The church is not perfect, but woe to the man who finds pleasure in pointing out her imperfections! Christ loved his church, and let us do the same. I have no doubt that the Lord can see more fault in his church than I can; and I have equal confidence that he sees no fault at all. Because he covers her faults with his own love-that love which covers a multitude of sins; and he removes all her defilement with that precious blood which washes away all the transgressions of his people.
C.H. Spurgeon

Large Crowds How To Hate Them

Large Crowds How To Hate Them

Large Crowds how to HATE them

There are certainly large crowds within the house of God today. In every church and ministry the goal today is large crowds. TV ministries, radio ministries and every ministry mission team wants to be able to boast of their large crowds. This is so true today that when someone in the Lord asks How is your church doing?, they do not mean how spiritually healthy is your church. No, they mean how large of a crowd goes to your church. It is the great sin and idol that Satan has caused to prosper in the church today, (1 Chronicles 21:2). But just as it was in the days of Jesus so it is today. Large crowds follow Jesus but do not really belong to Him. There’re just traverlers.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus.. (Luke 14:25)

As you can see in Luke 14:25 there were indeed large crowds walking with Jesus. However, they were only travelers! They are simply along for the ride. They are not disciples. These crowds do not understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. They have no idea what the salvation of Jesus is all about. Think about it. All these crowds with Jesus and they are not saved! They listen to his sermons, witness his miracles, eat the food he provides and walk the same path he does, yet are doomed to hell! How so very true the Word of God is today. Churches are on every corner. Many an individual claims to believe in God. Many say they follow Jesus. Ministers of the gospel on every TV and radio channel in the nation. One tract after another being published and yet this crowd already has the fire of hell licking at their feet. For they are travelers with Jesus, but not saved disciples. For there are not saved travellers with Jesus! Scripture predicted just such a time.

The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. (Hosea 4:7-9)

Ministers entertain us with stories, jokes and fiery preaching, but sin and self remain alive. Indeed, the more the priests increase the more sin one can see against God. All those people coming forward to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior leave deceived and worse off. The house of God is full of illegitimate children!

They are unfaithful to the LORD; they give birth to illegitimate children. (Hosea 5:7 )

Your saved children in the Lord are in reality illegitimate children! They know not the commands of God that would crucify the flesh. Even with all the talk and preaching about righteousness and obedience, lawlessness and rebellion are rampant within the house of God. God will soon come with holy judgement against your wide road deceptive gospels, that leave self alive even while you talk about the crucified live.

Now will I arise, says the LORD. Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up. You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you. The peoples will be burned as if to lime; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze. You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power! The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning? (Isaiah 33:10-14)

Prepare to change your gospel calls. Prepare to change your life. Prepare to let your heart be broken. Prepare the way for the Lord! Let us prepare ourselves so that we no longer will give birth to chaff and straw. Let us draw near to Jesus to listen with attentive ears to what the Holy Spirit will tell us Luke 14 really means.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:.. (Luke 14:25)

Jesus is going to tell you travelers what it really means to follow him. It matters not that you walk in the very same step he just took. Something much deeper than outward steps must take place deep in your heart. If we will let the Lord change our hearts then there will be revival in the house of God. So let us stop and listen to this Jesus who has turned to face us and confront us with the living Word of God. Let us look into those eyes and see what it means to really be saved. You may be surprised to learn what you do not know or have not been taught, because your flesh does not care to know. After all, Jesus says that before you can follow Him you must come to live a life of hate. Yep, you read it right. A life of hate. You have to hate before you can say that you are saved? Were you aware that everyone who says that they are a child of God must live a life of hate? Did you know that you have to hate your father and mother before you can say that you are a disciple of Jesus? In fact, you must hate yourself or you are not a Christian! Then after you are willing to hate it’s time to pick up the cross. But don’t you dare touch that cross or say that you carry one until you know how to hate; until you have counted the cost associated with this hate in Jesus.

Now, before you think this tract is coming from a drug crazed, power hungry, sex starved cult leader, know that these words came from the lips of Jesus, not mine. In one way or another, you have to do something with these words for they hold the key to eternal life or death. The only reason that this is striking you as something strange is because the cross of Jesus that is to be in each Christian’s life just is not there. The reason the defensive fur stands up on end is because churches no longer really preach the gospel of Jesus anymore. But it is this hating that divides the true Christians from the false ones. Only those who are hating by the power of the Holy Spirit are real brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus plainly said that we must all live this hating out if we ever hope to go to heaven.

