love.

"Nothing about the cross of Jesus Christ is passive, and to answer its call we must be honest about our depravity and need for a savior"

Matthew 16:24-25

Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.'

As we begin this study and this fast, I want to challenge your hearts to remember and turn your hearts to this solemn truth> ONLY two things remain: the Word of God and the souls of men.

Ladies of Hope I encourage you to be driven to the Word like never before. Allow it to stir up your hearts...to convict you...and yes even wreck you, the "call to die" is no easy calling...it is not for the faint of heart and it is not for the double-minded... but if that call has been placed on your life.. answer it... answer it with power from Him who called you, answer it with obedience and a sternness to surrender. Because IN his death..in this death to ourselves there is life. TRUE life.

Dig your heals in and persevere.

"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die"- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"It is much easier to be a nice Christian than a radical one. It's much more fun to be entertained by Jesus and the church than to struggle and strain in the pursuit of purity and the presence of God."

Once you cast your eyes on Him, once you discover who He truly is, there is no turning back, there is no other option than to radically chase after Him. This bids the question- Have you looked upon Him? Have you seen Him say "cast your net"... The disciples did, they encountered Him for who He was and they eagerly followed. Notice, however, He did NOT enslave them.. He bid them...he gave them the option to follow...it was up to them to come. He says IF...IF you choose then you MUST. I think perhaps they did not reckon with this idea all at once..they were so mesmerized and captivated by this man who changed them, they couldn't not go

AND AS THEY FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM THEY FREELY ANSWERED THE CALL TO 

DEATH

Is this what He wants us to know? The ultimate picture of love...is actually death? I think so...because this sets the stage for redemption. If love equals death and life begins at death...

Then we have a lot to learn from this perfect Savior who walked the road to Calvary for us.

This life we've chosen... and in fact you DID choose by accepting His gift of salvation dear believer... IF you want Him...you must DENY yourself...

for life is not life at all if it is about us.

But do not dismay..for there is yet hope. Hope we can bank on!

Isaiah 55:10-11

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve its purpose for which I sent it

"God's Word has the power to change lives. If you marinate yourself in the truth of Scriptures, I'm confident that God will do some amazing things in you and through you."

What does it mean to deny? If we choose Him and if we are going to engage in denying ourselves...what does that look like? 

"Think of your selfishness as a hungry wolf that consumes anything and everything it can eat (life devouring). To deny it means-don't feed it. Identify the sources of food and run away from those things!... OBEY GOD> NO MATTER WHAT HE ASKS US TO DO AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE DONT WANT TO DO IT."

Here's how we say "yes" to God:

VALUE what God says and the things of God- and BLOW OFF the things that aren't.

Be LOYAL to the Father because He is WORTHY of our LOVE.

Obey Him whenever, however, wherever.

Remember the things we have learned in our previous studies- everything is ultimately about pointing glory back to God. " The passionate motive that drove Jesus to the cross was us. Why us? Because our salvation ultimately brings glory to the Father."

When He rescues us... it shows His glory...that HE SAVED the day.. when we chase after Him it brings Him glory. 

Read Philippians 2:9-11

Reflect.... 

Where were you when He found you?

IS He worthy of glory?

Is He worthy of following?

Are you ready for "All Costs"?

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whosoever would believe in Him, should not perish 

but shall have everlasting 

life.

This is the passage we were asked to memorize this week in our study.

Nasser does not specifically state why this is the passage of choice... He just says do it.

However-- it makes sense.

It makes sense- because it is the gospel.
...and from it everything hinges. EVERYTHING hinges on the gospel!
From that all hope is set free, from that all things find their place, from that all shame is washed away,
from that all that was lost is found, from that we have a reason to live.

Life begins at death.

Interestingly enough ...just a few short days into this study and fast... Our pastor spoke to this very same theme.. if you missed Sunday's message-- listen:


http://www.blessedhopehalifax.org/hp_wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/September-8-2013.mp3


"What would it look like if the greatest desire in our hearts was not just for ourselves? That you and I would give our lives away for the sake of the name and fame of God and for His people."

Passages to Study- Philippians 1:6, Hebrews 12

*All quotes are from David Nasser and the actual book "A Call to Die" unless otherwise stated.