthless rejected a castaway a reprobate that is the meaning same word of those in Romans 1 the same word referred to in Titus in chapter 1 verse 16 we need to study the Word of God so we get an understanding of truth we need to be lovers of truth when we love truth and we won't lose the fear of God if we buy lies then we'll just walk around as Colgate Christians that's not going to help you and not going to help anyone else giving people a false sense security they're going to go look for you in hell and they're going to find you and say you lied to me may it never be brothers may it never be let's speak the truth in love we might impart grace to the ears that they become doers of that word and they can truly say I love my Lord with tears running down the face though he slay me yet will I trust him I'm not just going to be a Colgate Christian a fair-weather Christian when things are good I serve the Lord and when things go south I blaspheme the name of Christ I renounce the name of Jesus let it never be brothers that we confess to know him but by our actions we deny him being abominable disobedient and disqualified from the race ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/wAcW1jnMoh4.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/randy-krahn/counting-the-cost-to-follow-jesus/ ========================================================================