SCRIPTURE

Look carefully and you will see this word hate in the following versions. Of course the real question is, do we see this hating in you.

KJV If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. -Luke 14:26

RSV If any one come to me 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 my disciple. -Luke 14:26

PHILLIPS If anyone comes to me without ‘hating’ his father and mother and wife and children and brothers, and even his own life, he cannot be a disciple of mine. -Luke 14:26

NEB If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be a disciple of mine. -Luke 14:26

SPANISH VERSION If anyone comes to me and does not utterly abhor his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be a disciple of mine. -Luke 14:26

GREEK If anyone comes to me and hates not the father of him and the mother of and the wife and the children and the brothers and the sisters, and besides also the life of himself, he cannot to be of me a disciple.

Finally, to give you the complete context of what Jesus is saying we will quote out of the NIV.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sistersyes, even his own lifehe cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-28)

What makes me different from a mere traveler is if I hate. No more, no less. Only a life of hate makes me a saved disciple of Jesus. I must learn what it will mean to hate my father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and my own life. After that I am allowed to carry a cross for Jesus. The reason you know that you are chaff and straw in the Lord is because you don’t understand what this means. The reason we know that churches give birth to illegitimate children is because the people who come forward to be saved are not confronted with this passage. If you have noticed it at all you passed it off with that lukewarm definition, Oh, it just means we are to love God first, then everyone else. How true that these large crowds are not saved! Men no longer have to count the cost. Or the cost they must count is not what this hatred will mean to their lives, but how much fun they can have as a Christian. Indeed, there is no cost to count anymore in the house of God. Yet, this passage on hatred is the very passage that separates the doomed traveler from the saved disciple of Jesus.

Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 14:25-35)

The reason why this scripture is so foreign and offensive to the church is because the messages they put out are not worth the manure pile. And we mean that! The reason this passage is ignored is because no longer is there a preaching of a narrow road within the so called body of Christ. The reason this passage is whitewashed by the preachers of today when they say, Oh, it just means love Jesus first and everyone else second., is because false prophets rule the land. If you claim to know what it means to carry your cross and follow Jesus then this passage would be one of your favorite ones to share. But most do not even believe that it is in the Bible. Almost no one has heard it read from the pulpit. For this passage is the cornerstone joy when it comes to this matter of carrying one’s cross and losing one’s life. Know this passage by the power of the Holy Spirit and your life will be radically changed. Your life will finally be what Jesus intends for it to be and you will no longer live a lie. No longer will you listen to the call of the adulteress from the pulpit. No longer will the horrible thing in our churches be tolerated.

And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah. (Jeremiah 23:14)

If you are going to come to Jesus then prepare yourself to be taught how to hate for Him. Otherwise go home and tell the truth. That you are not a Christian and care nothing about Jesus.

HATING FOR JESUS

Let’s consider for a moment what this word hate means.

HATE: 1. to dislike greatly; to have a great or extreme aversion to; to detest; to have a strong ill will for. 2. to dislike; to wish to avoid; to shrink from; Syn. abhor, detest, loathe, abominate {Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, page 831}

This passage does not mean that you love Jesus first and others second. Far from it! This passage means you have one love and one love only. Christians are a people who love God and God alone. We are not to have other loves next to our love for God. You cannot love your mother and God at the same time. God demands that you love only Him.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

You cannot love God with all your heart, soul and strength and still find room for other loves. Notice it says with ALL! God is a jealous God and demands that we love Him and only Him! We are commanded to have no other loves next to or along with God.

Do not make any gods to be alongside me…

(Exodus 20:23)

Our hearts are to be so full of the love for God that there is no room for anything else. The only thing that matters to a disciple is that he love and please God. To say that Luke 14 is only stating that we are to love God first means that your heart is lukewarm in it’s love for God. The truth is that you probably don’t really love God at all.

