I personally think there should be a lot more hatred in this world. Everyone keeps talking about tolerance and saying, Let’s all get along, but I think a good dose of hatred would do everyone some good. Does that take you off guard? Well, I hope by the end of this newsletter that you have a lot of hatred.
Luke 14: 25,26
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.
Jesus knows what He is talking about. If He talks about hatred, then we need to as well. But something doesn’t make sense here. Why would an all-loving God ask us to hate our own families? He created the family! In Mark 10, He told us that real marriage was between a man and a woman. He also lets us know that children are a blessing from Him. So what does God mean here?
Remember one thing that we always teach in this ministry is to read things in context. Right before this verse, in verses 15 -24, Jesus tells us a parable about people who were worried about their farmland, their oxen, their families, etc. They were concerned about the cares of the world, but because of this, they were going to miss out on the Kingdom of God! What a terrible, terrible tradeoff! But that is one of the tricks of the world. The father of lies can get us so fixated on the things of this world, that we forget we are just passing through to the other side. If we don’t keep our minds focused on the throne of God and the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is easy to walk by sight instead of walking by faith.
Let’s see if hate is a biblical concept:
Ecclesiastes 3:8
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Psalm 119:104
Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
Psalm 119:163
I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
Proverbs 6:16-19
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Matthew 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Hebrews 1:9
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Romans 12:9
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
James 4:4
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
1 John 2:15-17
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Hate seems to be a very important concept in the Bible. God doesn’t seem to tolerant here does He? Once you know who God is His character, His holiness it really becomes very easy to figure out what we need to hate while we’re here on planet earth.
I really want you to have more hatred this Fall. I want you to hate the football games that you watch on TV. I want you to hate the football games that you attend. I don’t want you to be able to sit there and cheer on all of the players as they run up and down a field trying to take a piece of leather across some goal line, and not recognize all of those lost souls surrounding you in the stands. I want you to keep it in perspective and then reach those lost souls for our Lord.
Students, I want you to hate your GPA. It is important, but is not more important than studying the Word of God. It is not more important than reaching sinners at your school for Jesus. Be careful, parents. Way too many parents push their kids harder in the academic areas of life than the spiritual we should be encouraging our children to be holy, bold soldiers for the Most High God.
I want you to hate your TVs and video games. I want you to hate texting. I want you to hate those things that steal time that could be used for the purposes of God.
I want you to hate politics. Every four years, election season can just be all-consuming. We can get so enraptured with it. Remember that America has a spiritual problem; not a political problem.
Maybe it would be best for you to sit down with a pen and paper and make a list of things for which you really must have more hatred.
1 Corinthians 9:24
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
There is a great, great prize awaiting those who run this race well for the Lord. Will you be one of those people?
Luke 14:27
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
It is time to pick up your cross and head down that narrow road toward heaven. You can’t finish well for the Lord unless you have more hatred. As a matter of fact, the more you have, the more God is going to be able to use you in the coming days. The days are running short. You only have a little bit of time left to hate a lot of things here on earth.
Until the nets are full,
P.S. Take a look at these pictures. These are some Indian friends of mine who are bold soul winners. They are the Telegu people, and they love going to festivals and giving out Gospel literature. They reach Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims who have moved here to the States from India. They don’t go to festivals to ride the rides and eat the food. They go there to hate the ways of the world and break through the deception. They told me that they distributed over 1,700 copies of Second Greatest Lie booklets, One Heartbeat Away and One Second After You at the last festival they attended. These are my kind of people! Make sure you have enough hatred for the world to go to some festivals this Fall and do some soul winning for the Lord!