HATING YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER

Jesus said you have to hate your father and mother if you are going to come to Him for salvation. Now, don’t think for one moment that this is only some abstract mental test. This could come out in some very real and hard ways. Don’t think for a moment that all of this doesn’t come out in some very practical and difficult ways. This is a narrow road walk we are talking about! And few find or want it! For example, if your father were to die would you think of opposing your mother’s will about going home to the funeral? Would it cross your mind to hate your will that is wanting to go home and bury your dad? Yet Jesus gave a literal order to a disciple of His.

He said to another man, Follow me.” But the man replied, Lord, first let me go and bury my father. Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:59-60)

If Jesus gave this order once He will do it again! The Lord has not changed, but we have changed the gospel to fit our own comfortable lives. Could you, filled with the Spirit as you are, say this to another brother or sister? You see, we are to actively oppose, view with contempt, our desire or anyone else’s desire to go and even bury our father. We are to ask God, while we oppose the will of others, if it is God’s will for us to go home and bury our father. If it is His will then go, if not, then rejoice and do God’s will. But I’ll bet you couldn’t even hear God say this if your soul depended on it. Which it does! This living hatred will cause your mother and brothers to be offended at times. You will not give them the attention they think they deserve. After all, when was the last time you stayed away from mom at Christmas because God had you doing something else? Or when was the last time you refused to go home to a family reunion because the Spirit of Jesus would not let you? And when your parents called to see what kind of cult you belonged to you answered by saying…

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. (Matthew 12:46-50)

Yet, so many clamor with the vileness of the sinful nature, But scripture says to ‘honor your father’. It is very true that scripture does say to honor your father and mother. But you will never, ever know how to honor them as God intends until you learn to hate them. It was because Jesus hated his mother that He was able to hear from God on how to love her. Here is the Son of God, the God of love answering his mother this way. Why this God of love uses His mother as a sermon prop. Why don’t we see this hatred being lived out in some pretty hard fashions? Simply, – there aren’t enough true disciples around! This tract can’t possibly cover all the ways this hatred would come out in relationship to your dad. To that you have to hit your knees in the prayer closet and seek the voice of God. But rest assured if you say you follow Jesus then people will see a radical kind of love for Jesus and be will we able to acknowledge how you have hated your father for Jesus.

HATING YOUR WIFE

Every day in the life of a disciple of Jesus you must awaken to a fresh and deeper hatred! You must arise each morning to hate your wife. Paul said this clearly in 1 Corinthians.

What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;

(I Corinthians 7:29)

Husbands must awaken each morning and say I don’t care a bit about what my wife wants. In fact, they must oppose what she demands of them. Yet, most men are not leaders at all within the family. The wife has the final say so on everything. Unless of course she makes him think that he took leadership. It is the wife’s demands and whimperings that are heeded and not the voice of the Lord. So the question begs itself. Where is the salt in your marriage? Where is the salt in all these marriage seminars? Where is the salt in all this focus on the family? I’ll tell you where. It isn’t there. Your gospels aren’t even with the manure pile! Your nice little women’s retreat and men’s marriage seminars are worth the dung heap! No one walks away from those seminars overwhelmed with the cost of what it will mean to follow Jesus. Can you really boast men that you live as though you are not married? Ha! You don’t even know what this means and are afraid your wife will object if you search it out. Not only can’t you show it to me, you can’t tell me what this means and how the Lord is working it out in your life.

HATING YOUR CHILDREN

Abraham was a man who hated his child in Jesus. When God tested him he chose to hate the comfort, desires and life of his son. And know this. That if you are of the seed of Abraham you too will be tested to see if you hate your children.

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham!” Here I am, he replied. Then God said, Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about. (Genesis 22:1-2)

Don’t believe the ever subtle lie that says, If God ever calls me to I can surrender all. For the Truth is Jesus has already called you to surrender all. You will simply be tested later to see if you have already surrendered all. Stop getting things backwards. One must ask, with all the focusing in on the family that is going on, why do we not see the hatred that Jesus came to bring.

In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)

Jesus says you cannot even start considering yourself a disciple unless you have given up everything. So it is never a question of whether God will call you to surrender everything. He just did! How few walk the humble road of surrender and face the small tests of surrender every day so that they will be ready on the great day of testing. If our churches were really full of godly parents that hated their children, then more sons and daughters would be living lives of purity and holiness. As it is you can’t tell the difference between those children in the world and those in the church. How much peace we rob our children of because we will not hate them. Just look at the peace Isaac had. Just look!

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, Father?” Yes, my son? Abraham replied. The fire and wood are here, Isaac said, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.” (Genesis 22:6-10)

Just look at the peace Isaac had as Abraham took the knife to slay his son. Examine closely the overwhelming peace Isaac had as Abraham bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Isaac uttered not a word of objection and distrust. He did not cry out Why, why father. No, he had the sweet peace of Jesus in his heart as he laid upon that wood and saw the knife rise above his head. How our children will love and trust us more if we would only learn to hate them! As it is our children can’t even surrender their toys let alone themselves. They do not see this hatred in their parents and so are robbed of the joy in Jesus that is to be theirs. How Jesus would bless a family with love if they but would learn only to hate first. For every mother who longs for her husband to spend more time with the kids, if you will only pray for that husband to hate his children more you would find the blessing John the Baptist came to bring in your home. If your husband hates your children God will change the hearts of your family.

Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteousto make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:16-17)

Like Abraham, if we learn to hate by the power of the Holy Spirit we will hear a new and fresh voice of a loving God. Like Abraham we will have a deeper insight and love for Jesus. For out of heaven God will speak to each father and mother…

But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, Abraham! Abraham!” Here I am, he replied. Do not lay a hand on the boy, he said. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son. Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided. The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me. (Genesis 22:11-18)

Oh, for a hating people in Jesus! We will hear God bless us from heaven. We will be a blessing to others. And we will have blessed generations of people. Those who get down on their knees and ask for this mystery in Jesus of hating will indeed be blessed. You will be able to say with Paul that God gave you the wisdom to proclaim this mystery in Jesus of hating.”Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20) Let our churches be filled with hating fathers and mothers and children will grow up to be mighty sons and daughters of God. Do not fear. Gather the wood, sharpen the knife and go to church to worship God with the fire you bring along. Offer unto God the lives of your children. Teach your children now to surrender their will and desires unto the will of God. But how few parents of faith are even willing to surrender their children to God. To let God use them as He wishes. For we know it will cost our children everything. Their comfort, fame and talents. Indeed, the parents can’t show their children this because they do not hate their own lives.

HATING YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Certainly to hate your brothers and sisters can come out in the natural family arena. However, we need to concern ourselves with our Christian brothers and sisters. For nowhere else do we see such a lacking of this hated as in our relationship with our brothers and sisters. If you come to be taught by the Holy Spirit how to hate your Christian brother and sister you will certainly know how to do it in relationship with your natural family. Let us look to Jesus, the perfect man of hate. For Jesus knew how to hate. Boy, did he know how to hate. To the man who learns from the master how to hate his father, mother, brothers, sisters and even his own life he will see the likeness of Jesus growing in him. To those who reject this hating part of Jesus they get to see the hellish nature grow in them day by day. Now, we have already seen how Jesus hated his mother and brothers. He was willing, in fact eager, to glorify God even at the expense of his mother’s feelings. Please understand though, that even when Jesus insulted his mother’s love for him it was out of concern and love for them. It was what they needed to hear. Because Jesus hated them he was able to love them with a pure love. With Jesus there was no favoritism. Not even towards mom. They needed to be corrected just as many of our parents do. For on this occasion they were thinking that Jesus was out of his mind. Of course you must ask yourself if you are walking close enough to Jesus that others think you too are out of your mind. You had best get this much love for God before you ever start hating your mother.

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, He is out of his mind.” (Mark 3:20-21)

Jesus, being the perfect man of hate didn’t show favoritism to any man. In fact, it was one of the things the Pharisees sought to flatter him about.

They came to him and said, Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Mark 12:14)

Now, scripture commands that each Christian show no favoritism to any man. Yet the body of Christ is full of nothing but favoritism. We know not how to really love one another because we refuse to hate one another. Just look to Jesus and you will be given power to hate. See here in this situation how Peter at one moment is held up as a man inspired by God and in the next equal with the devil!

He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get behind me, Satan!” he said. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. (Mark 8:32-33)

When was the last time God was able to move you to say this to your favorite brother or sister. Why you can’t even hear the Spirit to call someone a viper who is a viper, let alone rebuke a brother in pure love. One reason the body of Christ is so much concerned with things of men is that we will not hate. If we hated each other then we would be able to rebuke the worldly minds within the church. As it is we flatter and justify rather than rebuke. All because we will not hate! Until you hate your church doctrine and your opinions you will never know the Truth. Get before God and hear from Him what the Truth is. Care nothing about what your church will think, or your fellow brothers and sisters. Be warned it may cost you the church you now fellowship at. But you will be in good company. John the Baptist did not compromise on doctrinal matters and when you learn to hate others you too will speak the Truth no matter if it cost you your head. Better to lose your head and be found in the head of Jesus than to lose Him who is our head. Hear only the voice of God then you shall witness a revival that is according to the Word of the Lord instead of the programs of your church. But until you hate the thoughts of others and yourself you shall never know the Truth.

If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. (John 7:17- 18)

JOHN THE BAPTIST

John the baptist lost his head over doctrinal matters. He hated his life and what others thought of him and so lost his head. If men in the church would hate the brethren then purity of doctrine and heart would be what the church is known for. As it is, you are known for your division and mis- guided understanding of the scriptures. If men will hate their own lives and honestly receive their understanding of scripture from the Holy Spirit then this world will finally witness holy men giving the altar call. Instead of your college-trained, whitewashing, money grabbing, smooth talking viper of a preacher, you will be given holy preachers that really love you and preach the Truth.

Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John had been saying to him: It is not lawful for you to have her.” Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet.” (Matthew 14:3- 5)

John the baptist lost his head over the issue of divorce and remarriage. But until we stop wanting the approval of men we will continue to lose ground instead of our heads. You will never be a true believer in Jesus until you come to hate your head and the opinions of others.

I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God ? (John 5:43-44)

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

Today doctrine is a very optional matter among Christians. We know not a living doctrine anymore and so except anyone who says, Jesus is Lord, (1 Corinthians 12:3). How few churches ever hate their doctrine and so are able to repent of error. How few demand a change in doctrine when they know something to be wrong. Until you begin to hate your opinions and ideas of God’s Word you will never ever hear from the Holy Spirit what the Word of God is saying, (1 John 2:27). You will not be in a position to learn anything about God until you grow to hate your thoughts and ideas. That is why Jesus said you cannot be a disciple until you hate. For a disciple is one who learns from Jesus. And His thoughts are so different from ours that only a hatred of our ideas and doctrines will allow us to be in a position to be taught by him. Self and the pleasing of our flesh must go before we will receive understanding from God. The Baptist must hate this flesh before he will be able to know that once saved – always saved is an utter lie. The Happiest church in town must hate it’s sinful nature, before it will know that it is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of joy. The Harvest Christian Center must grow to hate it’s stomach before it will ever lay down the doctrine’s of whitewash. The Christian Fellowship church must hate it’s desire for God and the world before it will ever close Simon’s music hall. The list goes on and on. We must hate ourselves if we are ever to be honestly taught by the Holy Spirit. With all the preaching and writing and talking about Jesus how few servants of God are there in the midst of all that. Until you learn to hate the brethren you will never be a servant of the most high God. How can you dare have the audacity to say that your church preaches this. When was the last time you uttered this passage to a person considering the salvation of God? When was the last time your church had a revival and preached all week long on hating for Jesus? When was the last time you went into a Bible book store and bought a vacation bible school packet on teaching children to hate in Jesus? Who in your church that is considering following Jesus is compelled to sit down and count the cost because of what he sees in the lives of these Christians that hate?

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

Don’t brush aside this hate thing too quickly. Jesus said you had best look it straight in the eye and count the cost to see if you are willing to pay it. This is no wide gospel call that allows everyone in! This is the gospel call of Jesus, not your church!

HATING YOURSELF

Now with renewed importance Jesus says you must even hate your own life! As if all the other was not enough, Jesus stops mid-sentence and makes sure that everyone understand clearly that before you pick-up the cross you have to hate your own life. Now the most important aspect of this hating in Jesus is that you must hate yourself. You must actively oppose, utterly detest, never speak well of, view with contempt, yourself. Until you do this you will never really hear the voice of the Spirit directing your life. Oh, you will hear a voice, but it will not be the voice of Jesus directing your life. For to be a disciple, that is, to hear Jesus’ voice you must hate your own life. For anything you want to do is sin. That is why, if you desire anything then you must hate it. We are to be surrendered people doing only what the Spirit leads to do in everything.

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. (Galatians 5:17)

You must hate what you want to do, where you live and who you are. Each day in your quiet times you begin by hating your own life. You tell God that you are here to oppose yourself, to speak evil of yourself, to view with contempt and loathing your will, desires and thoughts.. Do this and you shall live a life of joy! Have the attitude of Paul in Philippians 3:7 or of Jesus in Luke 18:19 and you shall receive from God the richness of His righteousness and purity.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7- 8)

A certain ruler asked him, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is goodexcept God alone. (Luke 18:18-19)

You will never gain Christ until you begin to love to hate your own life. Until you view with utter contempt everything about you, you will never get rid of the rubbish smell Christianity and find sweet fragrance of life in Jesus.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

This is what the LORD says: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Only those who awake each day with a fresh hatred for who they are will have a renewed sense of God’s salvation in their lives. For unto those who see the sinfulness of who they are, given the joy of the Lord’s salvation in increasing measure. But until you despise who you are; until you say that you are a worm and not a man with David you will never experience the rich mercy of God’s love.

In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. (Psalms 22:4-6)

Only the poor in spirit will be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Only those who are willing to be humbled and broken each day learning anew what it means to hate oneself will know the answer to this promise Jesus gave.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:3-6)

To those who are given the joy of hating themselves, rich life in Jesus will overflow. But to those who have their own religious light and keep the smallest measure of good self-esteem will be given the torments of hell. Blessed are those who hate their own life. Yet how few one can find who hate their lives and their money. Why money? Because money and self are one and the same. Remember, that out of all the things Jesus said, he said you can’t serve God and money. The two are one – money and the flesh.

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)

To love self is to love money. For it is the means by which we feed the monster called self. It is the god that drives men to volunteer to serve at the gas chamber that sends Jews to their death. It is the thing that causes the abortionist to commit murder. It is the thing that causes the housewife to trade Jesus for her new carpet. It is what holds society together and grants us the peace we enjoy. It is our love for self and money that causes the prosperity teaching to send thousands, maybe millions to hell where their gold and silver will eat their flesh like fire! Until we hate money and self we will never have the true riches of Jesus. Jesus, too, hated money. Each day we also are to actively oppose, detest and view with loathing the money of this world, (Luke 16:13). Jesus refused to keep money in it’s proper perspective. He chose instead to hate it! Because Jesus hated money he was able to say no to the temptations Satan was bringing.

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you, ” he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ (Matthew 4:8-10)

What the body of Christ needs to do first is throw out all the logical financial plans and learn to hate money as Jesus did. Let each Christian hate money and they will be able to feed multitudes. It certainly wasn’t within the disciple’s budget to feed a multitude of 5, 000. Yet a hatred that springs from faith will feed large crowds. Not only will you find churches that have everything in common, but you will find you have gained the peace you have sought after for so long. You will no longer worry about money because you have learned to hate it. Your heart will be content in God because you hate the things and money of this world. (Ask for the tract on money for a greater understanding of this.) Jesus also hated his vacations, retirement and relaxing moments. Jesus hated a home and so his door was always open. How few so called Christians have open homes. In the many, many years that I have been preaching we have never failed to have someone living with us. God has brought the strange, the helpless, the mid-class and the religious. Why isn’t someone living with you right now? I will tell you why. The workers are few! True workers! Honest to goodness, cross carrying, hating workers just cannot be found. Jesus, instead of being even remotely concerned about such foolish things was, consumed with doing only God’s will. Here we see Jesus tired from a day’s labor and yet ready to do the will of God for He hated his rest and comfort.

So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (John 4:5-6)

And while others are off getting food Jesus is busy hating dinner time. Because Jesus hates, He has a food they know nothing about. If you too will hate food then you will eat of this hidden food.

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, I have food to eat that you know nothing about. Then his disciples said to each other, Could someone have brought him food? My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. (John 4:31-34)

As it is we live in a time when pleasure and rest are what the church is known for. You worship your pleasure and how you can feed your belly. Much shame is awaiting you before the judgement seat of Jesus unless you repent and learn to hate by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3:17-19)

It is your lack of hatred for money that causes your god to be your stomach. Just look at your church socials! Why, one church in Denver had a 4th of July baptism and pig roast at the lake. How prophetic of this church. There are no hating men who hate their own life and so feed only upon the work of the Father as the Holy Spirit guides them. Oh, they lay claim to the Holy Spirit, but are liars! Are you one? Probably!

HATE BRINGS LOVE

Don’t think that you can get out from under this passage (for you are probably feeling the weight of the cornerstone crushing you), by stating the lie that we are preaching one must literally hate others to be a Christian. We are not saying that you must hit your mother to be considered a Christian. Nice try, but that excuse does not rid Jesus of His own words. Nor will it widen the narrow road. Only as we begin to hate will we begin to love. For when there are no other loves in our lives except God, then God, as He sees fit, will pour His love through us. We will then have the ability to really love others. For where God is all in all then you will be able to love all. Where God fills only 1/2 a heart you merely live a life of idolatry and witchcraft. If churches would begin to hate each other then they would be able to love each other. But, because we value men above or along with God, the church is rampant with sin. Open wounds and puss oozes out of each and every pew in church because the wicked, unrepentant Christian is tolerated. Because preachers do not know how to hate their congregation in Jesus we find the sins of the people being healed lightly even when they talk of righteousness.

From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. `Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:13-14)

Oh, if pastors only knew the secret of how to hate their congregations they then would preach the mighty living word of God. It wouldn’t matter to them how many members they had for all they would be honestly concerned with is pleasing God. A preacher who hates you in the Lord is a man worthy to be listened to. As it is, the church feeds the prophet and he tells them what they want to hear. In turn the preacher feeds off the sins of the people. No one knows how to hate anymore!

They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. (Hosea 4:8-9)

If men knew how to have this God-given hate they would have churches that are clean. They would finally be able to have the desire to live out 1 Corinthians no matter who it affected.

But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you.” (I Corinthians 5:11-13)

If the members of the church hated their own lives and things they would be able to really love each other as the first church did.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, (Acts 2:44-46)

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. (Acts 4:32)

The reason your church does not have this kind of fellowship is that it refuses to hate in Jesus. For as God fills the heart there is no more room for the gods of gold and silver.

Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. (Exodus 20:23)

Oh, for Christians to get up each morning hating and despising their money, lives and things (Matthew 6:24)! What joy is theirs in Jesus! But how few there are. Few indeed.

NOT OPTIONAL

This is not an optional commandment. It is THE commandment. It is love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul rewritten into tangible action verbs. You either begin to hate your life, your mother, your father, your brothers and sisters or don’t claim to be a child of the King of Kings. This is radical discipleship but it is the only kind of discipleship that is really of Jesus. Men may do religious works, be missionaries and give of their lives but without a hatred in Jesus they are no better off than the New Ager down the street. No better off! In fact, you are worse off because you think you are right with God. You had best get off your spiritual high horse and repent.

CONCLUSION

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sistersyes, even his own life he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)

The words are clear and clean. They ring with life and joy for those who discover the secret to this mystery. It is a passage to revel in and rejoice over. For our precious savior uttered these divine words with all truthfulness. Though preachers and theologians smooth over it, though men and women ignore it, though we leave it out of our altar calls to accept Christ, to the few who find it, you know the joy we speak of:

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:14)

Before you consider yourself a part of the few, stop and consider that out of the 600, 000 fighting men God brought out of Egypt only 2 entered the promised land. Pick up your cross and learn to hate or God will be even more displeased with you than He is already.

Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. (Jude 1:5)

In conclusion understand this. Those who hate the most are the deepest of lovers! For all they see is Jesus. All that fills their heart is a Holy God! And those filled with God know how to love. For God gives them love and teaches them how to love. The last man I want loving me is a man who refuses to hate me. Show me a man who hates me in the Lord and there is a man I can fellowship with. For the God of love is complete in him. Since he obeys God by hating me, he then is given abundant grace to love me. Until this happens our churches will be full of flattery and lies. Your fellowship will be nothing more than socializing and back scratching. Those of you who choose to be taught by the Holy Spirit to hate will have God’s love made complete in you. What rich joy awaits the few who will learn this tough, humbling and life-giving command of Jesus:

But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. (I John 2:5)